Skip to content
Question 54 of 64

Q.How do you convert Para hydrogen into Ortho hydrogen ?

Tamil Nadu DgeTamil Nadu HSC First Year (DGE) Board 2023Subjective· 3mImportance★★★★★
84% · 54/64 Questions
🔒 Locked · start free trial →

You're viewing a preview — the full solution, concept, methods & PYQ mapping are locked.

Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →

Heating pure para-hydrogen to a high temperature (around 1000 K) converts a fraction of it into ortho-hydrogen, because the ortho form is entropically favoured at higher temperature; at equilibrium at high T, hydrogen exists as the "normal" roughly 3:1 ortho:para mixture.

Hydrogen exists as two nuclear-spin isomers depending on the relative orientation of the two proton (nuclear) spins in the H2 molecule:

  • Para-hydrogen: the two nuclear spins are opposed (antiparallel/paired) -- this is the lower-energy, lower-entropy form.
  • Ortho-hydrogen: the two nuclear spins are aligned in the same direction (parallel) -- this is the higher-energy, higher-entropy form (it has 3 possible spin states versus para's 1, giving it greater degeneracy/entropy).

At absolute zero, hydrogen exists as essentially 100% para-hydrogen (the lowest-energy state). As temperature is raised, thermal energy allows population of the higher-energy ortho states, and the equilibrium mixture shifts towards the ortho form. At room temperature and above, the equilibrium ("normal") mixture is about 75% ortho-hydrogen and 25% para-hydrogen (statistical spin-state ratio of 3:1).

…

Unlock everything free for 14 days

  • Full step-by-step solutions
  • Concept-first explanations
  • Methods, shortcuts & mistakes
  • PYQ mapping + timed mock tests

Full access for 14 days. No credit card required.