Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the simplest atom: one proton and one electron. It makes up about three quarters of the ordinary matter in the universe by mass and powers the stars, but on Earth it is almost always bound to other atoms, chiefly in water and in fuels like natural gas. Most industrial hydrogen is made by reacting natural gas with steam.

In the television it is everywhere. It caps the edges of nearly every carbon-based molecule, from ethylene and benzene to the liquid crystal molecules that make the picture. It combines with nitrogen to make ammonia, helps pull chlorine out when making polysilicon, and fills broken bonds in amorphous silicon so the screen's transistors work well.