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to any other element. The man who James Watson referred to as the greatest chemist in the world, Linus Pauling, discovered this property in the 1940's, setting the stage for the understanding of RNA, DNA, and life, that would unfold in the second half of the twentieth century. The property is called hydrogen bonding, and it is a property that is the underpinning of life it self. It is in essence the glue which binds the independent strands of DNA together to form the double helix structure. Hydrogen bonds are fragile however, and therefor more easily broken then ionic or covalent bonds. It is this property which allows enzymes to separate DNA strands and make copies of them. This in essence is the process which drives all known forms of life in the universe.

Atomic Properties

Fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium is a process which takes place in the heart of stars and releases tremendous quantities of energy. Mankind would get a close of look at just how much energy is liberated in this nuclear reaction when the first hydrogen bomb was exploded in 1952, at Eniwetok atoll. The fireball produced was three miles in diameter and essentially vaporized everything within a 1 mile radius. That bomb was estimated to be equivalent to approximately 1 megaton of TNT. Today the United States have bombs with a capacity well in excess of 100 times that. Although none has ever been tested to establish its' effects, these super bombs are expected to vaporize everything within 20 miles and incinerate everything within a 50 mile radius of ground zero. It is an awesome realization of the energy contained in the hydrogen atom.

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