4 ms·
Why HeH+? What about good ol' H2?
by astazangasta 8y ago
Why HeH+? What about good ol' H2?
- andrewflnr 8y agoMy question as well. I wonder if they're not counting H2 because it's only one element. Edit: check out the replies to this coming in another thread on the story: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19693647 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19693647
- _Nat_ 8y agoApparently the universe was too hot for electrons to combine with atomic nuclei at first, so everything was a plasma. As it cooled, He grabbed up electrons first, forming the first neutral atoms while H+ was still a plasma. So there was a lot of He and H+ bouncing around at high temperature, allowing the first molecules to form as [He-H]+.
- Sharlin 8y agoYep. He has a higher ionization energy than H.