• Question: If hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table does this mean it was the first element to be formed during the formation of the universe?

    Asked by abmb266 to Kamal on 17 Jan 2017.
    • Photo: Kamal Bhattacharya

      Kamal Bhattacharya answered on 17 Jan 2017:


      Not really. It is the first because it has the fewest electron shells and is not a noble gas (as opposed to Helium, which is the other element in the first period). Hydrogen was one of the earliest substances after the big bang, but you need electrons and protons before that. So we had to wait about 400000 years after the big bang for it to emerge as the universe was cooling down. It is the most abundant substance in the universe for sure.

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