Discovery of Hydrogen

1
Discovery of Hydrogen

• Imam Jafar Sadiq (as)
• Reference The Great Muslim Scientist and
  Philosopher,
• Jafar As-Sadiq

2
The university of Imam Sadiq (as)

• Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) devoted his whole life to
  knowledge and education.
• He did not charge his students any fees.
• He gave financial help to poor students so
  discreetly that others did not know about it.
• He used to purchase books for students who could
  not afford to buy them.
• If there was only one book available, he hired
  transcribers who made a number of copies of the
  book which were then distributed to students.
• Some of his students Abu Hanifa, Malik bin Anas,
  Jabir ibn Hayyan and many others.

3
Many subjects were taught

• In his academy many new subjects were taught
  which had never been taught before.
• He also translated those books which were not
  available in Arabic for the benefit of his
  students.
• For teaching physics, chemistry and other science
  subjects there was a laboratory attached to his
  institute.
• It was a small lab but sufficient for the needs
  of his students.
• This proves that the great scholar did not depend
  on theory alone, but tested them through
  experiments.
• Many great discoveries were made in this small
  lab.

4
Discovery of hydrogen and oxygen

• One of his greatest miracle was that twelve and a
  half centuries ago he discovered the presence of
  oxygen in the air.
• His father, Imam Muhammad Baqir, who was also a
  great scholar, had discovered the presence of
  hydrogen in water.
• He also found that it was a highly inflammable
  gas.
• That is why he said that water can be turned into
  fire.
• Imam Sadiq must have known about the presence of
  hydrogen in water through his father, but he
  himself discovered the presence of oxygen in the
  air.

5
Separation of gases

• The discovery of these 2 gases depended on their
  separation from air and water.
• Separation of hydrogen from water is more
  difficult than separation of oxygen from air.
• Pure oxygen is available in the air, but pure
  hydrogen is not available anywhere.
• That is why hydrogen could not be obtained till
  sufficient power was developed and water was
  hydrolyzed.

6
How was hydrogen separated at that time?

• The French scientists write
• We are surprised how Jafar Sadiq and his father
  were able to discover hydrogen, which is a
  colourless, odorless, and tasteless gas and does
  not exist freely in nature.
• They could not have identified this gas and found
  out its properties without separating it from
  water through the process of hydrolysis which was
  impossible without a strong current of
  electricity.

7
Modern discovery

• The 1st person who was able to separate hydrogen
  from water in modern times was the English
  scientist Henry Cavendish, who died in 1810 at
  the age of 81.
• After working hard for many years he was able to
  hydrolyze water and obtain hydrogen gas.
• On May 27, 1766, he placed a burning stick near a
  container full of hydrogen gas.
• Instantly, it caught fire. The container exploded
  and fire spread everywhere.
• If people had not rushed to his rescue, the whole
  house would have been burnt.
• He escaped with some injuries to his hands and
  face.
• This is how he learnt that hydrogen gas is highly
  inflammable.

8
The genius of Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (as)

• In the time of Imam Sadiq (as), electricity was
  not available.
• The French scientists write
• Had he and his father employed some other means,
  which modern scientists do not know, for
  separating hydrogen gas from water without the
  use of electricity?
• This great discovery was not possible through
  philosophical speculations and guess work.

9
Still a mystery

• The pollution of air arising from excessive use
  of fossil fuel for producing energy has caused
  Americans to consider using hydrogen gas as an
  alternative source of energy.
• But the problem of separating it from water
  without the use of an electric current has not
  been solved yet.

10
Some knowledge should be kept a secret

• In the Book of the Dead, which was written in
  Egypt and is the oldest book in the hands of
  mankind, it is recommended that knowledge should
  not be taught to unsuitable persons, as it would
  be harmful to the interest of gods and the
  people.
• Confucius, the great philosopher of China, who
  died in 476 BC writes that some scientific
  secrets should not be taught to those who might
  use them against the interests of other people,
  otherwise scientific knowledge would become a
  source of misfortune for mankind.

11
The secrets of Ahlul Bayt (as)

• Muslims in general and Shias in particular
  believe that there were many secrets which the
  Holy Prophet and his 12 Imams knew, but they did
  not reveal them to their followers lest they fall
  into the hands of persons who might endanger the
  public and create anarchy and social disorder.

12
Separation of hydrogen from water can be
catastrophic

• We must accept that Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq did
  the right thing by not revealing their secret
  formula of separating hydrogen from water without
  the use of electricity.
• We have already seen that the separation of
  hydrogen from water has led to the production of
  the hydrogen bomb, which can annihilate the human
  race.