Free Radical

Let's start with a simple look at the word Dr. Asai uses: "H-Radical."

The term "free radical" is fairly well known, but the word "Radical" is often used to mean the same thing as "free radical." When the word "radical" is connected to a symbol for some element, such as hydrogen, the term would be "H-Radical" meaning that it was a "hydrogen free radical."

You could also have an "O-Radical" meaning an "Oxygen Free Radical."

When you understand the actions of "atoms" and the action of "free radicals" you soon learn that these two items are tremendously different in one particular way.

Free Radicals are not stable, while Atoms can be and usually are very stable.  Now, let's look more formally at one of the standard definitions for "free."  One of the big differences is that electrons are normally "bound" into pairs as they circle around the center of an atom -- when there is an "unpaired electron" in the outer ring of an atom, that is the definition of a "free radical" and it is also a description of an atom that is very "free" to combine with, or affect, other substances.

Free Chemistry & Physics. Unconstrained; unconfined: free expansion. Not fixed in position; capable of relatively unrestricted motion: a free electron. Not chemically bound in a molecule: free oxygen. Involving no collisions or interactions: a free path. Empty: a free space. Unoccupied: a free energy level. Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

So, an "atom" which is "free" might be called a "free radical."

Perhaps it could have been called a "free atom" but however this term got started, the use of the word "radical" seemed better.

free radical n. An atom or group of atoms that has at least one unpaired electron and is therefore unstable and highly reactive. In animal tissues, free radicals can damage cells and are believed to accelerate the progression of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and age-related diseases.   Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

It happens that our entire physical universe is about 75% hydrogen (25% helium and tiny fractions of other elements).  There is more hydrogen in the universe than everything else put together!  An atom of hydrogen IS a free radical simply because hydrogen is an atom with one electron in its out ring.

This is worth learning if you want to understand the "root" cause of all heart disease and cancer -- so take the time to learn this stuff.

You have a central part of the atom, made up of protons and neutrons.  There is then the outer part of the atom, made up of one or more electrons.  This is a model of a hydrogen atom, with one electron only.  Since the definition of a "free radical" is an atom (or other pieces of stuff) that has an unpaired electron in the outer ring, this model of hydrogen is showing that hydrogen, when it exists as a single atom, IS A FREE RADICAL.  Click on the non-moving image directly above for an electronic Study Aide on this subject.

All atoms, in their basic state, have an equal number of electrons and protons, so they have no charge.  They are neutral.

A free radical, such as hydrogen, has an unpaired electron in its outer (only) ring, that is what makes it a free radical.  But, it does not have any net electrical charge because the one electron is balanced by one proton.  So, the basic hydrogen atom is neutral.

Usually when an electron is added to, or taken from, some atom, that would disturb the basic charge.  If an electron is added to an atom, in excess of its basic number, the electron, having a minus charge, causes that atom to become have a minus charge because there is now one more electron than there are protons in the atom.

Helium is a good element to study further.  Helium has two electrons and two protons in its basic state.  Thus it does not have any charge because there is a balance between the minus and the plus electrical charges.  It is also NOT a free radical because it does not have an unpaired electron in the outer (only) ring.

It is not easy to do, but if you could remove one of the electrons from the helium atom, it would become an electrically charged particle (plus charge because there are now two protons and only one electron) and also become a free radical (because it has an unpaired electron in its outer (only) ring.

Helium is a very stable atom and generally never loses or gains an electron, so it is not likely to be either a free radical nor have any electrical charge.

As an analogy, you could have a married couple, very much in love with one another, dancing.  Neither one of them would likely tolerate some person's effort to "tap on the shoulder" hoping to create a change in partners.  Helium does not give up one of its electrons easily, nor would it accept a third electron.

Hydrogen, on the other hand, is very different.

When you add one electron to Hydrogen (which has a basic of one electron) that makes that hydrogen atom into a "minus atom."   It could be written as "H-."

It is possible to remove that one electron from the basic atom of hydrogen and that would make it no longer a free radical, but it now takes on a "plus electrical charge" because it has one proton and no electrons.  It could then be called "H+."

A "plus hydrogen" or a "minus hydrogen" could be written as:

H+

H-

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