Without Hydrogen, We Would Not Exist: By Alexander Carbone

Hydrogen is the lightest element in existence, only having one proton, and oddly, the

only case where a proton by itself can be stable. Although it does not require a neutron to be

stable, there are other isotopes where neutrons exist in a 1p:1n ratio (2H/stable), or a 1p:2n ratio

(3H/unstable). This element is the most abundant element in the universe, making up ninety

percent of all mass. However, that being said, if this element would not exist, life on Earth as we

know it, would cease to exist or rather wouldnt be here at all.

The basis of life comes down to very few things; water for hydration, food for nutrients, a

habitable zone where life can exist, and oxygen to breathe (unless on the microscopic level). In a

sense, all four of these concepts work together in order for life to exist. When one gets

threatened, others suffer and so do the biological species that live under these conditions.

If hydrogen was nonexistent in the universe, there would be compounds or even elements

that wouldnt be able to exist without hydrogen. But, there is only one compound that really

matters in the end. The compound is known as H2O, or rather as we all know it, water. This

compound is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atoms bonded together.

Furthermore, without hydrogen, water is unable to form since the oxygen atom has no hydrogen

atoms to bond to (if ignited), and bonds with another atom.

But what does this mean to us? Well, if water cannot exist because hydrogen never

existed, oceans (over seventy percent of the Earths surface area) would not possible, meaning an
entire ecological system would have never existed. This would also make the entire world a huge

desert, making travel nearly impossible until cars/planes/any travel have been invented by then.

However, that is talking about if we live to that point because of our needs for water. After all, a

human can only live three to ten days without water.

There is also the matter of food. Plants need water to live, and so do animals to some

extent, to even survive or produce anything for us to eat. Any plant or seed that would grow on

this planet wouldnt be able exist fully enough to grow and viable food. Its possible to

experience long periods of time without eating food (around three weeks), but then again, we

have the crisis of no water, so that doesnt really matter at that point. This also creates another

problem of living in a viable environment in this waterless world. If plants, such as trees, werent

able to grow at all, we would have no shelter to build with, let alone be able to start a fire to keep

us warm during presumably cold nights. The only shade to avoid the hot rays of the sun, is

natural formations on top of the land, but then again, you are going to die either way.

So life on Earth is impossible to keep living without the condition of water, let alone

without having hydrogen to create life today. That being said, what has been discussed was in

theory that if humans and other life forms had been placed in a waterless Earth, but there is one

final factor that ultimately makes life not possible to exist. It is the fact that water itself exists in

our bodies, and is about sixty - sixty five percent of our bodily mass. The water in our bodies

regulates our temperature, flushes waste from our bodies (though you wouldnt have any in

theory), your lungs are ninety percent water based, the brain is seventy percent water, heck, even
our blood is eighty percent water. This would apply to all animals as well. Your blood would be

so little and thick for your heart to regulate through your body. Your lungs so fragile that they

may pop just breathing, just constant pain leading to death, if it was possible to even be created.

Without hydrogen, the Earth would just be a hunk of rock floating through space without

life, just like any other planet in the universe. For life to exist, is to have water, which is only

possible with hydrogen and oxygen, and without one another, it would be as history had never

happened and the universe was just there. A little atom, so small and abundant, would be the

biggest change in the creation of life on Earth, maybe somewhere else in the universe, and yet

we know it the lightest element, Hydrogen.