Funny how helium is smaller than hydrogen when it has 2 protons and 2 neutrons? Against hydrogen that is merely a single proton with an electron. Physics is weird sometimes. Although the explanation is simple that the 2 protons draw the 2 electrons closer, making the electron “shell” smaller.
But maybe this “size” isn’t universal, maybe Hydrogen can squeeze more under pressure?
Google gives me this answer to the question “is hydrogen easier to contain than helium”:
No, hydrogen is not easier to contain than helium. Hydrogen is harder to contain because its smaller, lighter molecules escape through materials faster than helium
So apparently hydrogen remains the more permeable gas, and hydrogen is also chemically very active, corroding nearly everything it comes in contact with.
Edit:
I figured it out, hydrogen is more permeable because it can interact chemically, making the electron shell near irrelevant.
To answer your remaining question:
Helium is slightly easier to compress. Going from 1 bar to 300 bar at 20 °C the density of hydrogen goes from 0.08 to 20.8 kg/m³ (250x higher), helium is 0.16 to 43.2 (263x higher). In other words, the compressibility factor is slightly higher for hydrogen.
No need to go crazy, I just wanted to know where the number comes from.
But while we are here, Helium is the smallest atom at 31 pm, H is 53 pm and H2 is far off with 120 pm.
Funny how helium is smaller than hydrogen when it has 2 protons and 2 neutrons? Against hydrogen that is merely a single proton with an electron. Physics is weird sometimes. Although the explanation is simple that the 2 protons draw the 2 electrons closer, making the electron “shell” smaller.
But maybe this “size” isn’t universal, maybe Hydrogen can squeeze more under pressure?
Google gives me this answer to the question “is hydrogen easier to contain than helium”:
So apparently hydrogen remains the more permeable gas, and hydrogen is also chemically very active, corroding nearly everything it comes in contact with.
Edit:
I figured it out, hydrogen is more permeable because it can interact chemically, making the electron shell near irrelevant.
To answer your remaining question: Helium is slightly easier to compress. Going from 1 bar to 300 bar at 20 °C the density of hydrogen goes from 0.08 to 20.8 kg/m³ (250x higher), helium is 0.16 to 43.2 (263x higher). In other words, the compressibility factor is slightly higher for hydrogen.