Apart from its use as a reactant, H
2 has wide applications in physics and engineering. It is used as a shielding gas in welding methods such as atomic hydrogen welding. H2 is used as the rotor coolant in electrical generators at power stations, because <answer>it has the highest thermal conductivity of any gas</answer>. Liquid H2 is used in cryogenic research, including superconductivity studies. Because H
2 is lighter than air, having a little more than 1⁄14 of the density of air, it was once widely used as a lifting gas in balloons and airships.
Why is it used as the rotor coolant?
it has the highest thermal conductivity of any gas