Abstract
A theoretical analysis is presented of the relaxation processes which lead to the magnetization of gaseous hydrogen atoms in a strong magnetic field. Experiments are described which demonstrate that the spin-lattice relaxation time in a pure H(2) carrier can be of the order of 10 ms. From the effects of traces of O(2) on the hydrogen atom EPR spectrum, a H-O(2) spin-exchange collision cross section of (8.0 ± 2.5) × 10(-16) cm(2) was derived.