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Where Can Hydrogen Be Found in Everyday Life?

Hydrogen is an element essential to life on Earth. It is the most simple element in the universe and the basis of all other elements. Without hydrogen, many of the basic things which create and support life could not exist.

The Sun
- The Sun and all other stars are made of hydrogen. It is the burning of this hydrogen which produces the light and energy that comes from stars. This burning also combines hydrogen atoms to form heavier, more complex elements; this is how all other elements were formed.
Water
- Two-thirds of the Earth is composed water, which is essential to life on the planet. To form water, hydrogen forms bonds with oxygen. The chemical formula of water is H2O, which means that there are two hydrogen atoms for every one oxygen atom.
Life
- All life on Earth is made up of proteins, which in turn are made up of amino acids. Hydrogen is an essential element in the structure of these amino acids; without hydrogen, life as we know it could not exist.

Nature