Hydrogen: The most abundant element in the universe. It has normally been considered a nonmetal in any range of temperatures and pressures. That is, until now. As recently as this year, hydrogen was transformed into a metallic substance, capable of conducting electricity. An experiment conducted by William J. Nellis et al. at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory accomplished this feat. Hydrogen was converted from a non-metallic liquid into a liquid metal. The likelihood that the most abundant element in the universe could be converted to metallic form at sufficient pressures was first theorized in 19351, but hard evidence has eluded scientists in the decades since. “The metalization of hydrogen has been the elusive Holy Grail in high-pressure physics for many years,” said Bill Nellis, one of three Livermore researchers involved in the project. “This is a significant contribution to condensed matter physics because a pressure and temperature have finally been discovered that actually produce metallization.”2 Livermore researchers Sam Weir, Art Mitchell and BillNellis used a two-stage gas gun at Livermore to create enormous shock pressure on a target containing liquid hydrogen cooled to 200 K (-4200 F). Sam Weir, Arthur Mitchell (a lab associate), and Bill Nellis published the results of their experiments in the March 11 issue of PhysicalReview Letters under the title "Metalization of Fluid Molecular Hydrogen at 140 GPa (1.4 Mbar)" . When asked about the significance of the work, Nellis said this: “Hydrogen makes up 90% of the universe. Jupiter is 90% hydrogen and contains most of the mass of our planetary system. Hydrogen is very important for a lot of the work done." at the Lab. Hydrogen in the form of deuterium and tritium isotopes is the fuel in laser fusion targets, and how it behaves at high temperatures and pressures is very important to Nova and the National Ignition Facility."3 Measuring the electrical conductivity, they found that metallization occurs at a pressure equivalent to 1.4 million times Earth's atmospheric pressure, nine times the initial density of hydrogen, and at a temperature of 30,000 K (50,000 F). temperature, the hydrogen was liquid. The intense pressure lasted less than a microsecond. Optical evidence of a new hydrogen phase was previously reported using an experimental approach that involves crushing microscopic samples of crystalline hydrogen between diamond anvils. .4 However, metallic character has not been established more directly from electrical conductivity measurements which are not yet possible in diamond anvil cells at these pressures. The Livermore team's results were surprising due to their methods, the form of hydrogen used, and the pressure needed to achieve the result (which was much lower than previously believed). Virtually all predictions about metallic hydrogen have been made for solid hydrogen a