Hydrogen atom

The simplest atom, with one proton in its nucleus and one electron. Its isotopes contain additional neutrons in the nucleus.

Proton: A positively charged subatomic particle found in atomic nuclei. Its positive charge binds the hydrogen atom’s electron.
Schrödinger equation: A quantum equation governing how a system’s wavefunction changes and which states it can occupy. Solving it for hydrogen yields the atom’s bound-state wavefunctions and energies.
Henry Cavendish: An English chemist and physicist who studied gases and measured the gravitational constant. His experiments characterized hydrogen, which he called inflammable air.
21-centimeter line: Radio emission from neutral hydrogen caused by a spin-state transition with a wavelength near 21 centimeters. This line maps hydrogen gas across galaxies and the early universe.
Deuterium: The hydrogen isotope whose nucleus contains one proton and one neutron. It shares hydrogen’s electron structure while its heavier nucleus shifts spectral lines.
Electron: A negatively charged elementary particle found outside atomic nuclei. Its quantum states determine hydrogen’s size and spectrum.
Hydrogen spectrum: The set of discrete wavelengths emitted or absorbed by hydrogen atoms. Transitions between hydrogen’s energy levels produce its characteristic spectral lines.
Antoine Lavoisier: A French chemist who helped establish modern chemical nomenclature and conservation of mass. He named hydrogen after recognizing water as a compound containing the gas.
Lyman-alpha: The ultraviolet hydrogen line produced by an electron transition from n=2 to n=1. Astronomers use its absorption and emission to trace distant hydrogen gas.
Tritium: The radioactive hydrogen isotope whose nucleus contains one proton and two neutrons. It contrasts ordinary hydrogen through nuclear mass and radioactive decay.

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