9 Lasting Bonds

Once upon a time, there was an element called Hydrogen who lived in the land of Mendeleevia. In Mendeleevia, every element lived in a group, and those groups did everything together.  The halogen group gossiped together (they are all fairly toxic), the transition metal groups migrated from place to place together, and the noble gas group did honorable deeds together. Hydrogen lived in group one, who liked to call themselves the alkali metals. There was only one problem: Hydrogen was not a metal.

All of the alkalis had a silver-like luster and remained solid at normal everyday temperatures. Hydrogen, on the other hand, was colorless and remained a gas. Hydrogen was brittle, not malleable like the alkalis, and she couldn’t conduct electricity like them either. She always felt left out in the group one gatherings, but she didn’t have the right number of valence electrons to join any of the other nonmetal groups. She tried her best to fit in and act like a metal, but the alkalis wanted nothing to do with her. Hydrogen began to feel very alone and discouraged. She just wanted to feel important like all of the other elements.

One day, Hydrogen was out on a walk when she came across a strange creature. It was a man (Hydrogen had never met anyone outside of Mendeleevia before).

“Hello,” said the man, “my name is Amedeo Avogadro. I’m a chemist, and I come from the Land of Men. I was wondering if you could direct me to the group one household? I’m looking for Hydrogen.”

“I’m Hydrogen!” said Hydrogen with a surprise.

“Terrific! I’m so glad to have found you after coming all this way,” exclaimed Avogadro.

“Why’d you come to see me? I’m nothing special. I’m not a metal like the alkalis, and I’m not a part of the nonmetal groups either.”

“Oh, but you are special!” cried Avogadro. “Where I come from, you are essential to life itself!”

“I am?”

“Yes! In the Land of Men hydrogen is one of the most important elements for sustaining life. Due to only having one valence electron, hydrogen is highly reactive and bonds with other elements to form lots of important compounds, including, as I suspect, water, which is a necessity for all living things.”

Hydrogen was amazed.

“I never realized how important my properties really are… Here in Mendeleevia, elements never leave their groups. I’ve always felt a little out of place,” she admitted.

“Ah yes, Mendeleevia has a reputation for that. I suggest you journey with me to Compoundopolis. It is the Great City where non-metals like you share their electrons and live in harmony. I’ve been searching for someone to help me test my hypothesis and complete a water molecule, and I think you may be the perfect fit. What do you say?”

“I would love to!” exclaimed Hydrogen. The thought of finally fitting in and having a purpose made her wild with excitement.

“Excellent!” said Avogadro, and the two of them set off.

After a few weeks of traveling, they reached the gates of Compoundopolis. Hydrogen had never seen anything so beautiful! Every atom looked completely satisfied, with full valence electron shells. Hydrogen was so absorbed in taking in the beauty of the Great City that it took her a little while to notice that Avogadro had been trying to get her attention.

“Hydrogen!” said Avogadro as he tapped her on the shoulder, “I have some elements I’d like you to meet. This is Oxygen and Hydrogena. They have been trying to bond together, but they’re missing another electron. Would you be interested in sharing your electron with them?”

“Of course I would!” exclaimed Hydrogen. She walked over to Oxygen and Hydrogena (who was another hydrogen atom just like her) and reached out her hand with her electron. Oxygen also reached out her hand with her unpaired electron, and they linked together to form a covalent bond with the shared electrons. Hydrogen suddenly felt so complete. It was like she was meant to share in a bond all along. She looked at the other two, and they both smiled back at her. They seemed to be just as happy as she was to be in a completed molecule.

After a few moments of watching the happy threesome, Avogadro spoke up, “I’m so glad to see that you three bond together so well! It’s been a pleasure to work with you, but I’m afraid that I must head off on my next quest now. I have been searching for a mole for quite some time, and I think I may be on the verge of finding one. Goodbye!”

“Goodbye!” said the other three. They watched him walk away and then turned to explore Compoundopolis. Hydrogen was overjoyed. She no longer felt excluded or unimportant. She now knew her value and was perfectly content. And now, even today, if you look very carefully, you may see our friend Hydrogen and her water molecule sisters floating down a nearby stream, happy as can be.

Fun facts about hydrogen:

• Did you know that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe? In fact, hydrogen makes up nearly 10% of the human body by mass!
• Hydrogen can be used as a clean energy source, and it is now even being used to power electric vehicles!
• Have you ever heard of apple cider vinegar? All types of vinegars are acids, and the strength of an acid is determined by the number of hydrogen ions it forms.