What is Metallic hydrogen?
{{no sources|date=April 2021}} '''Metallic hydrogen''' is an [[alkali metal]] made from [[hydrogen]] [[gas]].<ref name=Wigner1935>{{cite journal |last1=Wigner |first1=E. |last2=Huntington |first2=H. B. |year=1935 |title=On the possibility of a metallic modification of hydrogen |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-chemical-physics_1935-12_3_12/page/n9 |journal=[[Journal of Chemical Physics]] |volume=3 |issue=12 |page=764 |bibcode=1935JChPh...3..764W |doi=10.1063/1.1749590}}</ref> This is formed when the hydrogen gas is under [[compression]] and results with the gas changing [[phases of matter|phase]]. It is an example of [[degenerate matter]]. The matter has a [[crystal structure]] of [[proton]] atoms, with spacing that is extremely small, smaller than a [[Bohr radius]] (which is 52.918 x 10<sup>-12</sup> [[metre|m]]). The [[electron]]s in the [[molecular orbital]] are unbounded and they behave like the [[electrical conductor|conduction]] electrons in a [[metal]]. Metallic hydrogen is unusual as the element itself is not an alkali metal, but a [[diatomic]] gas. Metallic hydrogen is known to exist in the [[planetary core|cores]] of [[Jupiter (planet)|Jupiter]] and [[Saturn (planet)|Saturn]]. Jupiter has the most metallic hydrogen. Metallic hydrogen is a dense liquid. Metallic hydrogen acts like a metal and has crazy properties. {{chem-stub}} ==References== {{reflist|30em}} [[Category:2016 in science]] [[Category:Allotropes|Hydrogen]] [[Category:Alkali metals]] [[Category:Hydrogen]]