CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html SYSTEM "/periodic-table/content/dtd/custom.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> <head id="HeaderSection"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><title> Periodic Table – Royal Society of Chemistry </title> <link href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/stylesheets/SiteMaster.css?6.2.65" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/stylesheets/jquery-ui.css?6.2.65" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/stylesheets/AppRelatedInfo.css?6.2.65" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/AppRelatedInfo.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <meta name="description" content="Interactive periodic table with element scarcity (SRI), discovery dates, melting and boiling points, group, block and period information." /> <link href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/stylesheets/VisualElementsSite.css?6.2.65" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table" /> <link rel="image_src" href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/sample_img.gif?6.2.65" />     <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/oxygen/assets/favicons/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/oxygen/assets/favicons/apple-touch-icon.png" /><link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/oxygen/assets/favicons/favicon-32x32.png" /><link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/oxygen/assets/favicons/favicon-16x16.png" /><link rel="manifest" href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/oxygen/assets/favicons/site.webmanifest" /><link rel="mask-icon" href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/oxygen/assets/favicons/safari-pinned-tab.svg" color="#5bbad5" /><meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#2d89ef" /><meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff" />   <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn-ukwest.onetrust.com/consent/38a172b7-f102-419f-a469-99bfedc55eec/OtAutoBlock.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn-ukwest.onetrust.com/scripttemplates/otSDKStub.js" type="text/javascript" charset="UTF-8" data-domain-script="38a172b7-f102-419f-a469-99bfedc55eec" ></script> <script type="text/javascript"> function OptanonWrapper() { } </script>  <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/jquery-1.11.3.min.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/modernizr-1.7.min.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/jquery-ui-1.11.3.min.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/jquery.ui.touch-punch.min.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/jquery.hint.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/jquery.validate.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/jquery.validate.unobtrusive.min.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/Common.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script>  <script type="text/plain" class="optanon-category-C0002">(function (w, d, s, l, i) { w[l] = w[l] || []; w[l].push({ 'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(), event: 'gtm.js' }); var f = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j = d.createElement(s), dl = l != 'dataLayer' ? '&l=' + l : ''; j.async = true; j.src = 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=' + i + dl; f.parentNode.insertBefore(j, f); })(window, document, 'script', 'dataLayer', 'GTM-WXN5FFH');</script>  </head> <body class="oxy-ui lc-ui">  <noscript> <iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-WXN5FFH" height="0" width="0" style="display: none; visibility: hidden"></iframe> </noscript>  <div id="appRelatedInfoDiv"> </div> <div id="bodydiv"> <div class="headercontainer"> <link href="//www.rsc-cdn.org/oxygen/core/webfonts/museo.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="//www.rsc-cdn.org/global/header-footer/css/rsc-header-footer-core.min.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/stylesheets/header.css?6.2.65" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/oxy-ui.min.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/lc.js?6.2.65"></script> <div class="oxy-ui lc-ui"> <div data-id="pnlAccSkipLinks" class="skipto-control"> <a href="#" class="skiptocontent skipto__link" tabindex="1"> <div class="viewport r-gutter"> Jump to main content <img src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/newimages/arrow-right-o-light.png?6.2.65" class="ver-m" alt="" width="24" /> </div> </a> </div> <div class="lc-header"> <div class="viewport"> <div class="lc-header__wrapper"> <div class="lc-header__cell lc-header__cell--menu"> <a href="#" class="lc-header__btn lc-header__btn--open" aria-label="Go to site menu"><img src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/newimages/menu-light-24.png?6.2.65" width="24" alt="" /></a> </div> <div class="lc-header__cell lc-header__cell--home"> <a href="/periodic-table/" class="lc-header__link lc-header__link--home" title="Periodic Table">Periodic Table</a> </div> <div class="lc-header__cell lc-header__cell--nav"> <nav class="lc-header__nav"> <ul> <li class="lc-header__nav-item"><a href="/periodic-table/" class="lc-header__link focus" target="_self">Home</a></li> <li class="lc-header__nav-item"><a href="/periodic-table/history" class="lc-header__link " target="_self">History</a></li> <li class="lc-header__nav-item"><a href="/periodic-table/alchemy" class="lc-header__link " target="_self">Alchemy</a></li> <li class="lc-header__nav-item"><a href="/periodic-table/podcast" class="lc-header__link " target="_self">Podcast</a></li> <li class="lc-header__nav-item"><a href="/periodic-table/video" class="lc-header__link " target="_self">Video</a></li> <li class="lc-header__nav-item"><a href="/periodic-table/trends" class="lc-header__link " target="_self">Trends</a></li> </ul> </nav> </div> <div class="lc-header__cell lc-header__cell--logo"><a href="https://www.rsc.org"><img src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/oxygen/assets/logo/rsc-logo-rev-230.png" height="40" alt="Royal Society of Chemistry logo"></a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="lc-nav-drawer"> <nav class="lc-nav-control"> <div class="lc-nav__header"> <a href="#" class="lc-header__btn lc-nav__close" tabindex="-1" aria-label="You are in the site menu. (Click to close)"><img src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/newimages/cross-light.png?6.2.65" width="24" alt=""></a> <a href="/periodic-table/" tabindex="-1" class="lc-header__link--home lc-nav__title" title="Periodic Table" aria-label="Periodic Table">Periodic Table</a> </div> <div class="lc-nav__body scrollbar--slim"> <div class="lc-nav__list autopad--h"> <div class="lc-nav__item"> <a href="/periodic-table/" class="lc-nav__link" target="_self" tabindex="-1">Home</a> </div> </div> <div class="lc-nav__list autopad--h"> <div class="lc-nav__item"> <a href="/periodic-table/history" class="lc-nav__link" target="_self" tabindex="-1">History</a> </div> </div> <div class="lc-nav__list autopad--h"> <div class="lc-nav__item"> <a href="/periodic-table/alchemy" class="lc-nav__link" target="_self" tabindex="-1">Alchemy</a> </div> </div> <div class="lc-nav__list autopad--h"> <div class="lc-nav__item"> <a href="/periodic-table/podcast" class="lc-nav__link" target="_self" tabindex="-1">Podcast</a> </div> </div> <div class="lc-nav__list autopad--h"> <div class="lc-nav__item"> <a href="/periodic-table/video" class="lc-nav__link" target="_self" tabindex="-1">Video</a> </div> </div> <div class="lc-nav__list autopad--h"> <div class="lc-nav__item"> <a href="/periodic-table/trends" class="lc-nav__link" target="_self" tabindex="-1">Trends</a> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="brand-header viewport"> <a class="rsc-logo-mobile" href="http://www.rsc.org" title="Royal Society of Chemistry - Advancing excellence in the chemical sciences"></a> <div class="site-logo"> <a href="https://www.rsc.org/iypt/iypt-elements/?utm_source=rsc-periodic-table-site&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=iypt-banner"> <img src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/periodic-table-web-banner.jpg?6.2.65" alt="Download our element infographics - Find out more" /> </a> </div> </div> <div class="viewport"> <div class="container">  <noscript> <div class="noscriptmsg"> <div class="info_img">   </div> <span style="padding-top: 4px; color: #000000;">You do not have JavaScript enabled. Please enable JavaScript to access the full features of the site.</span> </div> </noscript>  <div class="body" id="main_body"> <div id="loading" style="display: none;"> <img alt="loading" src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/loading.gif?6.2.65" /> <span style="padding-left: 5px;">Loading...</span></div> <div id="dialog" class="r_bg" title="Dialog Title" style="display: none"> <br /> <span id="dialog_text"></span> <br /> <br /> <input type="button" value="OK" id="alert_Go" style="width: 50px;" tabindex="49" /> </div> <div style="margin-top: 0;" class="container_inside p_container">  <div class="clear element_blank_sides" style="padding: 0 5px 3px 3px; display: none;" id="filter_container_section"> <div class="temp_filters_left"> <div class="temp_filters_right"> <div class="temp_filters"> <div class="filter_blk1"> <span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_left" id="MurryImages" style="margin-left: 10px!important"> <span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_right"><span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list"> <span class="filter_val filter_val_first filter_val_last VisualElementImage" title="Visual Elements images" id="MurryImage" onkeydown="MurryImageFocus(this,event);"> Visual Elements images</span> </span></span></span> <div class="temperature"> Temperature 0 K<a class="neg_pos neg" id="min_temp" tabindex="50"> </a></div> <div class="temperatureMainDiv"> <div class="slider" style="width: 135px; cursor: pointer;"> </div> <div class="tempLabel"> <a class="neg_pos pos" id="plus_temp" tabindex="51"> </a> <label id="lblTemperature" style="color: Black"> 6000 K</label> </div> </div> <div> <div class="filter_blk2_sec property_filter_blocks lbl_filter_vertical"> <h2 class="filter_h2"> Classification</h2> </div> <span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_left" id="Properties"><span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_right"> <span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list"><span class="filter_val filter_val_first classification" title="Metal" id="Metal" onkeydown="PropertyFocus(this,event,'2');"> Metal</span> <span class="filter_val filter_val_last classification" title="Non-metal" id="Nonmetal" onkeydown="PropertyFocus(this,event,'1');"> Non-metal</span> </span></span></span><span class="clear_filters" style="padding-left: 3px; _padding-left: 3px;"> <input type="button" class="btn_clrFilter" id="clear_filters" tabindex="54" value="Clear filters" title="Clear filters" /> </span> </div> </div> <div class="filter_blk2">  <div class="filter_blk2_sec filter_groups"> <h2 class="filter_h2"> Groups</h2> </div> <span id="groups" class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_left"><span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_right"> <span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list"> <span class="filter_val filter_val_first" description="Group 1 includes hydrogen and the alkali metals, which have one electron in their outermost s sub-shell. The alkali metals are soft, highly reactive metals, and their reactivity increases down the group. Hydrogen behaves very differently from elements in the lower periods and so scientists disagree over whether it should belong to group 1 or 17." title="Alkali Metals" tabindex="55" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 1 </span> <span class="filter_val " description="The group 2 elements are also called the ‘alkaline earth metals’. They are all reactive metals with distinctive flame colours. In general they are harder, denser and have higher melting points than each alkali metal in the same period. Group 2 elements have two electrons in their outermost s sub-shell." title="Alkali Earth Metals" tabindex="56" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 2 </span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 3 is a family of transition metal elements. They each have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>1</sup>s<sup>2</sup>. They are most often found in the +3 oxidation state. Scientists do not always agree whether lanthanum and actinium, or lutetium and lawrencium, should be included in this group." title="Scandium Family" tabindex="57" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 3 </span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 4 is a group of transition metal elements with high melting points. They typically have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>2</sup>s<sup>2</sup>." title="Titanium Family" tabindex="58" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 4 </span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 5 is a group of reactive transition metal elements with high melting points. They typically have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>3</sup>s<sup>2</sup>." title="Vanadium Family" tabindex="59" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 5 </span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 6 is a group of transition metal elements. The aufbau principle predicts that they will each have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>4</sup>s<sup>2</sup>. However, chromium and molybdenum are exceptions to this rule and have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>5</sup>s<sup>1</sup>." title="Chromium Family" tabindex="60" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 6 </span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 7 is a group of transition metal elements containing manganese, technetium, rhenium and bohrium. They typically have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>5</sup>s<sup>2</sup>.<br/><br/><i>Note: If you’re looking for the Halogens, click on group 17.</i>" title="Manganese Family" tabindex="61" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 7 </span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 8 is a group of shiny, silvery transition metals containing iron, ruthenium, osmium and hassium. They typically have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>6</sup>s<sup>2</sup>.<br/><br/><i>Note: If you’re looking for the Noble gases, click on group 18.</i>" title="Iron Family" tabindex="62" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 8 </span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 9 is a group of silvery-white transition metal elements with high melting points. The group contains cobalt, rhodium, iridium and meitnerium. They typically have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>7</sup>s<sup>2</sup>." title="Cobalt Family" tabindex="63" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 9 </span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 10 is a group of white to light grey transition metal elements. The group contains nickel, palladium, platinum and darmstadtium. The aufbau principle predicts that they will each have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>8</sup>s<sup>2</sup>, however, palladium, platinum and darmstadtium are all exceptions to this rule." title="Nickel Family" tabindex="64" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 10</span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 11 is a group of transition metals. The group includes copper, silver and gold, which are sometimes called the 'coinage metals'. They typically have a valence electron configuration of d<sup>10</sup>s<sup>1</sup>." title="Copper Family" tabindex="65" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 11</span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 12 is a group of metals. They each have a full d sub-shell. The elements in this group tend to have low melting points and mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature." title="Zinc Family" tabindex="66" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 12</span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 13 is the boron group. All the elements in this group are metals except for boron, which is a metalloid. Boron and aluminium each have three electrons in their outer electron shell." title="Boron Family" tabindex="67" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 13</span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 14 is the carbon group. It contains a combination of non-metals, metalloids and metals. Carbon and silicon each have four electrons in their outer electron shell." title="Carbon Family" tabindex="68" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 14</span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 15 is called the pnictogens or nitrogen group. It contains a combination of non-metals, metalloids and metals. Nitrogen and phosphorus each have five electrons in their outer electron shell." title="Pnictogens" tabindex="69" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 15</span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 16 is called the chalcogens, or oxygen family. It contains a combination of non-metals, metalloids and metals. Oxygen and sulfur have six electrons in their outer electron shell." title="Chalcogens" tabindex="70" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 16</span> <span class="filter_val " description="Group 17 is called the halogens. This is a group of highly reactive non-metals. This is the only group that contains elements in all three states of matter at room temperature and pressure. Fluorine and chlorine are gases, bromine is a liquid and iodine is a solid. Fluorine and chlorine have seven electrons in their outer electron shell." title="Halogens" tabindex="71" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 17</span> <span class="filter_val filter_val_last" description="The group 18 elements are commonly known as the noble gases. They are typically unreactive. At one time they were known as the inert gases, but some compounds (particularly of Xe) are now known. Reactivity increases down the group with radon being the most reactive. The noble gases each have a full outer electron shell." title="Noble Gases" tabindex="72" onkeydown="GroupFocus(this,event);"> 18</span> </span></span></span>   <div class="filter_blk2_sec filter_blocks"> <h2 class="filter_h2"> Blocks</h2> </div> <span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_left" id="blocks"><span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_right"> <span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list"> <span class="filter_val filter_val_first" title="" description="The <strong>s block</strong> includes the alkali metals and alkaline earth metals. These are soft and reactive metals. The s block also contains hydrogen and helium, which are non-metals and gases. The elements of the s block have their valence electrons in s orbitals. The s sub-shell can contain a maximum of two electrons. This explains why the block is two columns wide." tabindex="73" onkeydown="BlockFocus(this,event);"> s</span> <span class="filter_val " title="" description="The <strong>p block</strong> consists of elements with quite varied properties. It contains non-metals, metalloids and metals. Metalloids are elements with properties that are in between those of metals and non-metals. The p sub-shell can hold a maximum of six electrons, in three distinct orbitals." tabindex="74" onkeydown="BlockFocus(this,event);"> p</span> <span class="filter_val " title="" description="The <strong>d block</strong> is also commonly known as the 'transition metals'. It contains metals that are typically hard and dense, and good conductors of heat and electricity. They are less reactive than the s-block metals, and they often form coloured compounds. The d sub-shell can hold a maximum of ten electrons, in five distinct orbitals." tabindex="75" onkeydown="BlockFocus(this,event);"> d</span> <span class="filter_val filter_val_last" title="" description="The <strong>f block</strong> consists of the lanthanides and actinides. These are all soft metals and many are radioactive. Most of the lanthanides can be found naturally on Earth, but the actinides are typically made in nuclear reactors and not found in nature. The f sub-shell can contain up to 14 electrons, in seven distinct orbitals." tabindex="76" onkeydown="BlockFocus(this,event);"> f</span> </span></span></span>   <div id="dvPeriods" style="float: right"> <div class="filter_blk2_sec filter_periods"> <h2 class="filter_h2"> Periods</h2> </div> <span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_left" id="periods"><span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list_right"> <span class="filter_blk2_sec filter_list"> <span class="filter_val filter_val_first" title="" description="The first period contains two elements: hydrogen and helium. These are both colourless gases. They have electrons in the first electron shell only, in an s orbital. Helium is usually placed in group 18 with the noble gases. Hydrogen behaves very differently from elements in the lower periods and so scientists disagree over whether it should belong to group 1 or 17." tabindex="77" onkeydown="PeriodFocus(this,event);"> 1</span> <span class="filter_val " title="" description="The second period contains eight elements (six more elements than the first period). This is because across this period electrons fill the second electron shell, which has both s and p orbitals. Elements in this period typically follow the so-called ‘octet rule’. This means that these elements tend to form compounds in which each atom has eight electrons in its outer electron shell." tabindex="78" onkeydown="PeriodFocus(this,event);"> 2</span> <span class="filter_val " title="" description="The third period contains eight elements. This is because across this period electrons fill the third electron shell, which has both s and p orbitals. Elements in this period typically follow the so-called 'octet rule'. This means that these elements tend to form compounds in which each atom has eight electrons in its outer electron shell." tabindex="79" onkeydown="PeriodFocus(this,event);"> 3</span> <span class="filter_val " title="" description="The fourth period contains 18 elements. The elements in this period have valence electrons in the 4s, 3d and 4p orbitals. The 'octet rule', which applied to the second and third periods, does not apply here because of the introduction of the d sub-shell." tabindex="80" onkeydown="PeriodFocus(this,event);"> 4</span> <span class="filter_val " title="" description="The fifth period contains 18 elements. The elements in this period have valence electrons in the 5s, 4d and 5p orbitals." tabindex="81" onkeydown="PeriodFocus(this,event);"> 5</span> <span class="filter_val " title="" description="The sixth period contains 32 elements, and includes the lanthanides. The elements in this period have valence electrons in the 6s, 4f, 5d and 6p orbitals. This period contains lead, which is the heaviest stable element in the periodic table." tabindex="82" onkeydown="PeriodFocus(this,event);"> 6</span> <span class="filter_val " title="" description="The seventh period contains 32 elements, and includes the actinides. The elements in this period have valence electrons in the 7s, 5f, 6d and 7p orbitals. This period ends with oganesson which is the heaviest element for which discovery has been claimed." tabindex="83" onkeydown="PeriodFocus(this,event);"> 7</span> <span class="filter_val group_19" description="The lanthanides are often called the rare earth elements. They actually sit in the sixth period between barium and hafnium. They are usually shown as a separate row below the rest of the periodic table to make it easier to display the whole table. The lanthanides most commonly form cations with a +3 charge." title="Lanthanides" tabindex="95" onkeydown="PeriodFocus(this,event);"> Lanthanides</span> <span class="filter_val filter_val_last group_20" description="The actinides actually sit in the seventh period between radium and rutherfordium. They are usually shown as a separate row below the rest of the periodic table to make it easier to display the whole table. The actinides include plutonium, which is the heaviest naturally occurring element." title="Actinides" tabindex="96" onkeydown="PeriodFocus(this,event);"> Actinides</span> </span></span></span> </div>  </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="position: relative; padding-left: 7px;" id="lw_continer" class="clear container_inside"> <div id="temperaturePopup" class="tempPopup_bg group_element" style="display: none;"> <div class="tempPopup_blk"> <div class="top_blk"> <ul class="top_blk_ul"> <li class="solidimg"></li> <li class="text_title1">Solid</li> <li class="liquidimg"></li> <li class="text_title2">Liquid</li> <li class="gasimg"></li> <li class="text_title3">Gas</li> <li class="unkwnimg"></li> <li class="text_title4">Unknown</li> </ul> </div> <div class="btm_blk"> <div class="left_section"> <span class="deg_block"><span id="temperatureKelvin" class="measure_value">4000</span><span class="measure_unit">Kelvin</span></span> </div> <div class="right_section"> <span class="deg_block"><span id="temperatureCelsius" class="measure_value" style="margin-right: 0px;"> 4000</span><span class="measure_degrees">°</span><span class="measure_unit">Celsius</span></span> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="group_blocks group_element" id="group_pupup_panel" style="display: block; background: none;"> <div class="group_header_default" id="group_header"> Periodic Table </div> <div class="f1 mid_group_default" id="group_details"> The Royal Society of Chemistry's interactive periodic table features history, alchemy, podcasts, videos, and data trends across the periodic table. Click the tabs at the top to explore each section. Use the buttons above to change your view of the periodic table and view Murray Robertson’s stunning Visual Elements artwork. Click each element to read detailed information. </div> </div> <div class="group_blocks group_element_metal_nonmetal" id="property_group_pupup_panel" style="display: none; background: none;"> <div class="group_header_default" id="property_group_header">   </div> <div class="f1 mid_group_default"> <span id="property_group_details"> </span> <br /> <div class="top_metal_nonmetal_blk"> <ul> <li class="metalloidimg"></li> <li class="text_title_clr"> Metalloid</li> <li class="whiteimg"></li> <li class="text_title_clr"> Unknown</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="group_blocks element_info" id="popup_container" style="display: none;"> <div class="element_header" id="elementname"> </div> <div class="fl element_details"> <div class="fl element_hover_image"> <img id="murrayImgId" border="0" alt=" " style="height: 106px!important; width: 100px!important;" /> </div> <div class="fl element_hover_data"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" class="element_hover_table"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="tlbox_he tdfirst_he td_bottom_Border_Color td_lB_clr td_height"> Key isotopes </td> <td class="trbox_he tdfirst_he td_bottom_Border_Color td_height" id="keyisotopes">   </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tlbox_he tlbox_even_he td_bottom_Border_Color td_lB_clr td_height"> Electron configuration </td> <td class="trbox_he tlbox_even_he td_bottom_Border_Color td_height" id="electronconfiguration">   </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tlbox_he td_bottom_Border_Color td_lB_clr td_height"> Density (g cm<sup>−3</sup>) </td> <td class="trbox_he td_bottom_Border_Color td_height" id="density">   </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tlbox_he tdlast_he td_lB_clr td_height"> 1<sup>st</sup> ionisation energy </td> <td class="trbox_he tdlast_he td_height" id="ionisationenergy">   </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <div class="fl element_hover_details"> <div class="element_hover_details_2"> <img id="symbolImg" border="0" alt=" " style="display: none" /> <div id="symbol" class="element_symbol"> </div> <div id="ename" class="symbol_name"> </div> </div> <div class="element_hover_details_1" id="popup_atomicno"> </div> <div class="element_hover_details_3" id="popup_atomicmass"> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="element_risk_inner" id="element_risk_inner" style="display: none;"> Supply risk </div> <div class="element_risk" id="elementRiskIndicator" style="display: none;"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" class="risk_table"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <div class="risk_values risk_values1"> High supply risk</div> </td> <td> <div class="risk_values risk_values2"> Low supply risk</div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <div class="risk_values risk_values3"> Medium supply risk</div> </td> <td> <div class="risk_values risk_values4"> Unknown</div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <div class="group_murray element_info" id="murray_container" style="display: none;"> <div class="element_header" id="m_elementname"> </div> <div class="fl element_details_container"> <div class="fl element_details"> <div class="fl element_hover_image"> <img id="m_murrayImgId" border="0" alt=" " style="width: 100px; height: 105px;" /> </div> <div class="fl murray_imageexp"> <div id="m_imageexp"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clear element_row"> <div id="element_1" class="fl element e_1" title="Hydrogen"> <div id="element_name_1" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Hydrogen" href="/periodic-table/element/1/hydrogen" class="elementIn" tabindex="101"> H</a> </div> <div id="element_no_1" class="clear element_no"> 1 </div> </div> <div class="fl element_blank element_blank_sides">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div id="element_2" class="fl element e_11" title="Helium"> <div id="element_name_2" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Helium" href="/periodic-table/element/2/helium" class="elementIn" tabindex="102"> He</a> </div> <div id="element_no_2" class="clear element_no"> 2 </div> </div> </div> <div class="clear element_row"> <div id="element_3" class="fl element e_2" title="Lithium"> <div id="element_name_3" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Lithium" href="/periodic-table/element/3/lithium" class="elementIn" tabindex="103"> Li</a> </div> <div id="element_no_3" class="clear element_no"> 3 </div> </div> <div id="element_4" class="fl element e_3" title="Beryllium"> <div id="element_name_4" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Beryllium" href="/periodic-table/element/4/beryllium" class="elementIn" tabindex="104"> Be</a> </div> <div id="element_no_4" class="clear element_no"> 4 </div> </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div id="element_5" class="fl element e_7" title="Boron"> <div id="element_name_5" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Boron" href="/periodic-table/element/5/boron" class="elementIn" tabindex="105"> B</a> </div> <div id="element_no_5" class="clear element_no"> 5 </div> </div> <div id="element_6" class="fl element e_8" title="Carbon"> <div id="element_name_6" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Carbon" href="/periodic-table/element/6/carbon" class="elementIn" tabindex="106"> C</a> </div> <div id="element_no_6" class="clear element_no"> 6 </div> </div> <div id="element_7" class="fl element e_12" title="Nitrogen"> <div id="element_name_7" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Nitrogen" href="/periodic-table/element/7/nitrogen" class="elementIn" tabindex="107"> N</a> </div> <div id="element_no_7" class="clear element_no"> 7 </div> </div> <div id="element_8" class="fl element e_10" title="Oxygen"> <div id="element_name_8" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Oxygen" href="/periodic-table/element/8/oxygen" class="elementIn" tabindex="108"> O</a> </div> <div id="element_no_8" class="clear element_no"> 8 </div> </div> <div id="element_9" class="fl element e_9" title="Fluorine"> <div id="element_name_9" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Fluorine" href="/periodic-table/element/9/fluorine" class="elementIn" tabindex="109"> F</a> </div> <div id="element_no_9" class="clear element_no"> 9 </div> </div> <div id="element_10" class="fl element e_11" title="Neon"> <div id="element_name_10" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Neon" href="/periodic-table/element/10/neon" class="elementIn" tabindex="110"> Ne</a> </div> <div id="element_no_10" class="clear element_no"> 10 </div> </div> </div> <div class="clear element_row"> <div id="element_11" class="fl element e_2 " title="Sodium"> <div id="element_name_11" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Sodium" href="/periodic-table/element/11/sodium" class="elementIn" tabindex="111"> Na</a> </div> <div id="element_no_11" class="clear element_no"> 11 </div> </div> <div id="element_12" class="fl element e_3" title="Magnesium"> <div id="element_name_12" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Magnesium" href="/periodic-table/element/12/magnesium" class="elementIn" tabindex="112"> Mg</a> </div> <div id="element_no_12" class="clear element_no"> 12 </div> </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank">  </div> <div id="element_13" class="fl element e_7" title="Aluminium"> <div id="element_name_13" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Aluminium" href="/periodic-table/element/13/aluminium" class="elementIn" tabindex="113"> Al</a> </div> <div id="element_no_13" class="clear element_no"> 13 </div> </div> <div id="element_14" class="fl element e_8" title="Silicon"> <div id="element_name_14" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Silicon" href="/periodic-table/element/14/silicon" class="elementIn" tabindex="114"> Si</a> </div> <div id="element_no_14" class="clear element_no"> 14 </div> </div> <div id="element_15" class="fl element e_12" title="Phosphorus"> <div id="element_name_15" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Phosphorus" href="/periodic-table/element/15/phosphorus" class="elementIn" tabindex="115"> P</a> </div> <div id="element_no_15" class="clear element_no"> 15 </div> </div> <div id="element_16" class="fl element e_10" title="Sulfur"> <div id="element_name_16" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Sulfur" href="/periodic-table/element/16/sulfur" class="elementIn" tabindex="116"> S</a> </div> <div id="element_no_16" class="clear element_no"> 16 </div> </div> <div id="element_17" class="fl element e_9" title="Chlorine"> <div id="element_name_17" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Chlorine" href="/periodic-table/element/17/chlorine" class="elementIn" tabindex="117"> Cl</a> </div> <div id="element_no_17" class="clear element_no"> 17 </div> </div> <div id="element_18" class="fl element e_11" title="Argon"> <div id="element_name_18" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Argon" href="/periodic-table/element/18/argon" class="elementIn" tabindex="118"> Ar</a> </div> <div id="element_no_18" class="clear element_no"> 18 </div> </div> </div> <div class="clear element_row"> <div id="element_19" class="fl element e_2" title="Potassium"> <div id="element_name_19" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Potassium" href="/periodic-table/element/19/potassium" class="elementIn" tabindex="119"> K</a> </div> <div id="element_no_19" class="clear element_no"> 19 </div> </div> <div id="element_20" class="fl element e_3" title="Calcium"> <div id="element_name_20" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Calcium" href="/periodic-table/element/20/calcium" class="elementIn" tabindex="120"> Ca</a> </div> <div id="element_no_20" class="clear element_no"> 20 </div> </div> <div id="element_21" class="fl element e_4" title="Scandium"> <div id="element_name_21" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Scandium" href="/periodic-table/element/21/scandium" class="elementIn" tabindex="121"> Sc</a> </div> <div id="element_no_21" class="clear element_no"> 21 </div> </div> <div id="element_22" class="fl element e_4" title="Titanium"> <div id="element_name_22" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Titanium" href="/periodic-table/element/22/titanium" class="elementIn" tabindex="122"> Ti</a> </div> <div id="element_no_22" class="clear element_no"> 22 </div> </div> <div id="element_23" class="fl element e_4" title="Vanadium"> <div id="element_name_23" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Vanadium" href="/periodic-table/element/23/vanadium" class="elementIn" tabindex="123"> V</a> </div> <div id="element_no_23" class="clear element_no"> 23 </div> </div> <div id="element_24" class="fl element e_4" title="Chromium"> <div id="element_name_24" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Chromium" href="/periodic-table/element/24/chromium" class="elementIn" tabindex="124"> Cr</a> </div> <div id="element_no_24" class="clear element_no"> 24 </div> </div> <div id="element_25" class="fl element e_4" title="Manganese"> <div id="element_name_25" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Manganese" href="/periodic-table/element/25/manganese" class="elementIn" tabindex="125"> Mn</a> </div> <div id="element_no_25" class="clear element_no"> 25 </div> </div> <div id="element_26" class="fl element e_4" title="Iron"> <div id="element_name_26" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Iron" href="/periodic-table/element/26/iron" class="elementIn" tabindex="126"> Fe</a> </div> <div id="element_no_26" class="clear element_no"> 26 </div> </div> <div id="element_27" class="fl element e_4" title="Cobalt"> <div id="element_name_27" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Cobalt" href="/periodic-table/element/27/cobalt" class="elementIn" tabindex="127"> Co</a> </div> <div id="element_no_27" class="clear element_no"> 27 </div> </div> <div id="element_28" class="fl element e_4" title="Nickel"> <div id="element_name_28" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Nickel" href="/periodic-table/element/28/nickel" class="elementIn" tabindex="128"> Ni</a> </div> <div id="element_no_28" class="clear element_no"> 28 </div> </div> <div id="element_29" class="fl element e_4" title="Copper"> <div id="element_name_29" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Copper" href="/periodic-table/element/29/copper" class="elementIn" tabindex="129"> Cu</a> </div> <div id="element_no_29" class="clear element_no"> 29 </div> </div> <div id="element_30" class="fl element e_4" title="Zinc"> <div id="element_name_30" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Zinc" href="/periodic-table/element/30/zinc" class="elementIn" tabindex="130"> Zn</a> </div> <div id="element_no_30" class="clear element_no"> 30 </div> </div> <div id="element_31" class="fl element e_7" title="Gallium"> <div id="element_name_31" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Gallium" href="/periodic-table/element/31/gallium" class="elementIn" tabindex="131"> Ga</a> </div> <div id="element_no_31" class="clear element_no"> 31 </div> </div> <div id="element_32" class="fl element e_8" title="Germanium"> <div id="element_name_32" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Germanium" href="/periodic-table/element/32/germanium" class="elementIn" tabindex="132"> Ge</a> </div> <div id="element_no_32" class="clear element_no"> 32 </div> </div> <div id="element_33" class="fl element e_12" title="Arsenic"> <div id="element_name_33" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Arsenic" href="/periodic-table/element/33/arsenic" class="elementIn" tabindex="133"> As</a> </div> <div id="element_no_33" class="clear element_no"> 33 </div> </div> <div id="element_34" class="fl element e_10" title="Selenium"> <div id="element_name_34" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Selenium" href="/periodic-table/element/34/selenium" class="elementIn" tabindex="134"> Se</a> </div> <div id="element_no_34" class="clear element_no"> 34 </div> </div> <div id="element_35" class="fl element e_9" title="Bromine"> <div id="element_name_35" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Bromine" href="/periodic-table/element/35/bromine" class="elementIn" tabindex="135"> Br</a> </div> <div id="element_no_35" class="clear element_no"> 35 </div> </div> <div id="element_36" class="fl element e_11" title="Krypton"> <div id="element_name_36" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Krypton" href="/periodic-table/element/36/krypton" class="elementIn" tabindex="136"> Kr</a> </div> <div id="element_no_36" class="clear element_no"> 36 </div> </div> </div> <div class="clear element_row"> <div id="element_37" class="fl element e_2" title="Rubidium"> <div id="element_name_37" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Rubidium" href="/periodic-table/element/37/rubidium" class="elementIn" tabindex="137"> Rb</a> </div> <div id="element_no_37" class="clear element_no"> 37 </div> </div> <div id="element_38" class="fl element e_3" title="Strontium"> <div id="element_name_38" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Strontium" href="/periodic-table/element/38/strontium" class="elementIn" tabindex="138"> Sr</a> </div> <div id="element_no_38" class="clear element_no"> 38 </div> </div> <div id="element_39" class="fl element e_4" title="Yttrium"> <div id="element_name_39" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Yttrium" href="/periodic-table/element/39/yttrium" class="elementIn" tabindex="139"> Y</a> </div> <div id="element_no_39" class="clear element_no"> 39 </div> </div> <div id="element_40" class="fl element e_4" title="Zirconium"> <div id="element_name_40" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Zirconium" href="/periodic-table/element/40/zirconium" class="elementIn" tabindex="140"> Zr</a> </div> <div id="element_no_40" class="clear element_no"> 40 </div> </div> <div id="element_41" class="fl element e_4" title="Niobium"> <div id="element_name_41" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Niobium" href="/periodic-table/element/41/niobium" class="elementIn" tabindex="141"> Nb</a> </div> <div id="element_no_41" class="clear element_no"> 41 </div> </div> <div id="element_42" class="fl element e_4" title="Molybdenum"> <div id="element_name_42" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Molybdenum" href="/periodic-table/element/42/molybdenum" class="elementIn" tabindex="142"> Mo</a> </div> <div id="element_no_42" class="clear element_no"> 42 </div> </div> <div id="element_43" class="fl element e_4" title="Technetium"> <div id="element_name_43" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Technetium" href="/periodic-table/element/43/technetium" class="elementIn" tabindex="143"> Tc</a> </div> <div id="element_no_43" class="clear element_no"> 43 </div> </div> <div id="element_44" class="fl element e_4" title="Ruthenium"> <div id="element_name_44" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Ruthenium" href="/periodic-table/element/44/ruthenium" class="elementIn" tabindex="144"> Ru</a> </div> <div id="element_no_44" class="clear element_no"> 44 </div> </div> <div id="element_45" class="fl element e_4" title="Rhodium"> <div id="element_name_45" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Rhodium" href="/periodic-table/element/45/rhodium" class="elementIn" tabindex="145"> Rh</a> </div> <div id="element_no_45" class="clear element_no"> 45 </div> </div> <div id="element_46" class="fl element e_4" title="Palladium"> <div id="element_name_46" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Palladium" href="/periodic-table/element/46/palladium" class="elementIn" tabindex="146"> Pd</a> </div> <div id="element_no_46" class="clear element_no"> 46 </div> </div> <div id="element_47" class="fl element e_4" title="Silver"> <div id="element_name_47" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Silver" href="/periodic-table/element/47/silver" class="elementIn" tabindex="147"> Ag</a> </div> <div id="element_no_47" class="clear element_no"> 47 </div> </div> <div id="element_48" class="fl element e_4" title="Cadmium"> <div id="element_name_48" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Cadmium" href="/periodic-table/element/48/cadmium" class="elementIn" tabindex="148"> Cd</a> </div> <div id="element_no_48" class="clear element_no"> 48 </div> </div> <div id="element_49" class="fl element e_7" title="Indium"> <div id="element_name_49" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Indium" href="/periodic-table/element/49/indium" class="elementIn" tabindex="149"> In</a> </div> <div id="element_no_49" class="clear element_no"> 49 </div> </div> <div id="element_50" class="fl element e_8" title="Tin"> <div id="element_name_50" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Tin" href="/periodic-table/element/50/tin" class="elementIn" tabindex="150"> Sn</a> </div> <div id="element_no_50" class="clear element_no"> 50 </div> </div> <div id="element_51" class="fl element e_12" title="Antimony"> <div id="element_name_51" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Antimony" href="/periodic-table/element/51/antimony" class="elementIn" tabindex="151"> Sb</a> </div> <div id="element_no_51" class="clear element_no"> 51 </div> </div> <div id="element_52" class="fl element e_10" title="Tellurium"> <div id="element_name_52" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Tellurium" href="/periodic-table/element/52/tellurium" class="elementIn" tabindex="152"> Te</a> </div> <div id="element_no_52" class="clear element_no"> 52 </div> </div> <div id="element_53" class="fl element e_9" title="Iodine"> <div id="element_name_53" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Iodine" href="/periodic-table/element/53/iodine" class="elementIn" tabindex="153"> I</a> </div> <div id="element_no_53" class="clear element_no"> 53 </div> </div> <div id="element_54" class="fl element e_11" title="Xenon"> <div id="element_name_54" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Xenon" href="/periodic-table/element/54/xenon" class="elementIn" tabindex="154"> Xe</a> </div> <div id="element_no_54" class="clear element_no"> 54 </div> </div> </div> <div class="clear element_row"> <div id="element_55" class="fl element e_2" title="Caesium"> <div id="element_name_55" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Caesium" href="/periodic-table/element/55/caesium" class="elementIn" tabindex="155"> Cs</a> </div> <div id="element_no_55" class="clear element_no"> 55 </div> </div> <div id="element_56" class="fl element e_3" title="Barium"> <div id="element_name_56" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Barium" href="/periodic-table/element/56/barium" class="elementIn" tabindex="156"> Ba</a> </div> <div id="element_no_56" class="clear element_no"> 56 </div> </div> <div id="element_57" class="fl element e_5" title="Lanthanum"> <div id="element_name_57" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Lanthanum" href="/periodic-table/element/57/lanthanum" class="elementIn" tabindex="157"> La</a> </div> <div id="element_no_57" class="clear element_no"> 57 </div> </div> <div id="element_72" class="fl element e_4" title="Hafnium"> <div id="element_name_72" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Hafnium" href="/periodic-table/element/72/hafnium" class="elementIn" tabindex="172"> Hf</a> </div> <div id="element_no_72" class="clear element_no"> 72 </div> </div> <div id="element_73" class="fl element e_4" title="Tantalum"> <div id="element_name_73" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Tantalum" href="/periodic-table/element/73/tantalum" class="elementIn" tabindex="173"> Ta</a> </div> <div id="element_no_73" class="clear element_no"> 73 </div> </div> <div id="element_74" class="fl element e_4" title="Tungsten"> <div id="element_name_74" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Tungsten" href="/periodic-table/element/74/tungsten" class="elementIn" tabindex="174"> W</a> </div> <div id="element_no_74" class="clear element_no"> 74 </div> </div> <div id="element_75" class="fl element e_4" title="Rhenium"> <div id="element_name_75" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Rhenium" href="/periodic-table/element/75/rhenium" class="elementIn" tabindex="175"> Re</a> </div> <div id="element_no_75" class="clear element_no"> 75 </div> </div> <div id="element_76" class="fl element e_4" title="Osmium"> <div id="element_name_76" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Osmium" href="/periodic-table/element/76/osmium" class="elementIn" tabindex="176"> Os</a> </div> <div id="element_no_76" class="clear element_no"> 76 </div> </div> <div id="element_77" class="fl element e_4" title="Iridium"> <div id="element_name_77" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Iridium" href="/periodic-table/element/77/iridium" class="elementIn" tabindex="177"> Ir</a> </div> <div id="element_no_77" class="clear element_no"> 77 </div> </div> <div id="element_78" class="fl element e_4" title="Platinum"> <div id="element_name_78" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Platinum" href="/periodic-table/element/78/platinum" class="elementIn" tabindex="178"> Pt</a> </div> <div id="element_no_78" class="clear element_no"> 78 </div> </div> <div id="element_79" class="fl element e_4" title="Gold"> <div id="element_name_79" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Gold" href="/periodic-table/element/79/gold" class="elementIn" tabindex="179"> Au</a> </div> <div id="element_no_79" class="clear element_no"> 79 </div> </div> <div id="element_80" class="fl element e_4" title="Mercury"> <div id="element_name_80" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Mercury" href="/periodic-table/element/80/mercury" class="elementIn" tabindex="180"> Hg</a> </div> <div id="element_no_80" class="clear element_no"> 80 </div> </div> <div id="element_81" class="fl element e_7" title="Thallium"> <div id="element_name_81" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Thallium" href="/periodic-table/element/81/thallium" class="elementIn" tabindex="181"> Tl</a> </div> <div id="element_no_81" class="clear element_no"> 81 </div> </div> <div id="element_82" class="fl element e_8" title="Lead"> <div id="element_name_82" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Lead" href="/periodic-table/element/82/lead" class="elementIn" tabindex="182"> Pb</a> </div> <div id="element_no_82" class="clear element_no"> 82 </div> </div> <div id="element_83" class="fl element e_12" title="Bismuth"> <div id="element_name_83" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Bismuth" href="/periodic-table/element/83/bismuth" class="elementIn" tabindex="183"> Bi</a> </div> <div id="element_no_83" class="clear element_no"> 83 </div> </div> <div id="element_84" class="fl element e_10" title="Polonium"> <div id="element_name_84" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Polonium" href="/periodic-table/element/84/polonium" class="elementIn" tabindex="184"> Po</a> </div> <div id="element_no_84" class="clear element_no"> 84 </div> </div> <div id="element_85" class="fl element e_9" title="Astatine"> <div id="element_name_85" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Astatine" href="/periodic-table/element/85/astatine" class="elementIn" tabindex="185"> At</a> </div> <div id="element_no_85" class="clear element_no"> 85 </div> </div> <div id="element_86" class="fl element e_11" title="Radon"> <div id="element_name_86" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Radon" href="/periodic-table/element/86/radon" class="elementIn" tabindex="186"> Rn</a> </div> <div id="element_no_86" class="clear element_no"> 86 </div> </div> </div> <div class="clear element_row"> <div id="element_87" class="fl element e_2" title="Francium"> <div id="element_name_87" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Francium" href="/periodic-table/element/87/francium" class="elementIn" tabindex="187"> Fr</a> </div> <div id="element_no_87" class="clear element_no"> 87 </div> </div> <div id="element_88" class="fl element e_3" title="Radium"> <div id="element_name_88" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Radium" href="/periodic-table/element/88/radium" class="elementIn" tabindex="188"> Ra</a> </div> <div id="element_no_88" class="clear element_no"> 88 </div> </div> <div id="element_89" class="fl element e_6" title="Actinium"> <div id="element_name_89" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Actinium" href="/periodic-table/element/89/actinium" class="elementIn" tabindex="189"> Ac</a> </div> <div id="element_no_89" class="clear element_no"> 89 </div> </div> <div id="element_104" class="fl element e_4" title="Rutherfordium"> <div id="element_name_104" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Rutherfordium" href="/periodic-table/element/104/rutherfordium" class="elementIn" tabindex="204"> Rf</a> </div> <div id="element_no_104" class="clear element_no"> 104 </div> </div> <div id="element_105" class="fl element e_4" title="Dubnium"> <div id="element_name_105" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Dubnium" href="/periodic-table/element/105/dubnium" class="elementIn" tabindex="205"> Db</a> </div> <div id="element_no_105" class="clear element_no"> 105 </div> </div> <div id="element_106" class="fl element e_4" title="Seaborgium"> <div id="element_name_106" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Seaborgium" href="/periodic-table/element/106/seaborgium" class="elementIn" tabindex="206"> Sg</a> </div> <div id="element_no_106" class="clear element_no"> 106 </div> </div> <div id="element_107" class="fl element e_4" title="Bohrium"> <div id="element_name_107" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Bohrium" href="/periodic-table/element/107/bohrium" class="elementIn" tabindex="207"> Bh</a> </div> <div id="element_no_107" class="clear element_no"> 107 </div> </div> <div id="element_108" class="fl element e_4" title="Hassium"> <div id="element_name_108" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Hassium" href="/periodic-table/element/108/hassium" class="elementIn" tabindex="208"> Hs</a> </div> <div id="element_no_108" class="clear element_no"> 108 </div> </div> <div id="element_109" class="fl element e_4" title="Meitnerium"> <div id="element_name_109" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Meitnerium" href="/periodic-table/element/109/meitnerium" class="elementIn" tabindex="209"> Mt</a> </div> <div id="element_no_109" class="clear element_no"> 109 </div> </div> <div id="element_110" class="fl element e_4" title="Darmstadtium"> <div id="element_name_110" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Darmstadtium" href="/periodic-table/element/110/darmstadtium" class="elementIn" tabindex="210"> Ds</a> </div> <div id="element_no_110" class="clear element_no"> 110 </div> </div> <div id="element_111" class="fl element e_4" title="Roentgenium"> <div id="element_name_111" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Roentgenium" href="/periodic-table/element/111/roentgenium" class="elementIn" tabindex="211"> Rg</a> </div> <div id="element_no_111" class="clear element_no"> 111 </div> </div> <div id="element_112" class="fl element e_4" title="Copernicium"> <div id="element_name_112" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Copernicium" href="/periodic-table/element/112/copernicium" class="elementIn" tabindex="212"> Cn</a> </div> <div id="element_no_112" class="clear element_no"> 112 </div> </div> <div id="element_113" class="fl element e_7" title="Nihonium"> <div id="element_name_113" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Nihonium" href="/periodic-table/element/113/nihonium" class="elementIn" tabindex="213"> Nh</a> </div> <div id="element_no_113" class="clear element_no"> 113 </div> </div> <div id="element_114" class="fl element e_8" title="Flerovium"> <div id="element_name_114" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Flerovium" href="/periodic-table/element/114/flerovium" class="elementIn" tabindex="214"> Fl</a> </div> <div id="element_no_114" class="clear element_no"> 114 </div> </div> <div id="element_115" class="fl element e_12" title="Moscovium"> <div id="element_name_115" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Moscovium" href="/periodic-table/element/115/moscovium" class="elementIn" tabindex="215"> Mc</a> </div> <div id="element_no_115" class="clear element_no"> 115 </div> </div> <div id="element_116" class="fl element e_10" title="Livermorium"> <div id="element_name_116" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Livermorium" href="/periodic-table/element/116/livermorium" class="elementIn" tabindex="216"> Lv</a> </div> <div id="element_no_116" class="clear element_no"> 116 </div> </div> <div id="element_117" class="fl element e_9" title="Tennessine"> <div id="element_name_117" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Tennessine" href="/periodic-table/element/117/tennessine" class="elementIn" tabindex="217"> Ts</a> </div> <div id="element_no_117" class="clear element_no"> 117 </div> </div> <div id="element_118" class="fl element e_11" title="Oganesson"> <div id="element_name_118" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Oganesson" href="/periodic-table/element/118/oganesson" class="elementIn" tabindex="218"> Og</a> </div> <div id="element_no_118" class="clear element_no"> 118 </div> </div> </div> <div class="blank_row"> </div> <div class="clear element_row" id="lanthanides"> <div class="fl element_blank element_blank_sides">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank element_blank_sides">  </div> <div id="element_58" class="fl element e_5" title="Cerium"> <div id="element_name_58" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Cerium" href="/periodic-table/element/58/cerium" class="elementIn" tabindex="158"> Ce</a> </div> <div id="element_no_58" class="clear element_no"> 58 </div> </div> <div id="element_59" class="fl element e_5" title="Praseodymium"> <div id="element_name_59" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Praseodymium" href="/periodic-table/element/59/praseodymium" class="elementIn" tabindex="159"> Pr</a> </div> <div id="element_no_59" class="clear element_no"> 59 </div> </div> <div id="element_60" class="fl element e_5" title="Neodymium"> <div id="element_name_60" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Neodymium" href="/periodic-table/element/60/neodymium" class="elementIn" tabindex="160"> Nd</a> </div> <div id="element_no_60" class="clear element_no"> 60 </div> </div> <div id="element_61" class="fl element e_5" title="Promethium"> <div id="element_name_61" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Promethium" href="/periodic-table/element/61/promethium" class="elementIn" tabindex="161"> Pm</a> </div> <div id="element_no_61" class="clear element_no"> 61 </div> </div> <div id="element_62" class="fl element e_5" title="Samarium"> <div id="element_name_62" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Samarium" href="/periodic-table/element/62/samarium" class="elementIn" tabindex="162"> Sm</a> </div> <div id="element_no_62" class="clear element_no"> 62 </div> </div> <div id="element_63" class="fl element e_5" title="Europium"> <div id="element_name_63" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Europium" href="/periodic-table/element/63/europium" class="elementIn" tabindex="163"> Eu</a> </div> <div id="element_no_63" class="clear element_no"> 63 </div> </div> <div id="element_64" class="fl element e_5" title="Gadolinium"> <div id="element_name_64" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Gadolinium" href="/periodic-table/element/64/gadolinium" class="elementIn" tabindex="164"> Gd</a> </div> <div id="element_no_64" class="clear element_no"> 64 </div> </div> <div id="element_65" class="fl element e_5" title="Terbium"> <div id="element_name_65" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Terbium" href="/periodic-table/element/65/terbium" class="elementIn" tabindex="165"> Tb</a> </div> <div id="element_no_65" class="clear element_no"> 65 </div> </div> <div id="element_66" class="fl element e_5" title="Dysprosium"> <div id="element_name_66" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Dysprosium" href="/periodic-table/element/66/dysprosium" class="elementIn" tabindex="166"> Dy</a> </div> <div id="element_no_66" class="clear element_no"> 66 </div> </div> <div id="element_67" class="fl element e_5" title="Holmium"> <div id="element_name_67" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Holmium" href="/periodic-table/element/67/holmium" class="elementIn" tabindex="167"> Ho</a> </div> <div id="element_no_67" class="clear element_no"> 67 </div> </div> <div id="element_68" class="fl element e_5" title="Erbium"> <div id="element_name_68" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Erbium" href="/periodic-table/element/68/erbium" class="elementIn" tabindex="168"> Er</a> </div> <div id="element_no_68" class="clear element_no"> 68 </div> </div> <div id="element_69" class="fl element e_5" title="Thulium"> <div id="element_name_69" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Thulium" href="/periodic-table/element/69/thulium" class="elementIn" tabindex="169"> Tm</a> </div> <div id="element_no_69" class="clear element_no"> 69 </div> </div> <div id="element_70" class="fl element e_5" title="Ytterbium"> <div id="element_name_70" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Ytterbium" href="/periodic-table/element/70/ytterbium" class="elementIn" tabindex="170"> Yb</a> </div> <div id="element_no_70" class="clear element_no"> 70 </div> </div> <div id="element_71" class="fl element e_5" title="Lutetium"> <div id="element_name_71" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Lutetium" href="/periodic-table/element/71/lutetium" class="elementIn" tabindex="171"> Lu</a> </div> <div id="element_no_71" class="clear element_no"> 71 </div> </div> <div class="fl element_blank element_blank_sides">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank element_blank_sides">  </div> </div> <div class="clear element_row" id="actinides"> <div class="fl element_blank element_blank_sides">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank element_blank_sides">  </div> <div id="element_90" class="fl element e_6" title="Thorium"> <div id="element_name_90" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Thorium" href="/periodic-table/element/90/thorium" class="elementIn" tabindex="190"> Th</a> </div> <div id="element_no_90" class="clear element_no"> 90 </div> </div> <div id="element_91" class="fl element e_6" title="Protactinium"> <div id="element_name_91" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Protactinium" href="/periodic-table/element/91/protactinium" class="elementIn" tabindex="191"> Pa</a> </div> <div id="element_no_91" class="clear element_no"> 91 </div> </div> <div id="element_92" class="fl element e_6" title="Uranium"> <div id="element_name_92" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Uranium" href="/periodic-table/element/92/uranium" class="elementIn" tabindex="192"> U</a> </div> <div id="element_no_92" class="clear element_no"> 92 </div> </div> <div id="element_93" class="fl element e_6" title="Neptunium"> <div id="element_name_93" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Neptunium" href="/periodic-table/element/93/neptunium" class="elementIn" tabindex="193"> Np</a> </div> <div id="element_no_93" class="clear element_no"> 93 </div> </div> <div id="element_94" class="fl element e_6" title="Plutonium"> <div id="element_name_94" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Plutonium" href="/periodic-table/element/94/plutonium" class="elementIn" tabindex="194"> Pu</a> </div> <div id="element_no_94" class="clear element_no"> 94 </div> </div> <div id="element_95" class="fl element e_6" title="Americium"> <div id="element_name_95" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Americium" href="/periodic-table/element/95/americium" class="elementIn" tabindex="195"> Am</a> </div> <div id="element_no_95" class="clear element_no"> 95 </div> </div> <div id="element_96" class="fl element e_6" title="Curium"> <div id="element_name_96" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Curium" href="/periodic-table/element/96/curium" class="elementIn" tabindex="196"> Cm</a> </div> <div id="element_no_96" class="clear element_no"> 96 </div> </div> <div id="element_97" class="fl element e_6" title="Berkelium"> <div id="element_name_97" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Berkelium" href="/periodic-table/element/97/berkelium" class="elementIn" tabindex="197"> Bk</a> </div> <div id="element_no_97" class="clear element_no"> 97 </div> </div> <div id="element_98" class="fl element e_6" title="Californium"> <div id="element_name_98" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Californium" href="/periodic-table/element/98/californium" class="elementIn" tabindex="198"> Cf</a> </div> <div id="element_no_98" class="clear element_no"> 98 </div> </div> <div id="element_99" class="fl element e_6" title="Einsteinium"> <div id="element_name_99" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Einsteinium" href="/periodic-table/element/99/einsteinium" class="elementIn" tabindex="199"> Es</a> </div> <div id="element_no_99" class="clear element_no"> 99 </div> </div> <div id="element_100" class="fl element e_6" title="Fermium"> <div id="element_name_100" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Fermium" href="/periodic-table/element/100/fermium" class="elementIn" tabindex="200"> Fm</a> </div> <div id="element_no_100" class="clear element_no"> 100 </div> </div> <div id="element_101" class="fl element e_6" title="Mendelevium"> <div id="element_name_101" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Mendelevium" href="/periodic-table/element/101/mendelevium" class="elementIn" tabindex="201"> Md</a> </div> <div id="element_no_101" class="clear element_no"> 101 </div> </div> <div id="element_102" class="fl element e_6" title="Nobelium"> <div id="element_name_102" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Nobelium" href="/periodic-table/element/102/nobelium" class="elementIn" tabindex="202"> No</a> </div> <div id="element_no_102" class="clear element_no"> 102 </div> </div> <div id="element_103" class="fl element e_6" title="Lawrencium"> <div id="element_name_103" class="clear element_name"> <a title="Lawrencium" href="/periodic-table/element/103/lawrencium" class="elementIn" tabindex="203"> Lr</a> </div> <div id="element_no_103" class="clear element_no"> 103 </div> </div> <div class="fl element_blank element_blank_sides">  </div> <div class="fl element_blank element_blank_sides">  </div> </div> </div>  </div> </div> <div class="container_inside">  <div class="b_container"> <input id="ShowPopupCard" type="hidden" /> </div> </div> <div style="display: block; clear: both"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="spacer"> </div> <div class="clear"> <div class="rsc-footer-wrapper"> <div class="rsc-breadcrumb-wrapper"> <div class="viewport"> <ul class="breadcrumbs"> <li><a href="/">rsc.org</a></li> <li><img src="//www.rsc-cdn.org/global/header-footer/images/icons/chevron-right-light.png" width="8" height="8" alt=""></li> <li class="active"><a href="/periodic-table/" class="selected">Periodic Table</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="viewport"> <div class="footer"> <div class="logo2019-wrapper"> <img src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/oxygen/assets/logo/rsc-logo-rev-180x120.png" width="180" height="120" alt=""> </div> <div class="link-list-wrapper"> <div class="column explore"> <span class="heading">Explore</span> <ul class="link-list"> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/">Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/about-us/">About us</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/">Membership & professional community</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/campaigning-outreach/">Campaigning & outreach</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/journals-books-databases/">Journals, books & databases</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/teaching-and-learning/">Teaching & learning</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/news-events/">News & events</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/locations-contacts/">Locations & contacts</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/careers/">Careers</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/awards-funding/">Awards & funding</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/advertise/">Advertise</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/help-legal/">Help & legal</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="column popular"> <span class="heading">Membership</span> <ul class="link-list"> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/join/">Become a member</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/connect-with-others/">Connect with others</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/supporting-individuals/">Supporting individuals</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/supporting-organisations/">Supporting organisations</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/join/manage-membership/">Manage my membership</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="baseline xviewport"> <div class="copyright"> © Royal Society of Chemistry 2024<br>Registered charity number: 207890 </div> <div class="social-icons-wrapper"> <dt class="social-icons"> <dl><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RoyalSocietyofChemistry" class="facebook"><span>Facebook</span><img alt="facebook" src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/global/header-footer/images/icons/facebook.png" height="32" width="32"></a></dl> <dl><a href="https://twitter.com/RoySocChem" class="twitter"><span>Twitter</span><img alt="twitter" src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/global/header-footer/images/icons/twitter.png" height="32" width="32"></a></dl> <dl><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/23105" class="linkedin"><span>LinkedIn</span><img alt="linkedin" src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/global/header-footer/images/icons/linkedin.png" height="32" width="32"></a></dl> <dl><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/wwwRSCorg" class="youtube"><span>Youtube</span><img alt="youtube" src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/global/header-footer/images/icons/youtube.png" height="32" width="32"></a></dl> </dt> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <style> /* RSC OneTrust styles */ .rsc-onetrust-cookie-settings { text-align: right; } .rsc-onetrust-cookie-policy { background-color: #FFFFFF; } .rsc-onetrust-cookie-policy #ot-sdk-btn.ot-sdk-show-settings { background-color: #FFFFFF !important; border: 1px solid #147098 !important; color: #147098 !important; font-size: 1em !important; line-height: 1em !important; } .rsc-onetrust-cookie-policy #ot-sdk-btn.ot-sdk-show-settings:hover { background-color: #147098 !important; border: 1px solid #147098 !important; color: #FFFFFF !important; font-size: 1em !important; line-height: 1em !important; } .rsc-onetrust-cookie-policy a { color: #147098 !important; text-decoration: none !important; } .rsc-onetrust-cookie-policy a:hover { color: #004976 !important; text-decoration: underline !important; } .rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer { background-color: #223335; padding: 1em; padding-bottom: 10em; color: #E5E5E5; text-align: center; } .rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer a { color: #78D9EA; } .rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer a:focus, .rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer a:hover { color: #FFFFFF; text-decoration: underline; } </style> <script> function OptanonWrapper() { // This is a OneTrust callback function that runs after the banner script has loaded var onetrustGeolocationResponse = OneTrust.getGeolocationData(); if (onetrustGeolocationResponse.state == "ca") { // If GeoLocation state is CA (California) then show the CA footer link document.getElementById("rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer-global").style.display = "none"; document.getElementById("rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer-ca").style.display = "block"; } else if (onetrustGeolocationResponse.country == "br") { // If GeoLocation country is BR (Brazil) then show the BR footer link document.getElementById("rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer-non-br").style.display = "none"; document.getElementById("rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer-br").style.display = "block"; } }; </script> <div class="rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer"> <div id="rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer-non-br">This website collects cookies to deliver a better user experience. <span id="rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer-global"> See how this site uses <a href="https://www.rsc.org/cookies/">Cookies</a>. </span> <span id="rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer-ca" style="display: none;"> <a href="https://www.rsc.org/cookies/">Do not sell my personal data</a>. </span> </div> <div id="rsc-onetrust-cookie-footer-br" style="display: none;"> Este site coleta cookies para oferecer uma melhor experiência ao usuário. <span> Veja como este site usa <a href="https://www.rsc.org/cookies/">Cookies</a>. </span> </div> </div>  <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/PeriodicTable.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/jquery.hint.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/jquery-ui-1.11.3.min.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/Scripts/jquery.ui.touch-punch.min.js?6.2.65" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ var elementsData = {"Elements":[{"ElementID":1,"Symbol":"H","Name":"Hydrogen","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on the iconic atomic model first proposed by Niels Bohr in 1913.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eHydrogen is easily the most abundant element in the universe. It is found in the sun and most of the stars, and the planet Jupiter is composed mostly of hydrogen. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOn Earth, hydrogen is found in the greatest quantities as water. It is present as a gas in the atmosphere only in tiny amounts – less than 1 part per million by volume. Any hydrogen that does enter the atmosphere quickly escapes the Earth’s gravity into outer space.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost hydrogen is produced by heating natural gas with steam to form syngas (a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide). The syngas is separated to give hydrogen. Hydrogen can also be produced by the electrolysis of water.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Hydrogen is an essential element for life. It is present in water and in almost all the molecules in living things. However, hydrogen itself does not play a particularly active role. It remains bonded to carbon and oxygen atoms, while the chemistry of life takes place at the more active sites involving, for example, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus.","Appearance":"A colourless, odourless gas. It has the lowest density of all gases.","CASnumber":"133-74-0","GroupID":1,"PeriodID":1,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"1s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":1,"RelativeAtomicMass":"1.008","AtomicRadius":"1.10","CovalentRadii":"0.320","ElectronAffinity":"72.769","ElectroNegativity":"2.20","CovalentRadius":"0.32","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e, -1","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-259.16","MeltingPointK":"13.99","MeltingPointF":"-434.49","BoilingPointC":"-252.879","BoilingPointK":"20.271","BoilingPointF":"-423.182","MolarHeatCapacity":"14304","Density":"0.000082","DensityValue":"0.000082","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1766","Discovery":"1766","DiscoveredBy":"Henry Cavendish","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027hydro\u0027 and \u0027genes\u0027 meaning water forming.","CrustalAbundance":"1400","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eSome see hydrogen gas as the clean fuel of the future – generated from water and returning to water when it is oxidised. Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are increasingly being seen as ‘pollution-free’ sources of energy and are now being used in some buses and cars.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHydrogen also has many other uses. In the chemical industry it is used to make ammonia for agricultural fertiliser (the Haber process) and cyclohexane and methanol, which are intermediates in the production of plastics and pharmaceuticals. It is also used to remove sulfur from fuels during the oil-refining process. Large quantities of hydrogen are used to hydrogenate oils to form fats, for example to make margarine. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the glass industry hydrogen is used as a protective atmosphere for making flat glass sheets. In the electronics industry it is used as a flushing gas during the manufacture of silicon chips. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe low density of hydrogen made it a natural choice for one of its first practical uses – filling balloons and airships. However, it reacts vigorously with oxygen (to form water) and its future in filling airships ended when the Hindenburg airship caught fire. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Hydrogen.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: hydrogen\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we hear what its like to be at the top, and number one, as we meet the King of the Elements. Here\u0027s Brian Clegg.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eForget 10 Downing Street or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the most prestigious address in the \u003cem\u003euniverse\u003c/em\u003e is number one in the periodic table, hydrogen. In science, simplicity and beauty are often equated - and that makes hydrogen as beautiful as they come, a single proton and a lone electron making the most compact element in existence.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHydrogen has been around since atoms first formed in the residue of the Big Bang, and is the most abundant element by far. Despite billions of years of countless stars fusing hydrogen into helium it still makes up 75 per cent of the detectable content of the universe.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis light, colourless, highly flammable gas carries on its uniqueness by having the only named isotopes (and some of the best known at that), deuterium with an added neutron in the nucleus and tritium with two neutrons.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHydrogen is an essential for life, the universe and just about everything. Life, in fact, is multiply dependent on it. Without hydrogen we wouldn\u0027t have the Sun to give us heat and light. There would be no useful organic compounds to form the building blocks of life. And that most essential substance for life\u0027s existence, water, would not exist.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s only thanks to a special trick of hydrogen\u0027s that we can use water at all. Hydrogen forms weak bonds \u003cem\u003ebetween\u003c/em\u003e molecules, latching onto adjacent oxygen, nitrogen or fluorine atoms. It\u0027s these \u003cem\u003ehydrogen bonds\u003c/em\u003e that give water many of its properties. If they didn\u0027t exist, the boiling point of water would be below -70 degrees Celsius. Liquid water would not feature on the Earth.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHydrogen was the unwitting discovery of Paracelsus, the sixteenth century Swiss alchemist also known as Theophrastus Philippus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim. He found that something flammable bubbled off metals that were dropped into strong acids, unaware of the chemical reaction that was forming metal salts and releasing hydrogen, something a number of others including Robert Boyle would independently discover over the years. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, the first person to realize hydrogen was a unique substance, one he called \u0027inflammable air,\u0027 was Henry Cavendish, the noble ancestor of William Cavendish who later gave his name to what would become the world\u0027s most famous physics laboratory in Cambridge. Between the 1760s and 1780s, Henry not only isolated hydrogen, but found that when it burned it combined with oxygen (or \u0027dephlogisticated air\u0027 as it was called) to produce water. These clumsy terms were swept aside by French chemist Antoine Lavoisier who changed chemical naming for good, calling inflammable air \u0027hydrogen\u0027, the gene, or creator, of hydro, water. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause hydrogen is so light, the pure element isn\u0027t commonly found on the Earth. It would just float away. The prime components of air, nitrogen and oxygen, are fourteen and sixteen times heavier, giving hydrogen dramatic buoyancy. This lightness of hydrogen made it a natural for one of its first practical uses - filling balloons. No balloon soars as well as a hydrogen balloon. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first such aerial vessel was the creation of French scientist Jacques Charles in 1783, who was inspired by the Montgolfier brothers\u0027 hot air success a couple of months before to use hydrogen in a balloon of silk impregnated with rubber. Hydrogen seemed to have a guaranteed future in flying machines, reinforced by the invention of airships built on a rigid frame, called dirigibles in the UK but better known by their German nickname of Zeppelins, after their enthusiastic promoter Graf Ferdinand von Zeppelin.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThese airships were soon the liners of the sky, carrying passengers safely and smoothly across the Atlantic. But despite the ultimate lightness of hydrogen it has another property that killed off airships - hydrogen is highly flammable. The destruction of the vast zeppelin the Hindenburg, probably by fire caused by static electricity, was seen on film by shocked audiences around the world. The hydrogen airship was doomed.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYet hydrogen has remained a player in the field of transport because of the raw efficiency of its combustion. Many of NASA\u0027s rockets, including the second and third stages of the Apollo Program\u0027s Saturn V and the Space Shuttle main engines, are powered by burning liquid hydrogen with pure oxygen.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMore recently still, hydrogen has been proposed as a replacement for fossil fuels in cars. Here it has the big advantage over petrol of burning to provide only water. No greenhouse gasses are emitted. The most likely way to employ hydrogen is not to burn it explosively, but to use it in a fuel cell, where an electrochemical reaction is used to produce electricity to power the vehicle.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNot everyone is convinced that hydrogen fuelled cars are the future, though. We would need a network of hydrogen fuel stations, and it remains a dangerous, explosive substance. At the same time, it is less efficient than petrol, because a litre of petrol has about three times \u003cem\u003emore\u003c/em\u003e useful energy in it than a litre of liquid hydrogen (if you use compressed hydrogen gas that can go up to ten times more). The other problem is obtaining the hydrogen. It either comes from hydrocarbons, potentially leaving a residue of greenhouse gasses, or from electrolysing water, using electricity that may not be cleanly generated. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut even if we don\u0027t get hydrogen fuelled cars, hydrogen still has a future in a more dramatic energy source - nuclear fusion, the power source of the sun. Fusion power stations are tens of years away from being practical, but hold out the hope of clean, plentiful energy.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever we use hydrogen, though, we can\u0027t take away its prime position. It is numero uno, the ultimate, the king of the elements.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo it\u0027s the most abundant element, is essential for life on earth, fuels space rockets and could resolve our fossil fuel dependents. You can see why Brian Clegg classes hydrogen as number one. Now next week we meet the time keeper of the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTom Bond\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne current use is in atomic clocks, though rubidium is considered less accurate than caesium. The rubidium version of the atomic clock employs the transition between two hyperfine energy states of the rubidium-87 isotope. These clocks use microwave radiation which is tuned until it matches the hyperfine transition, at which point the interval between wave crests of the radiation can be used to calibrate time itself. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out more of the roles of Rubidium join Tom Bond on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam, thanks for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by \u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at \u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Hydrogen","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"H","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn the early 1500s the alchemist Paracelsus noted that the bubbles given off when iron filings were added to sulfuric acid were flammable. In 1671 Robert Boyle made the same observation. Neither followed up their discovery of hydrogen, and so Henry Cavendish gets the credit. In 1766 he collected the bubbles and showed that they were different from other gases. He later showed that when hydrogen burns it forms water, thereby ending the belief that water was an element. The gas was given its name \u003ci\u003ehydro-gen\u003c/i\u003e, meaning water-former, by Antoine Lavoisier.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1931, Harold Urey and his colleagues at Columbia University in the US detected a second, rarer, form of hydrogen. This has twice the mass of normal hydrogen, and they named it deuterium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4515072,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4515072.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":2,"Symbol":"He","Name":"Helium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of the sun because helium gets its name from ‘helios’, the Greek word for the sun. Helium was detected in the sun by its spectral lines many years before it was found on Earth.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eAfter hydrogen, helium is the second most abundant element in the universe. It is present in all stars. It was, and is still being, formed from alpha-particle decay of radioactive elements in the Earth. Some of the helium formed escapes into the atmosphere, which contains about 5 parts per million by volume. This is a dynamic balance, with the low-density helium continually escaping to outer space. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is uneconomical to extract helium from the air. The major source is natural gas, which can contain up to 7% helium.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Helium has no known biological role. It is non-toxic.","Appearance":"A colourless, odourless gas that is totally unreactive. ","CASnumber":"7440-59-7","GroupID":18,"PeriodID":1,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"1s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":2,"RelativeAtomicMass":"4.003","AtomicRadius":"1.400","CovalentRadii":"0.370","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"0.37","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cbr\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"-268.928","BoilingPointK":"4.222","BoilingPointF":"-452.07","MolarHeatCapacity":"5193","Density":"0.000164","DensityValue":"0.000164","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1895","Discovery":"1895","DiscoveredBy":"Sir William Ramsay in London, and independently by Per Teodor Cleve and Nils Abraham Langlet in Uppsala, Sweden","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek, \u0027helios\u0027 meaning sun, as it was in the sun\u0027s corona that helium was first detected.","CrustalAbundance":"0.008","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":21,"ProductionConcentrations":22.2,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":56.6,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.5,"Allotropes":"","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eHelium is used as a cooling medium for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and the superconducting magnets in MRI scanners and NMR spectrometers. It is also used to keep satellite instruments cool and was used to cool the liquid oxygen and hydrogen that powered the Apollo space vehicles.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause of its low density helium is often used to fill decorative balloons, weather balloons and airships. Hydrogen was once used to fill balloons but it is dangerously reactive. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause it is very unreactive, helium is used to provide an inert protective atmosphere for making fibre optics and semiconductors, and for arc welding. Helium is also used to detect leaks, such as in car air-conditioning systems, and because it diffuses quickly it is used to inflate car airbags after impact. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA mixture of 80% helium and 20% oxygen is used as an artificial atmosphere for deep-sea divers and others working under pressurised conditions. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHelium-neon gas lasers are used to scan barcodes in supermarket checkouts. A new use for helium is a helium-ion microscope that gives better image resolution than a scanning electron microscope.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Helium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: helium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week we\u0027re almost at the top of the periodic table because we\u0027re taking a look at the lighter than air gas helium. But for this chemist a helium filled bobbing balloon is actually a source of pain and not a source of pleasure. Here\u0027s Peter Wothers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe are all familiar with the lighter-than-air gas helium, but whenever I see a balloon floating on a string, I feel a little sad. It\u0027s not because I\u0027m a miserable old so-and-so - it\u0027s just because, unlike the happy child on the other end of the string, I am aware of the valuable resource that\u0027s about to be lost forever.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHelium is the second most abundant element in the universe, but here on earth, it\u0027s rather rare. Most people guess that we extract helium from the air, but actually we dig it out of the ground. Helium can be found in certain parts of the world, notably in Texas, as a minor component in some sources of natural gas. The interesting thing is how this gas gets into the ground in the first place. Unlike virtually every other atom around us, each atom of helium has been individually formed \u003cem\u003eafter\u003c/em\u003e the formation of the earth.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe helium is formed during the natural radioactive decay of elements such as uranium and thorium. These heavy elements were formed before the earth but they are not stable and very slowly, they decay. One mode of decay for uranium is to emit an alpha-particle. This alpha-particle is actually just the heart of a helium atom - its nucleus. Once it has grabbed a couple of electrons, a helium atom has been born.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis decay process for uranium is incredibly slow; the time it takes a given quantity of uranium to halve, its so-called half-life, is comparable to the age of the earth. This means that helium has been continuously generated ever since the earth was formed. Some of the gas might eventually creep through the earth and escape into the atmosphere; fortunately, when conditions are right, some is trapped underground and can be harvested for our use.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe situation is very different in space. The sun is comprised of about 75% by mass of hydrogen and 24% of helium. The remaining one percent is made up of all the heavier elements. In the high temperatures of the sun, the hydrogen nuclei are fused together to eventually form helium. This fusion process, whereby heavier atoms are made from lighter ones, liberates vast amounts of energy. Recreating the process on earth may be the answer to our energy problems in the future.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSince helium makes up about a quarter of the mass of the sun, it is not surprising that its presence was detected there over 100 years ago. What is perhaps surprising, is that helium was discovered in space 26 years before it was found on earth. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt has been known for hundreds of years that certain elements impart characteristic colours to a flame - a fact crucial to the coloured fireworks that we enjoy. Copper, for example, gives a green colour, whereas sodium gives a yellow colour. It is actually possible to identify elements by the careful examination of such coloured flames. The light is split up into a spectrum using a prism or diffraction grating in an instrument called a spectroscope. Rather than seeing a continuous rainbow of colours, a series of sharp coloured lines is formed. This series of lines is characteristic of the particular element and acts as a sort of fingerprint.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the 19th century, scientists turned their spectroscopes to the sun and began to detect certain metals there, including sodium, magnesium, calcium and iron. In 1868 two astronomers, Janssen and Lockyer, independently noticed some very clear lines in the solar spectrum that did not match up to any known metals. While other astronomers of the time were unsure, Lockyer suggested these unidentified lines belonged to a new metal which he named \u003cem\u003eHelium\u003c/em\u003e after the Greek personification of the sun, \u003cem\u003eHelios\u003c/em\u003e. For over 20 years, no sign of the metal helium was detected on earth and Lockyer began to be mocked for his mythical element. However, in 1895 the chemist William Ramsay detected helium in the gas given out when a radioactive mineral of uranium was treated with acid. The helium formed from the radioactive decay had been trapped in the rock but liberated when the rock was dissolved away in the acid.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFinally Lockyer\u0027s element had been discovered on earth, but it was no metal, rather an extremely unreactive gas. To this day, helium remains the only non-metal whose name ends with the suffix -ium, an ending otherwise exclusively reserved for metals.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAside from being used to fill balloons, both for our entertainment, and for more serious purposes, such as for weather balloons, helium is used in other applications which depend on its unique properties. Being so light, and yet totally chemically inert, helium can be mixed with oxygen in order to make breathing easier. This mixture, known as heliox, can help save new-born babies with breathing problems, or help underwater divers safely reach the depths of the oceans. At minus 269 degrees centigrade, liquid helium has the lowest boiling point of any substance. Because of this, it is used to provide the low temperatures needed for superconducting magnets, such as those used in most MRI scanners in hospitals.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn many facilities where helium is used, it is captured and reused. If it isn\u0027t, it escapes into the air. But it doesn\u0027t simply accumulate in the atmosphere. Helium is so light that it can escape the pull of the earth\u0027s gravitational field and leave our planet forever. This is the fate of the helium in our balloons. Whereas it may be possible to reclaim and recycle other elements that we have used and discarded, when we waste helium, it is lost for good. In 100 years time, people will look back with disbelief that we wasted this precious, unique element by filling up party balloons.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCambridge University\u0027s Peter Wothers telling us the tale of element number two, Helium. Next time we\u0027re off to 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century Scotland and an element that was the wrong colour.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Van Noorden\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1787, an intriguing mineral came to Edinburgh from a Lead mine in a small village on the shores of Loch Sunart, Argyll. At that time, the stuff was thought to be some sort of Barium compound. Other chemists, such as Edinburgh\u0027s Thomas Hope later prepared a number of compounds with the element, noting that it caused the candle\u0027s flame to burn red, while Barium compounds gave a green colour. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd that\u0027s because it wasn\u0027t Barium at all, it was Strontium and Richard Van Noorden will be here to explain how, amongst other things, it\u0027s shown us that Roman gladiators weren\u0027t meat eaters they were in fact vegetarians. That\u0027s next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element and I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Helium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"He","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"USA; Qatar; Algeria","TopProductionCountries":"USA; Algeria; Russia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1868, Pierre J. C. Janssen travelled to India to measure the solar spectrum during a total eclipse and observed a new yellow line which indicated a new element. Joseph Norman Lockyer recorded the same line by observing the sun through London smog and, assuming the new element to be a metal, he named it helium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1882, the Italian Luigi Palmieri found the same line the spectrum of gases emitted by Vesuvius, as did the American William Hillebrand in 1889 when he collected the gas given off by the mineral uraninite (UO2) as it dissolves in acid. However, it was Per Teodor Cleve and Nils Abraham Langer at Uppsala, Sweden, in 1895, who repeated that experiment and confirmed it was helium and measured its atomic weight.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22423,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22423.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"56.6","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":3,"Symbol":"Li","Name":"Lithium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Lithium was discovered from a mineral, while other common alkali metals were discovered from plant material. This is thought to explain the origin of the element’s name; from ‘lithos’ (Greek for ‘stone’). The image is based on an alchemical symbol for stone. ","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eLithium does not occur as the metal in nature, but is found combined in small amounts in nearly all igneous rocks and in the waters of many mineral springs. Spodumene, petalite, lepidolite, and amblygonite are the more important minerals containing lithium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost lithium is currently produced in Chile, from brines that yield lithium carbonate when treated with sodium carbonate. The metal is produced by the electrolysis of molten lithium chloride and potassium chloride.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Lithium has no known biological role. It is toxic, except in very small doses.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal. It has the lowest density of all metals. It reacts vigorously with water.","CASnumber":"7439-93-2","GroupID":1,"PeriodID":2,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[He] 2s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":3,"RelativeAtomicMass":"6.94","AtomicRadius":"1.82","CovalentRadii":"1.300","ElectronAffinity":"59.633","ElectroNegativity":"0.98","CovalentRadius":"1.30","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"180.50","MeltingPointK":"453.65","MeltingPointF":"356.90","BoilingPointC":"1342","BoilingPointK":"1615","BoilingPointF":"2448","MolarHeatCapacity":"3582","Density":"0.534","DensityValue":"0.534","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"11.1","DiscoveryYear":"1817","Discovery":"1817","DiscoveredBy":"Johan August Arfvedson","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027lithos\u0027 meaning stone.","CrustalAbundance":"16","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":58,"ProductionConcentrations":62,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":74.5,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.7,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe most important use of lithium is in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and electric vehicles. Lithium is also used in some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers, toys and clocks.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLithium metal is made into alloys with aluminium and magnesium, improving their strength and making them lighter. A magnesium-lithium alloy is used for armour plating. Aluminium-lithium alloys are used in aircraft, bicycle frames and high-speed trains.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLithium oxide is used in special glasses and glass ceramics. Lithium chloride is one of the most hygroscopic materials known, and is used in air conditioning and industrial drying systems (as is lithium bromide). Lithium stearate is used as an all-purpose and high-temperature lubricant. Lithium carbonate is used in drugs to treat manic depression, although its action on the brain is still not fully understood. Lithium hydride is used as a means of storing hydrogen for use as a fuel.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Lithium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: lithium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week to the element that tops group one and gives us lighter aircraft and armoured plating. It also keeps grease running at arctic temperatures, powers pacemakers and lies at the heart of the hydrogen bomb.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatt Wilkinson \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLithium is rare in the Universe, although it was one of the three elements, along with hydrogen and helium, to be created in the Big Bang. The element was discovered on Earth in 1817 by Johan August Arfvedson (1792-1841) in Stockholm when he investigated petalite, one of the first lithium minerals to be discovered. (It was observed to give an intense crimson flame when sprinkled on to a fire.) He deduced that petalite contained an unknown metal, which he called lithium from the Greek word for a stone, \u003cem\u003elithos\u003c/em\u003e, although he never actually produced any. He reasoned that it was a new alkali metal and lighter than sodium. However, unlike sodium, which Humphry Davy had isolated in 1807 by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide, Arfvedson was unable to produced lithium by the same method. A sample of lithium metal was finally extracted in 1855 and then by the electrolysis of molten lithium chloride.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOnce lithium\u0027s discovery had been announced others soon found it to be present in all kinds of things such as grapes, seaweed, tobacco, vegetables, milk and blood. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnother lithium ore is spodumene, which like petalite is a lithium aluminium silicate, and there is a large deposit of this ore in South Dakota. World production of lithium compounds is around 40 000 tonnes a year and reserves are estimated to be around 7 million tonnes. Industrial production of the metal itself is reported to be about 7500 tonnes a year, and this is produced by the electrolysis of molten lithium chloride and potassium chloride in steel cells at temperatures of 450\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLithium is moderately toxic as discovered in the 1940s when patients were given lithium chloride as a salt substitute. However, in small doses it is prescribed as a treatment for manic depression (now called bipolar disorder). Its calming effect on the brain was first noted in 1949, by an Australian doctor, John Cade, of the Victoria Department of Mental Hygiene. He had injected guinea pigs with a 0.5% solution of lithium carbonate, and to his surprise these normally highly-strung animals became docile, and indeed were so calm that they would sit in the same position for several hours. Cade then gave his most mentally disturbed patient an injection of the same solution. The man responded so well that within days he was transferred to a normal hospital ward and was soon back at work. Other patients responded similarly and lithium therapy is now used all around the world to treat this mental condition. How it works is still not known for certain, but it appears to prevent overproduction of a chemical messenger in the brain.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLithium is used commercially in various ways. Lithium oxide goes into glass and glass ceramics. Lithium metal goes into alloys with magnesium and aluminium, and it improves their strength while making them lighter. Magnesium-lithium alloy is used in protective armour plating and aluminium-lithium reduces the weight of aircraft thereby saving fuel. Lithium stearate, made by reacting stearic acid with lithium hydroxide, is an all-purpose high-temperature grease and most greases contain it. It will even work well at temperatures as low as -60\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC and has been used for vehicles in the Antarctic.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLithium batteries, which operate at 3-volts or more, are used in devices where compactness and lightness are all-important. They are implanted to supply the electrical energy for heart pacemakers. They function with lithium as the anode, iodine as the solid electrolyte, and manganese oxide as the cathode - and they have a lifespan of ten years. This longevity has been extended to lithium batteries of the more common 1.5-volts variety (in which the cathode is iron disulfide) that are in everyday gadgets such as clocks, and lithium is now beginning to be used for rechargeable batteries \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLithium is a soft, silvery-white, metal that heads group 1, the alkali metals group, of the periodic table of the elements. It reacts vigorously with water. Storing it is a problem. It cannot be kept under oil, as sodium can, because it is less dense and floats. So it is stored by being coated with petroleum jelly. Somewhat surprisingly it does not react with oxygen unless heated to 100\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC, but it will react with nitrogen from the atmosphere to form a red-brown compound lithium nitride, Li\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eN.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe hydrogen of hydrogen bombs is actually the compound lithium hydride, in which the lithium is the lithium-6 isotope and the hydrogen is the hydrogen-2 isotope (deuterium). This compound is capable of releasing massive amounts of energy from the neutrons released by the atomic bomb at its core. These are absorbed by the nuclei of lithium-6 which immediately disintegrates to form helium and hydrogen-3 which then go on to form other elements and as they do the bomb explodes with the force of millions of tonnes of TNT. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMatt Wilkinson on the extraordinary virtues of element number 3, Lithium. Next time to one of the universe\u0027s rarer chemicals and horribly toxic though it is, without it we\u0027d be the proverbial particle short of a nucleus.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Van Noorden\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eJames Chadwick in 1932 discovered the neutron by bombarding a Beryllium sample with the alpha rays eminating from radium . He observed that the beryllium emitted a new kind of sub-atomic particle which had mass but no charge, the neutron and the combination of radium and beryllium is still used to make neutrons for research purposes, although a million alpha-particles only manage to produce 30 neutrons. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo that goes to show that sometimes a lot can only go a little way. Richard Van Noorden will be here with the story of Beryllium on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Lithium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Li","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Chile; China; Australia","TopProductionCountries":"Australia; Chile; China","History":"The first lithium mineral petalite, LiAlSi\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e10\u003c/sub\u003e, was discovered on the Swedish island of Utö by the Brazilian, Jozé Bonifácio de Andralda e Silva in the 1790s. It was observed to give an intense crimson flame when thrown onto a fire. In 1817, Johan August Arfvedson of Stockholm analysed it and deduced it contained a previously unknown metal, which he called lithium. He realised this was a new alkali metal and a lighter version of sodium. However, unlike sodium he was not able to separate it by electrolysis. In 1821 William Brande obtained a tiny amount this way but not enough on which to make measurements. It was not until 1855 that the German chemist Robert Bunsen and the British chemist Augustus Matthiessen obtained it in bulk by the electrolysis of molten lithium chloride.","CSID":2293625,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.2293625.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"67.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":4,"Symbol":"Be","Name":"Beryllium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Beryllium is used in gears and cogs particularly in the aviation industry.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eBeryllium is found in about 30 different mineral species. The most important are beryl (beryllium aluminium silicate) and bertrandite (beryllium silicate). Emerald and aquamarine are precious forms of beryl. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe metal is usually prepared by reducing beryllium fluoride with magnesium metal.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Beryllium and its compounds are toxic and carcinogenic. If beryllium dust or fumes are inhaled, it can lead to an incurable inflammation of the lungs called berylliosis.","Appearance":" Beryllium is a silvery-white metal. It is relatively soft and has a low density.","CASnumber":"7440-41-7","GroupID":2,"PeriodID":2,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[He] 2s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":4,"RelativeAtomicMass":"9.012","AtomicRadius":"1.53","CovalentRadii":"0.990","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"1.57","CovalentRadius":"0.99","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1287","MeltingPointK":"1560","MeltingPointF":"2349","BoilingPointC":"2468","BoilingPointK":"2741","BoilingPointF":"4474","MolarHeatCapacity":"1825","Density":"1.85","DensityValue":"1.85","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1797","Discovery":"1797","DiscoveredBy":"Nicholas Louis Vauquelin","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek name for beryl, \u0027beryllo\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"1.9","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":85,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":56.6,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":8.1,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eBeryllium is used in alloys with copper or nickel to make gyroscopes, springs, electrical contacts, spot-welding electrodes and non-sparking tools. Mixing beryllium with these metals increases their electrical and thermal conductivity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOther beryllium alloys are used as structural materials for high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft and communication satellites. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBeryllium is relatively transparent to X-rays so ultra-thin beryllium foil is finding use in X-ray lithography. Beryllium is also used in nuclear reactors as a reflector or moderator of neutrons. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe oxide has a very high melting point making it useful in nuclear work as well as having ceramic applications.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Beryllium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: beryllium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week to the element that the Big Bang forgot but which has bounced back as the stuff that the world\u0027s best springs are made from. It\u0027s also given us gorgeous gemstones, spark proof tools for the oil industry and a deadly lung condition. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Van Noorden\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOnly hydrogen, helium and lithium were formed during the Big Bang itself. The next element, beryllium, is relatively rare in the universe because it is also not formed in the nuclear furnaces of stars. It takes a supernova, in which heavier nuclei disintegrate, to make this metal. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEarlier plans to use beryllium on a large scale in the aerospace industries did not materialise even though it lightness and strength made it seem an ideal metal for such purposes. At one time it was even thought that beryllium powder would be used as a fuel for rockets on account of the colossal amount of heat which it releases when it is burnt. Now less than 500 tons of metal are refined each year because it is dangerously toxic.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBeryllium has no known biological role, and its dust causes chronic inflammation of the lungs and shortage of breath. Brief exposure to a lot of beryllium, or long exposure to a little, will bring on this lung condition which is known as berylliosis. The disease may take up to five years to manifest itself and about a third of those who are affected by it die prematurely and the rest are permanently disabled. Workers in industries using beryllium alloys were most at risk, such as those making early types of fluorescent lamps which were coated inside with an oxide film containing beryllium. In 1950 the manufacture of this type of lamp ceased. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe minerals beryl and emerald are beryllium silicates and were known to the ancient world; the emperor Nero used a large emerald the better to view gladiatorial fights in the area. Their beautiful green colour is due to traces of chromium. Analysis of the oxygen in these gems enables their source to be identified because the isotope ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 varies according to where the mineral is found. The Romans got their emeralds mainly from Austria, although some came from as far away as Pakistan. More surprising was the discovery that the Mogul rulers of India got some of theirs from Colombia in South America probably via trade across the Pacific. The chief ores of beryllium are beryl and bertrandite, which is also a silicate. Sometimes truly enormous crystals of bertranide turn up, one specimen found in Maine in the USA was over 5 metres in length and weighed almost 20 tonnes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat beryl and emerald might harbour a new element was suspected by the 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century and Nicholas Louis Vauquelin analysed them, and on 15 February 1798 he announced that they contained a new element - but he was unable to separated it from its oxide. Beryllium metal was isolated in 1828 from beryllium chloride (BeCl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) by reacting this with potassium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBeryllium was to play a historic role in advancing our knowledge of atomic theory since it helped uncover the fundamental particle, the neutron. This was discovered in 1932 by James Chadwick who bombarded a sample of beryllium with the alpha-rays (which are helium nuclei) emanating from radium. He observed that it then emitted a new kind of subatomic particle which had mass but no charge. The combination of radium and beryllium is still used to generate neutrons for research purposes, although a million alpha-particles only manage to produce 30 neutrons. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBeryllium is a silvery-white, lustrous, relatively soft metal of group 2 of the periodic table. The metal is unaffected by air or water, even at red heat. When copper and nickel are alloyed with beryllium they not only become much better at conducting electricity and heat, but they display remarkable elasticity. For this reason their alloys make good springs and the copper alloy is used to make spark-proof tools, which are the only ones allowed in sensitive areas such as oil refineries.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBeryllium has but a single isotope, beryllium-9 which is not radioactive but beryllium-10, which cosmic rays produce in the upper atmosphere, is radioactive with a half-life of 1.5 million years. Radioactive beryllium-10 has been detected in Greenland ice cores and marine sediments and the amount that has been measured in ice cores deposited over the past 200 years increases and decreases in line with the Sun\u0027s activity, as shown by the frequency of sun-spots. The amount of this isotope in marine sediments laid down in the last ice age was 25% higher than that in post-glacial deposits. That tells us that the Earth\u0027s magnetic field was much weaker then than it is now.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRichard Van Noorden with the story of Beryllium. Next time we\u0027re telling the tale of a pair of twins that can make a glass blower\u0027s life a lot safer. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne day, as he stood at his lathe with an orange inferno raging before him I asked him about the glasses he was wearing. \"Didymium\" he answered cryptically, and then noticing my blank look, he added \"Cuts out the light. Try them.\" He passed me his specs, the lenses of a curious greeny-grey colour. I slipped them on and suddenly the flame was gone. All I could see was a red-hot piece of spinning glass unobscured by the glare. I gawped in wonder until Geoff pulled the specs off my face saying \"Give \u0027em back ya fool\" and went back to his work. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can catch up on the story of Didymium and its mysterious light controlling chemistry with Andrea Sella on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I do hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Beryllium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Be","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Unknown (likely USA)","TopProductionCountries":"USA; China; Mozambique","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe gemstones beryl and emerald are both forms of beryllium aluminium silicate, Be\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eAl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e(SiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e)\u003csub\u003e6\u003c/sub\u003e. The French mineralogist Abbé René-Just Haüy thought they might harbour a new element, and he asked Nicholas Louis Vauquelin, to analyse them and he realised they harboured a new metal and he investigated it. In February 1798 Vauquelin announced his discovery at the French Academy and named the element glaucinium (Greek \u003cem\u003eglykys\u003c/em\u003e = sweet) because its compounds tasted sweet. Others preferred the name beryllium, based on the gemstone, and this is now the official name.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBeryllium metal was isolated in 1828 by Friedrich Wöhler at Berlin and independently by Antoine-Alexandere-Brutus Bussy at Paris, both of whom extracted it from beryllium chloride (BeCl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) by reacting this with potassium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4573986,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4573986.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":5,"Symbol":"B","Name":"Boron","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"An image reflecting the importance of boron as an essential mineral for plants. The tree and its strange metallic foliage ‘grow’ from a ‘pure’ dark powdered cone of the element.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eBoron occurs as an orthoboric acid in some volcanic spring waters, and as borates in the minerals borax and colemanite. Extensive borax deposits are found in Turkey. However, by far the most important source of boron is rasorite. This is found in the Mojave Desert in California, USA. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHigh-purity boron is prepared by reducing boron trichloride or tribromide with hydrogen, on electrically heated filaments. Impure, or amorphous, boron can be prepared by heating the trioxide with magnesium powder.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Boron is essential for the cell walls of plants. It is not considered poisonous to animals, but in higher doses it can upset the body’s metabolism. We take in about 2 milligrams of boron each day from our food, and about 60 grams in a lifetime. Some boron compounds are being studied as a possible treatment for brain tumours. ","Appearance":"Pure boron is a dark amorphous powder.","CASnumber":"7440-42-8","GroupID":13,"PeriodID":2,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[He] 2s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e2p\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":5,"RelativeAtomicMass":"10.81","AtomicRadius":"1.92","CovalentRadii":"0.840","ElectronAffinity":"26.989","ElectroNegativity":"2.04","CovalentRadius":"0.84","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"2077","MeltingPointK":"2350","MeltingPointF":"3771","BoilingPointC":"4000","BoilingPointK":"4273","BoilingPointF":"7232","MolarHeatCapacity":"1026","Density":"2.34","DensityValue":"2.34","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1808","Discovery":"1808","DiscoveredBy":" Louis-Josef Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard in Paris, France, and Humphry Davy in London, UK","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Arabic \u0027buraq\u0027, which was the name for borax.","CrustalAbundance":"11","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":33.6,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":11.8,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":4.5,"Allotropes":"α-rhombohedral B, β-rhombohedral B, γ-B, tetragonal boron","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eAmorphous boron is used as a rocket fuel igniter and in pyrotechnic flares. It gives the flares a distinctive green colour.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe most important compounds of boron are boric (or boracic) acid, borax (sodium borate) and boric oxide. These can be found in eye drops, mild antiseptics, washing powders and tile glazes. Borax used to be used to make bleach and as a food preservative.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBoric oxide is also commonly used in the manufacture of borosilicate glass (Pyrex). It makes the glass tough and heat resistant. Fibreglass textiles and insulation are made from borosilcate glass. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSodium octaborate is a flame retardant.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe isotope boron-10 is good at absorbing neutrons. This means it can be used to regulate nuclear reactors. It also has a role in instruments used to detect neutrons.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Boron.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: boron\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we see the true nature of an element wrongly accused of being boring. I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam from the Naked Scientists.com, and to see how a supposed dreary element can indulge in swinging antics and numerous adventures here\u0027s Pat Bailey with the brighter side of boron.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePat Bailey\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf I had to choose a person to represent gold, then I guess it might be an ambitious young stockbroker, a bit flashy, and not great at forming relationships. For helium - an airy-fairy blonde with a bit of a squeaky voice, but with aspirations to join the nobility.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd for boron? Well at first glance, during the working week at any rate, a boring, middle-aged accountant, maybe wearing brown corduroys and a tweed jacket . but with an unexpected side-to him in his spare time - skydiving, motorbiking, and a member of a highly dubious society that indulges in swapping partners.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLet\u0027s start with the boring bit. Boron is usually isolated as a brown, amorphous solid. I don\u0027t know anyone who thinks the element boron has anything interesting about it. But its unexpected side starts to emerge when you look at some simple compounds of boron. Consider the nitride, for example - just the 2 elements at numbers 5 and 7 in the periodic table, but able to join forces to provide hard diamond or soft graphite-like structures, very similar to those of the 6\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e element, carbon. Then there is the trifluoride - remember that acids were first classified as substances that could provide protons, but BF\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e is the archetypal Lewis acid, which doesn\u0027t have a proton in sight, yet is able to coordinate with lone pairs, allowing it to catalyse an array of reactions. It can achieve this chemistry because boron really does have two sides to it - it is set up to form 3 bonds with adjacent atoms, but even in this state, readily forms an extra bond in order to complete the 2\u003csup\u003end\u003c/sup\u003e main shell of 8 electrons . but when it does this, it acquires a negative charge, and it can only regain neutrality by losing one of its bonds - it really does have a split personality.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut the real interest, the \u0027skydiving\u0027, starts when we look at the trihydride of boron. We\u0027ll return to this later on, as BH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e has structural subtleties that will really take us into sexy territory. But at this stage we\u0027ll simply see how boron\u0027s schizophrenic side can be used to good effect - add BH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e to an alkene, then throw in some alkaline hydrogen peroxide, and the oxygen first attaches to the boron, and then gets shuttled onto the adjacent carbon, all driven by this balance between 3- and 4-valent boron. This rather complicated reaction (mechanistically) is very reliable, and has been used for decades now as a simple way of turning alkenes into alcohols. Building on this idea, lots of clever variants allow one to introduce the alcohol very selectively, including my favourite of the reagent made by reacting borane with cycloocta-1,5-diene; the resulting dialkylborane is incredibly selective at attacking only the least substituted carbon of an alkene, and its often abbreviated schematically to a BH unit hanging down from two arcs, leading to its nickname as the parachute molecule.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo much for skydiving - what about motorbikes. Well this bit is rather like seeing what appears to be a 50cc moped, only to find that it goes from 0-to-60 in 3.5 seconds. Let me explain - the name boron comes from the mineral borax, which is a salt of the a really uninspiring acid called boracic acid. You can buy it from any pharmacist, and it\u0027s a mildly acidic antiseptic, and it essentially comprises a boron atom attached to three OH groups. And here\u0027s the surprise - you can fairly easily swap one OH for an aryl group, and you generate an aryl boronic acid capable of coupling to a whole range of aryl halides using palladium catalysis. This was a long sought-after process that many had thought impossible in high yield, until a chemist called Suzuki (hence the motorbike connection) found that boron could solve the trick.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd lastly to the sexy bit. I said that boron trihydride had a structural subtlety, and that is the fact that it was an \u0027impossible\u0027 molecule back in 1945, in that there was no known bonding that could account for its dimeric structure, or that of some related boron hydrides. And then in one of those \u0027Just William\u0027 sort of stories when a youngster gets the better of his elders, Christopher Longuet-Higgins, then an undergraduate at Cambridge, came up with the solution during a tutorial, publishing the landmark paper with his tutor whilst still only 20. Their explanation also predicted several new boron hydrides, which were duly discovered, as well as the fascinating field of boron cluster chemistry, in which the tri/tetra-valent schizophrenia of boron allows partner swaps and multiple bonding . but I won\u0027t elaborate further - you\u0027ll have to find out for yourself. But remember, don\u0027t just judge elements by their first appearance - they may have hidden secrets and unexpected talents.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, split personalities, parachute molecules, and swapping partners - I certainly won\u0027t be judging this element on its first appearance. That was Keele University\u0027s Pat Bailey revealing the truth about Boron. Now, next time we meet an element that also believes in humility.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen it comes to use lanthanum best resembles a successful movie bit part player. Someone who never gets the lead role, but appears in film after film, solidly portraying different characters. Not a particularly expensive material to produce, lanthanum\u0027s many roles remain of a supporting kind, playing an essential part but avoiding the limelight.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eJoin Brian Clegg to find out how the humble lanthanum spreads itself around town in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. Until then, thank you for listening, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam from the Naked Scientists.com.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Boron","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"B","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Turkey; Russia; USA","TopProductionCountries":"Turkey; USA; Chile","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eFor centuries the only source of borax, Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eB\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003e(OH)\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e, was the crystallized deposits of Lake Yamdok Cho, in Tibet. It was used as a flux used by goldsmiths.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1808, Louis-Josef Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard working in Paris, and Sir Humphry Davy in London, independently extracted boron by heating borax with potassium metal. In fact, neither had produced the pure element which is almost impossible to obtain. A purer type of boron was isolated in 1892 by Henri Moissan. Eventually, E. Weintraub in the USA produced totally pure boron by sparking a mixture of boron chloride, BCl\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e vapour, and hydrogen. The material so obtained boron was found to have very different properties to those previously reported.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4575371,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4575371.html","PropertyID":3,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"11.8","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":6,"Symbol":"C","Name":"Carbon","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The three crowns represent the three major forms of the element in nature and carbon’s status as ‘King of the Elements’ in the periodic table.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eCarbon is found in the sun and other stars, formed from the debris of a previous supernova. It is built up by nuclear fusion in bigger stars. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is present in the atmospheres of many planets, usually as carbon dioxide. On Earth, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is currently 390 ppm and rising. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGraphite is found naturally in many locations. Diamond is found in the form of microscopic crystals in some meteorites. Natural diamonds are found in the mineral kimberlite, sources of which are in Russia, Botswana, DR Congo, Canada and South Africa. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn combination, carbon is found in all living things. It is also found in fossilised remains in the form of hydrocarbons (natural gas, crude oil, oil shales, coal etc) and carbonates (chalk, limestone, dolomite etc).\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eCarbon is essential to life. This is because it is able to form a huge variety of chains of different lengths. It was once thought that the carbon-based molecules of life could only be obtained from living things. They were thought to contain a ‘spark of life’. However, in 1828, urea was synthesised from inorganic reagents and the branches of organic and inorganic chemistry were united. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLiving things get almost all their carbon from carbon dioxide, either from the atmosphere or dissolved in water. Photosynthesis by green plants and photosynthetic plankton uses energy from the sun to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen is released to the atmosphere, fresh water and seas, and the hydrogen joins with carbon dioxide to produce carbohydrates. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome of the carbohydrates are used, along with nitrogen, phosphorus and other elements, to form the other monomer molecules of life. These include bases and sugars for RNA and DNA, and amino acids for proteins. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLiving things that do not photosynthesise have to rely on consuming other living things for their source of carbon molecules. Their digestive systems break carbohydrates into monomers that they can use to build their own cellular structures. Respiration provides the energy needed for these reactions. In respiration oxygen rejoins carbohydrates, to form carbon dioxide and water again. The energy released in this reaction is made available for the cells.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"\u003cdiv\u003eThere are a number of pure forms of this element including graphite, diamond, fullerenes and graphene. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDiamond is a colourless, transparent, crystalline solid and the hardest known material. Graphite is black and shiny but soft. The nano-forms, fullerenes and graphene, appear as black or dark brown, soot-like powders.\u003c/div\u003e","CASnumber":"7440-44-0","GroupID":14,"PeriodID":2,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[He] 2s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e2p\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":6,"RelativeAtomicMass":"12.011","AtomicRadius":"1.70","CovalentRadii":"0.750","ElectronAffinity":"121.776","ElectroNegativity":"2.55","CovalentRadius":"0.75","CommonOxidationStates":"4, 3, 2, 1, 0, -1, - 2, -3,\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003e-4\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"3825","MeltingPointK":"4098","MeltingPointF":"6917","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"709 (graphite)","Density":"3.513 (diamond); 2.2 (graphite)","DensityValue":"2.2","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"542 (diamond);33 (graphite)","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"Prehistoric","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin ‘carbo’, charcoal","CrustalAbundance":"200","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":5,"Allotropes":"diamond, graphite, graphene, amorphous, fullerene","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eCarbon is unique among the elements in its ability to form strongly bonded chains, sealed off by hydrogen atoms. These hydrocarbons, extracted naturally as fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), are mostly used as fuels. A small but important fraction is used as a feedstock for the petrochemical industries producing polymers, fibres, paints, solvents and plastics etc. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eImpure carbon in the form of charcoal (from wood) and coke (from coal) is used in metal smelting. It is particularly important in the iron and steel industries. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGraphite is used in pencils, to make brushes in electric motors and in furnace linings. Activated charcoal is used for purification and filtration. It is found in respirators and kitchen extractor hoods. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCarbon fibre is finding many uses as a very strong, yet lightweight, material. It is currently used in tennis rackets, skis, fishing rods, rockets and aeroplanes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndustrial diamonds are used for cutting rocks and drilling. Diamond films are used to protect surfaces such as razor blades.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe more recent discovery of carbon nanotubes, other fullerenes and atom-thin sheets of graphene has revolutionised hardware developments in the electronics industry and in nanotechnology generally.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e150 years ago the natural concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere was 280 ppm. In 2013, as a result of combusting fossil fuels with oxygen, there was 390 ppm. Atmospheric carbon dioxide allows visible light in but prevents some infrared escaping (the natural greenhouse effect). This keeps the Earth warm enough to sustain life. However, an enhanced greenhouse effect is underway, due to a human-induced rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide. This is affecting living things as our climate changes.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"very versitile element many uses","PodcastAudio":"Carbon.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: carbon\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week to the element that unites weddings, wars, conflicts and cremations and to explain how, here\u0027s Katherine Holt.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Holt\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAny chemist could talk for days about carbon. It is after all an everyday, run-of-the-mill, found-in-pretty-much-everything, ubiquitous element for us carbon-based life forms. An entire branch of chemistry is devoted to its reactions. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn its elemental form it throws up some surprises in the contrasting and fascinating forms of its allotropes. It seems that every few years a new form of carbon comes into fashion - A few years ago carbon nanotubes were the new black (or should I say \u0027the new bucky-ball\u0027) - but graphene is oh-so-now! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut today I\u0027m going to talk about the most glamorous form that carbon can take - diamond. For millennia diamond has been associated with wealth and riches, as it can be cut to form gemstones of high clarity, brilliance and permanence. Diamonds truly are forever! Unfortunately, diamond also has a dark side - the greed that diamond induces leads to the trade of so-called \u0027conflict diamonds\u0027 that support and fund civil wars. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMans desire for diamond has led alchemists and chemists over many centuries to attempt to synthesise the material. After many fraudulous early claims diamond was finally synthesised artificially in the 1950s. Scientists took their inspiration from nature by noting the conditions under which diamond is formed naturally, deep under the earth\u0027s crust. They therefore used high temperatures (over 3000\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC) and high pressures (\u0026gt;130 atms) to turn graphite into carbon. This was an impressive feat, but the extreme conditions required made it prohibitively expensive as a commercial process. Since then the process has been refined and the use of metal catalysts means that lower temperatures and pressures are required. Crystals of a few micron diameter can be formed in a few minutes, but a 2-carat gem quality crystal may takes several weeks. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThese techniques mean its now possible to artificially synthesise gemstone quality diamonds which, without the help of specialist equipment, cannot be distinguished from natural diamond. It goes without saying that this could cause headaches among the companies that trade in natural diamond! It is possible to turn any carbon based material into a diamond - including hair and even cremating remains! Yes - you can turn your dearly departed pet into a diamond to keep forever if you want to! Artificial diamonds are chemically and physical identical to the natural stones and come without the ethical baggage. However, psychologically their remains a barrier - if he \u003cem\u003ereally\u003c/em\u003e loves you he\u0027d buy you \u003cem\u003ereal\u003c/em\u003e diamond - wouldn\u0027t he? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFrom the perspective of a chemist, materials scientist or engineer we soon run out of superlatives while describing the amazing physical, electronic and chemical properties of diamond. It is the hardest material known to man and more or less inert - able to withstand the strongest and most corrosive of acids. It has the highest thermal conductivity of any material, so is excellent at dissipating heat. That is why diamonds are always cold to the touch. Having a wide band gap, it is the text book example of an insulating material and for the same reason has amazing transparency and optical properties over the widest range of wavelengths of any solid material. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou can see then why diamond is exciting to scientists. Its hardness and inert nature suggest applications as protective coatings against abrasion, chemical corrosion and radiation damage. Its high thermal conductivity and electrical insulation cry out for uses in high powered electronics. Its optical properties are ideal for windows and lenses and its biocompatibility could be exploited in coatings for implants. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThese properties have been known for centuries - so why then is the use of diamond not more widespread? The reason is that natural diamond and diamonds formed by high pressure high temperature synthesis are of limited size - usually a few millimeters at most, and can only be cut and shaped along specific crystal faces. This prevents the use of diamond in most of the suggested applications.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, about 20 years ago scientists discovered a new way to synthesise diamond this time under \u003cem\u003elow\u003c/em\u003e pressure, high temperature conditions, using chemical vapour deposition. If one were to consider the thermodynamic stability of carbon, we would find that at room temperature and pressure the most stable form of carbon is actually graphite, not diamond. Strictly speaking, from a purely energetic or thermodynamic point of view, diamond should spontaneously turn into graphite under ambient conditions! Clearly this doesn\u0027t happen and that is because the energy required to break the strong bonds in diamond and rearrange them to form graphite requires a large input of energy and so the whole process is so slow that on the scale of millennia the reaction does not take place. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e It is this metastability of diamond that is exploited in chemical vapour deposition. A gas mixture of 99 % hydrogen and 1 % of methane is used and some activation source like a hot filament employed to produce highly reactive hydrogen and methyl radicals. The carbon-based molecules then deposit on a surface to form a coating or thin film of diamond. Actually both graphite and diamond are initially formed, but under these highly reactive conditions, the graphitic deposits are etched off the surface, leaving only the diamond. The films are polycrystalline, consisting of crystallites in the micron size range so lack the clarity and brilliance of gemstone diamond. While they may not be as pretty, these diamond films can be deposited on a range of surfaces of different size and shapes and so hugely increase the potential applications of diamond. Challenges still remain to understand the complex chemistry of the intercrystalline boundaries and surface chemistry of the films and to learn how best to exploit them. This material will be keeping chemists, materials scientists, physicists and engineers busy for many years to come. However, at present we can all agree that there is more to diamond than just a pretty face! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eKatherine Holt extolling the virtues of the jewel in carbon\u0027s crown. Next week we\u0027re heading to the top of group one to hear the story of the metal that revolutionised the treatment of manic depression.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatt Wilkinson\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIts calming effect on the brain was first noted in 1949, by an Australian doctor, John Cade, of the Victoria Department of Mental Hygiene. He had injected guinea pigs with a 0.5% solution of lithium carbonate, and to his surprise these normally highly-strung animals became docile. Cade then gave his most mentally disturbed patient an injection of the same solution. The man responded so well that within days he was transferred to a normal hospital ward and was soon back at work.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd it\u0027s still used today although despite 50 years of medical progress we still don\u0027t know how it works. That was Matt Wilkinson who will be here with the story of Lithium on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I do hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Carbon","IsSublime":true,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"C","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"Carbon occurs naturally as anthracite (a type of coal), graphite, and diamond. More readily available historically was soot or charcoal. Ultimately these various materials were recognised as forms of the same element. Not surprisingly, diamond posed the greatest difficulty of identification. Naturalist Giuseppe Averani and medic Cipriano Targioni of Florence were the first to discover that diamonds could be destroyed by heating. In 1694 they focussed sunlight on to a diamond using a large magnifying glass and the gem eventually disappeared. Pierre-Joseph Macquer and Godefroy de Villetaneuse repeated the experiment in 1771. Then, in 1796, the English chemist Smithson Tennant finally proved that diamond was just a form of carbon by showing that as it burned it formed only CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e.","CSID":4575370,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4575370.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":7,"Symbol":"N","Name":"Nitrogen","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The wheat sheaf symbol and lightning reflect the importance of nitrogen to living things. Nitrogen is important for plant growth and can be ‘fixed’ by lightning or added to soils in fertilisers. ","NaturalAbundance":"Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air, by volume. It is obtained by the distillation of liquid air. Around 45 million tonnes are extracted each year. It is found, as compounds, in all living things and hence also in coal and other fossil fuels.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eNitrogen is cycled naturally by living organisms through the ‘nitrogen cycle’. It is taken up by green plants and algae as nitrates, and used to build up the bases needed to construct DNA, RNA and all amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnimals obtain their nitrogen by consuming other living things. They digest the proteins and DNA into their constituent bases and amino acids, reforming them for their own use. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMicrobes in the soil convert the nitrogen compounds back to nitrates for the plants to re-use. The nitrate supply is also replenished by nitrogen-fixing bacteria that ‘fix’ nitrogen directly from the atmosphere. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCrop yields can be greatly increased by adding chemical fertilisers to the soil, manufactured from ammonia. If used carelessly the fertiliser can leach out of the soil into rivers and lakes, causing algae to grow rapidly. This can block out light preventing photosynthesis. The dissolved oxygen soon gets used up and the river or lake dies.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A colourless, odourless gas. ","CASnumber":"7727-37-9","GroupID":15,"PeriodID":2,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[He] 2s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e2p\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":7,"RelativeAtomicMass":"14.007","AtomicRadius":"1.55","CovalentRadii":"0.710","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"3.04","CovalentRadius":"0.71","CommonOxidationStates":"5, 4, 3, 2, \u003cstrong\u003e-3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-210.0","MeltingPointK":"63.2","MeltingPointF":"-346.0","BoilingPointC":"-195.795","BoilingPointK":"77.355","BoilingPointF":"-320.431","MolarHeatCapacity":"1040","Density":"0.001145","DensityValue":"0.001145","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1772","Discovery":"1772","DiscoveredBy":"Daniel Rutherford","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027nitron\u0027 and \u0027genes\u0027 meaning nitre forming.","CrustalAbundance":"19","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eNitrogen is important to the chemical industry. It is used to make fertilisers, nitric acid, nylon, dyes and explosives. To make these products, nitrogen must first be reacted with hydrogen to produce ammonia. This is done by the Haber process. 150 million tonnes of ammonia are produced in this way every year. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNitrogen gas is also used to provide an unreactive atmosphere. It is used in this way to preserve foods, and in the electronics industry during the production of transistors and diodes. Large quantities of nitrogen are used in annealing stainless steel and other steel mill products. Annealing is a heat treatment that makes steel easier to work.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLiquid nitrogen is often used as a refrigerant. It is used for storing sperm, eggs and other cells for medical research and reproductive technology. It is also used to rapidly freeze foods, helping them to maintain moisture, colour, flavour and texture. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Nitrogen.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: nitrogen\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! This week, we\u0027re blowing up airbags, asphyxiating animals and getting to the bottom of gunpowder because Cambridge chemist Peter Wothers has been probing the history of nitrogen.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNitrogen gas makes up about 80% of the air we breathe. It\u0027s by far the most abundant element in its group in the periodic table and yet it is the last member of its family to be discovered. The other elements in its group, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony and bismuth, had all been discovered, used and abused at least 100 years before nitrogen was known about. It wasn\u0027t really until the 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e Century that people focussed their attention on the chemistry of the air and the preparation properties of different gases. We can only really make sense of the discovery of nitrogen by also noting the discovery of some of these other gases.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRobert Boyle noted in 1670 that when acid was added to iron filings, the mixture grew very hot and belched up copious and stinking fumes. So inflammable it was that upon the approach of a lighted candle to it, it would readily enough take fire and burn with a bluish and somewhat greenish flame. Hydrogen was more carefully prepared and collected by the brilliant but reclusive millionaire scientist Henry Cavendish about a 100 years later. Cavendish called the gas inflammable air from the metals in recognition of this most striking property. He also studied the gas we know call carbon dioxide, which had first been prepared by the Scottish chemist, Joseph Black in the 1750s. Black called carbon dioxide fixed air, since it was thought to be locked up or fixed in certain minerals such as limestone. It could be released from its stony prison by the action of heat or acids.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCarbon dioxide was also known by the name mephitic air the word mephitic meaning noxious or poisonous. This name obviously came from its property of destroying life, since it rapidly suffocates any animals immersed in it. This is where the confusion with nitrogen gas begins, since pure nitrogen gas is also suffocating to animals. If the oxygen in an enclosed quantity of air is used up, either by burning a candle in it or by confining an animal, most of the oxygen is converted to carbon dioxide gas which mixes with the nitrogen gas present in the air. This noxious mixture no longer supports life and so was called mephitic.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe crucial experiment in the discovery of nitrogen was when it was realized that there are at least two different kinds of suffocating gases in this mephitic air. This was done by passing the mixture of gases through a solution of alkali, which absorbed the carbon dioxide but left behind the nitrogen gas. Cavendish prepared nitrogen gas by this means. He passed air back and forth over heated charcoal which converted the oxygen in the air to carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide was then dissolved in alkali leaving behind the inert nitrogen gas, which he correctly observed was slightly less dense than common air. Unfortunately, Cavendish didn\u0027t publish his findings. He just communicated them in a letter to fellow scientist, Joseph Priestley, one of the discoverers of oxygen gas. Consequently, the discovery of nitrogen is usually accredited to one of Joseph Black\u0027s students, the Scottish scientist, Daniel Rutherford, who\u0027s also the uncle of the novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott. Rutherford published his findings, which was similar to those of Cavendish in his doctoral thesis entitled, \"An Inaugural Dissertation on the Air called Fixed or Mephitic\" in 1772.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo what about the name, nitrogen? In the late 1780s, chemical nomenclature underwent a major revolution under the guidance of the French chemist, Antoine Lavoisier. It was he and his colleagues, who suggested many of the names we still use today including the word hydrogen, which comes from the Greek meaning water former and oxygen from the Greek for acid producer, since Lavoisier mistakenly thought that oxygen was the key component of all acids. However, in his list of the then known elements, Lavoisier included the term azote or azotic gas for what we now call nitrogen. This again stems from Greek words, this time meaning the absence of life, once again focussing on its mephitic quality. It was not long before it was pointed out that there are many mephitic gases, in fact no gas other than oxygen can support life. The name nitrogen was therefore proposed from the observation, again first made by Cavendish that if the gases sparked with oxygen, and then the resulting nitrogen dioxide gases passed through alkali, nitre, otherwise known as saltpetre or potassium nitrate is formed. The word nitrogen therefore means nitre former. The derivatives of the word, azote still survive today. The compound used to explosively fill car air bags with gas is sodium azide, a compound of just sodium and nitrogen. When triggered this compound explosively decomposes freeing the nitrogen gas, which inflates the bags. Far from destroying life, this azotic compound has been responsible for saving thousands.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCambridge University\u0027s Peter Wothers telling the story of the discovery of nitrogen. Next time on Chemistry in its element, how chemists like Mendeleev got to grips with both the known and the unknown.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Peplow\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhile other scientists had tried to create ways of ordering the known elements, Mendeleev created the system that could predict the existence of elements, not yet discovered. When he presented the table to the world in 1869, it contained four prominent gaps. One of these was just below manganese and Mendeleev predicted that element with atomic weight 43 would be found to fill that gap, but it was not until 1937 that a group of Italian scientists finally found the missing element, which they named technetium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear Mark Peplow telling technetium\u0027s tale in next week\u0027s edition of Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening. See you next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Nitrogen","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"N","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"Nitrogen in the form of ammonium chloride, NH\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eCl, was known to the alchemists as sal ammonia. It was manufactured in Egypt by heating a mixture of dung, salt and urine. Nitrogen gas itself was obtained in the 1760s by both Henry Cavendish and Joseph Priestley and they did this by removing the oxygen from air. They noted it extinguished a lighted candle and that a mouse breathing it would soon die. Neither man deduced that it was an element. The first person to suggest this was a young student Daniel Rutherford in his doctorate thesis of September 1772 at Edinburgh, Scotland.","CSID":20473555,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.20473555.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":8,"Symbol":"O","Name":"Oxygen","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image represents the fundamental importance of the element in air and, when bonded to hydrogen, in water.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eOxygen makes up 21% of the atmosphere by volume. This is halfway between 17% (below which breathing for unacclimatised people becomes difficult) and 25% (above which many organic compounds are highly flammable). The element and its compounds make up 49.2% by mass of the Earth’s crust, and about two-thirds of the human body. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere are two key methods used to obtain oxygen gas. The first is by the distillation of liquid air. The second is to pass clean, dry air through a zeolite that absorbs nitrogen and leaves oxygen. A newer method, which gives oxygen of a higher purity, is to pass air over a partially permeable ceramic membrane.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the laboratory it can be prepared by the electrolysis of water or by adding a manganese(IV) oxide catalyst to aqueous hydrogen peroxide.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eOxygen first appeared in the Earth’s atmosphere around 2 billion years ago, accumulating from the photosynthesis of blue-green algae. Photosynthesis uses energy from the sun to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen passes into the atmosphere and the hydrogen joins with carbon dioxide to produce biomass.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen living things need energy they take in oxygen for respiration. The oxygen returns to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOxygen gas is fairly soluble in water, which makes aerobic life in rivers, lakes and oceans possible.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A colourless, odourless gas.","CASnumber":"7782-44-7","GroupID":16,"PeriodID":2,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[He] 2s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e2p\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":8,"RelativeAtomicMass":"15.999","AtomicRadius":"1.52","CovalentRadii":"0.640","ElectronAffinity":"140.976","ElectroNegativity":"3.44","CovalentRadius":"0.64","CommonOxidationStates":"-1, \u003cstrong\u003e-2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-218.79","MeltingPointK":"54.36","MeltingPointF":"-361.82","BoilingPointC":"-182.962","BoilingPointK":"90.188","BoilingPointF":"-297.332","MolarHeatCapacity":"918","Density":"0.001308","DensityValue":"0.001308","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1774","Discovery":"1774","DiscoveredBy":"Joseph Priestley in Wiltshire, England and independently by Carl Wilhelm Scheele in Uppsala, Sweden","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Greek \u0027oxy genes\u0027, meaning acid forming.","CrustalAbundance":"461000","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"O\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, O\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe greatest commercial use of oxygen gas is in the steel industry. Large quantities are also used in the manufacture of a wide range of chemicals including nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. It is also used to make epoxyethane (ethylene oxide), used as antifreeze and to make polyester, and chloroethene, the precursor to PVC. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOxygen gas is used for oxy-acetylene welding and cutting of metals. A growing use is in the treatment of sewage and of effluent from industry.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Oxygen.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: oxygen\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! And welcome to Chemistry in its element, where we take a look at the stories behind the elements that make up the world around us. I\u0027m Chris Smith. This week, we are continuing our tour of the periodic table with a lung full of a gas that we can\u0027t do without. It protects us from solar radiation, it keeps us alive and by helping things to burn, it also keeps us warm. It is of course oxygen. And to tell its story, here\u0027s Mark Peplow.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Peplow\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLittle did those humble cyanobacteria realize what they were doing when two and a half billion years ago, they started to build up their own reserves of energy-rich chemicals, by combining water and carbon dioxide. Powered by sunlight, they spent the next two billion years terraforming our entire planet with the waste products of their photosynthesis, a rather toxic gas called oxygen. In fact, those industrious bugs are ultimately responsible for the diversity of life, we see around us today.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOxygen accounts for about 23% of the atmosphere\u0027s mass with pairs of oxygen atoms stuck together to make dioxygen molecules, but it\u0027s not just in the air, we breathe. Overall, it\u0027s the most abundant element on the earth\u0027s surface and the third most abundant in the universe after hydrogen and helium. Our planet\u0027s rocks are about 46% oxygen by weight, much of it in the form of silicon dioxide, which we know most commonly as sand. And many of the metals we mine from the Earth\u0027s crust are also found as their oxides, aluminium in bauxite or iron in hematite, while carbonates such as limestone are also largely made of oxygen and the oceans are of course about 86% oxygen, connected to hydrogen as good old H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO, just about the most perfect solvent you can imagine for biochemistry.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOxygen is also in virtually every molecule in your body including fats, carbohydrates and DNA. In particular, it\u0027s the atom that links together the phosphate groups in the energy-carrying molecule ATP. Oxygen is obviously pretty useful for keeping us going, but is also widely used in industry as an oxidant, where it can give up some of that solar energy captured by plant and those cyanobacteria. A stream of oxygen can push the temperature of a blast furnace over 2000 degrees and it allows an oxyacetylene torch to cut straight through metal. The space shuttle is carried into space on an incredible force produced when liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen combine to make water.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo who first noticed this ubiquitous stuff? There\u0027s certainly some debate about who first identified oxygen as an element, partly because at the time the precise definition of an element still hadn\u0027t really been pinned down. English chemist, Joseph Priestley certainly isolated oxygen gas in the 1770s, although he tried to define it as dephlogisticated air. Phlogiston was then thought to be some kind of primordial substance that was the root cause of combustion. Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele was a fan of phlogiston too and probably discovered oxygen before Priestly did. But it was Antoine Lavoisier, sometimes called the father of modern chemistry, who was the first to truly identify oxygen as an element and in doing so, he really helped to firm up the definition that an element is something that cannot be broken down by any kind of chemical analysis. This also helped him to kill off the phlogiston theory, which was a crucial step in the evolution of chemistry. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOxygen isn\u0027t only about the dioxygen molecules that sustain us. There is another form, trioxygen, also known as ozone and it\u0027s also pretty important in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, is responsible for filtering out harmful ultraviolet rays, but unfortunately, ozone is also pretty toxic. So it\u0027s bad news that tons of the gas are produced by the reactions between hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides churned out by cars every day. If only we could transplant the stuff, straight up into the stratosphere! Now ozone is normally spread so thinly in the air, that you can\u0027t see its pale blue colour and oxygen gas is colourless unless you liquefy it, but there is one place where you can see the gas in all its glory. The aurora or polar lights, where particles from the solar wind slam into oxygen molecules in the upper atmosphere to produce the swirling green and red colours that have entranced humans for millennia.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo why life is a gas, that was Mark Peplow revealing the secrets of the element that we can\u0027t live without. Next time on Chemistry in its element, Johnny Ball joins us to tell the story of a chemical that\u0027s craved by Olympic athletes, makes good hi-five connectors and is also a favourite for fillings. And that\u0027s in teeth, not pies.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohnny Ball\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToday one gram can be beaten into a square meter sheet just 230 atoms thick, one cubic centimetre would make a sheet 18 square meters, 1 gram could be drawn out to make 165 meters of wire just 1/200\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e of a millimetre thick. The gold colour in Buckingham Palace fence is actually gold; gold covered because it lasts 30 years; whereas gold paint which actually contains no gold at all lasts in tip-top condition only a year or so.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo all that glitters isn\u0027t gold, but some is, and you can find out why on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thanks for listening. See you next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Oxygen","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"O","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1608, Cornelius Drebbel had shown that heating saltpetre (potassium nitrate, KNO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) released a gas. This was oxygen although it was not identified as such.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe credit for discovering oxygen is now shared by three chemists: an Englishman, a Swede, and a Frenchman. Joseph Priestley was the first to publish an account of oxygen, having made it in 1774 by focussing sunlight on to mercuric oxide (HgO), and collecting the gas which came off. He noted that a candle burned more brightly in it and that it made breathing easier. Unknown to Priestly, Carl Wilhelm Scheele had produced oxygen in June 1771. He had written an account of his discovery but it was not published until 1777. Antoine Lavoisier also claimed to have discovered oxygen, and he proposed that the new gas be called oxy-gène, meaning acid-forming, because he thought it was the basis of all acids.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":140526,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.140526.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":9,"Symbol":"F","Name":"Fluorine","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the highly reactive nature of the element.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe most common fluorine minerals are fluorite, fluorspar and cryolite, but it is also rather widely distributed in other minerals. It is the 13th most common element in the Earth’s crust. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFluorine is made by the electrolysis of a solution of potassium hydrogendifluoride (KHF2) in anhydrous hydrofluoric acid.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eFluoride is an essential ion for animals, strengthening teeth and bones. It is added to drinking water in some areas. The presence of fluorides below 2 parts per million in drinking water is believed to prevent dental cavities. However, above this concentration it may cause children’s tooth enamel to become mottled. Fluoride is also added to toothpaste. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe average human body contains about 3 milligrams of fluoride. Too much fluoride is toxic. Elemental fluorine is highly toxic. \u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A very pale yellow-green, dangerously reactive gas. It is the most reactive of all the elements and quickly attacks all metals. Steel wool bursts into flames when exposed to fluorine.","CASnumber":"7782-41-4","GroupID":17,"PeriodID":2,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[He] 2s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e2p\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":9,"RelativeAtomicMass":"18.998","AtomicRadius":"1.47","CovalentRadii":"0.600","ElectronAffinity":"328.165","ElectroNegativity":"3.98","CovalentRadius":"0.60","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e-1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-219.67","MeltingPointK":"53.48","MeltingPointF":"-363.41","BoilingPointC":"-188.11","BoilingPointK":"85.04","BoilingPointF":"-306.6","MolarHeatCapacity":"824","Density":"0.001553","DensityValue":"0.001553","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1886","Discovery":"1886","DiscoveredBy":"Henri Moissan","OriginOfName":"The name is derived form the Latin \u0027fluere\u0027, meaning to flow","CrustalAbundance":"553","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":17,"ProductionConcentrations":56,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.7,"Allotropes":"F\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThere was no commercial production of fluorine until the Second World War, when the development of the atom bomb, and other nuclear energy projects, made it necessary to produce large quantities. Before this, fluorine salts, known as fluorides, were for a long time used in welding and for frosting glass. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe element is used to make uranium hexafluoride, needed by the nuclear power industry to separate uranium isotopes. It is also used to make sulfur hexafluoride, the insulating gas for high-power electricity transformers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn fact, fluorine is used in many fluorochemicals, including solvents and high-temperature plastics, such as Teflon (poly(tetrafluoroethene), PTFE). Teflon is well known for its non-stick properties and is used in frying pans. It is also used for cable insulation, for plumber’s tape and as the basis of Gore-Tex® (used in waterproof shoes and clothing). \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHydrofluoric acid is used for etching the glass of light bulbs and in similar applications. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCFCs (chloro-fluoro-carbons) were once used as aerosol propellants, refrigerants and for ‘blowing’ expanded polystyrene. However, their inertness meant that, once in the atmosphere, they diffused into the stratosphere and destroyed the Earth’s ozone layer. They are now banned.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Fluorine.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: fluorine\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, a strong acid it\u0027s not, but deadly it definitely is.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKira J. Weissman\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe 37-year old technician spilled only a few hundred milliliters or so in his lap during a routine palaeontology experiment. He took the normal precaution in such situations, quickly dowsing himself with water from a laboratory hose, and even plunged into a nearby swimming pool while the paramedics were en route. But a week later, doctors removed a leg, and a week after that, he was dead. The culprit: hydrofluoric acid (colloquially known as HF), and the unfortunate man was not its first victim. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUnlike its close relatives, hydrochloric and hydrobromic acid, HF is a weak acid. This, coupled with its small molecular size, allows it to penetrate the skin and migrate rapidly towards the deeper tissue layers. Once past the epidermis, HF starts to dissociate, unleashing the highly-reactive fluoride ion. Free fluoride binds tightly to both calcium and magnesium, forming insoluble salts which precipitate into the surrounding tissues. Robbed of their co-factors, critical metabolic enzymes can no longer function, cells begin to die, tissues to liquefy and bone to corrode away. And if calcium loss is rapid enough, muscles such as the heart stop working. Burns with concentrated HF involving as little as 2.5% of the body surface area - the size of the sole of the foot, for example - have been fatal. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHF has a long history of destructive behaviour, claiming the lives of several chemists in the 1800s, including the Belgian Paulin Louyet, and the Frenchman Jérôme Nicklès. These brave scientists were battling to be the first to isolate elemental fluorine (F\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) from its various compounds, using electrolysis. However, it was Nicklès\u0027 countrymen, Henri Moissan, who succeeded in 1886. To achieve this feat, Moissan not only had to contend with HF - the preferred electrolyte in such experiments - but fluorine itself, a violently reactive gas. His key innovation was to construct an apparatus out of platinum, one of the few metals capable of resisting attack, while cooling the electrolytic solution down to -50 °C to limit corrosion. Moissan\u0027s feat earned him the 1906 Nobel Prize in chemistry, but the celebration was short-lived. Another victim of fluorine\u0027s toxic effects, he died only two months later. Yet Moissan\u0027s method lived on, and is used today to produce multi-ton quantities of fluorine from its ore fluorspar.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIronically, while elemental fluorine is decidedly bad for your health, fluorine atoms turns up in some 20% of all pharmaceuticals. The top-selling anti-depressant Prozac, the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, and the antibacterial Cipro, all have fluorine to thank for their success. How is this possible? Because the flip side of fluorine\u0027s extreme reactivity is the strength of the bonds it forms with other atoms, notably including carbon. This property makes organofluorine compounds some of the most stable and inert substances known to man. Fluorine\u0027s special status also stems from the \u0027fluorine factor\u0027, the ability of this little atom to fine-tune the chemical properties of an entire molecule. For example, replacing hydrogen with fluorine can protect drugs from degradation by metabolic enzymes, extending their active lifetimes inside the body. Or the introduced fluorine can alter a molecule\u0027s shape so that it binds better to its target protein. Such precise chemical tinkering can now be carried out in pharmaceutical labs using an array of safe, commercially-available fluorinating agents, or the tricky transformations can simply be out-sourced to someone else.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost of us also have fluorine to thank for our beaming smiles. The cavity-fighting agents in toothpaste are inorganic fluorides such as sodium fluoride and sodium monofluorophosphate. Fluoride not only decreases the amount of enamel-dissolving acid produced by plaque bacteria, but aids in the tooth rebuilding process, insinuating itself into the enamel to form an even harder surface which resists future attack. And the list of medical applications doesn\u0027t stop there. Being put to sleep is a little bit less worrisome thanks to fluorinated anaesthetics such as isoflurane and desflurane, which replaced flammable and explosive alternatives such as diethyl ether and chloroform. Fluorocarbons are also one of the leading candidates in development as artificial blood, as oxygen is more soluble in these materials than most other solvents. And radioactive fluorine (\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003eF rather than the naturally-occurring \u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003eF) is a key ingredient in positron emission tomography (or PET), a whole-body imaging technique that allows cancerous tumours to be discovered before they spread. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFluorochemicals are also a mainstay of industry. One of the most famous is the polymer polytetrafluoroethylene, better known as Teflon, which holds the title of world\u0027s most slippery solid. Highly thermostable and water proof, it\u0027s used as a coating for pots and pans, in baking sprays, and to repel stains on furniture and carpets. Heating and stretching transforms Teflon into Gore-tex, the porous membrane of sportswear fame. Gore-tex\u0027s pores are small enough to keep water droplets out, while allowing water vapour (that is, sweat) to escape. So you can run on a rainy day, and still stay dry. Fluorine plays another important role in keeping you cool, as air-conditioning and household refrigeration units run on energy-efficient fluorocarbon fluids. And fluorine\u0027s uses are not limited to earth. When astronauts jet off into space they put their trust in fluoroelastomers, a type of fluorinated rubber. Fashioned into O-rings and other sealing devices, these materials ensure that aircraft remain leak-free even under extreme conditions of heat and cold. And when accidents do happen, space travellers can rely on fluorocarbon-based fire extinguishers to put the flames out. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFluorine has long been known as the \u0027tiger of chemistry\u0027. And while the element certainly retains its wild side, we can reasonably claim to have tamed it. As only a handful of naturally-occurring organofluorine compounds have ever been discovered, some might argue that we now make better use of fluorine than even Nature herself.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo Teflon is acknowledged as the world\u0027s most slippery thing and I bet there are one or two politicians knocking around who are thanking fluorine for that. Thank you also to Kira Weismann from Zaarland University in Germany. Next week.ouch\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Mylon\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI cannot imagine that this is all someone would be saying if they were unfortunate enough to be stricken with the disease of the same name. The ouch-ouch disease.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe disease results from excessive cadmium poisoning and was first reported in a small town about 200 miles north west of Tokyo. Rice grown in cadmium contaminated soils had more than 10 times the cadmium content than normal rice. The ouch-ouch-ness of this disease resulted from weak and brittle bones subject to collapse due to high porosity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can find out about the ouch-ouch factor with Steve Mylon when he uncovers the story of cadmium on next week\u0027s Chemistry in Its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Fluorine","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"F","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"South Africa; Mexico; China","TopProductionCountries":"China; Mexico; Mongolia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe early chemists were aware that metal fluorides contained an unidentified element similar to chlorine, but they could not isolate it. (The French scientist, André Ampère coined the name fluorine in 1812.) Even the great Humphry Davy was unable to produce the element, and he became ill by trying to isolate it from hydrofluoric acid.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe British chemist George Gore in 1869 passed an electric current through liquid HF but found that the gas which was liberated reacted violently with his apparatus. He thought it was fluorine but was unable to collect it and prove it. Then in 1886 the French chemist Henri Moissan obtained it by the electrolysis of potassium bifluoride (KHF\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) dissolved in liquid HF.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514530,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514530.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"44.3","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":10,"Symbol":"Ne","Name":"Neon","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The images of Las Vegas and the neon ‘dollar’ symbol reflect the use of the gas in neon lighting for advertising.","NaturalAbundance":"Neon is the fifth most abundant element in the universe. However, it is present in the Earth’s atmosphere at a concentration of just 18 parts per million. It is extracted by fractional distillation of liquid air. This gives a fraction that contains both helium and neon. The helium is removed from the mixture with activated charcoal.","BiologicalRoles":"Neon has no known biological role. It is non-toxic.","Appearance":"A colourless, odourless gas. Neon will not react with any other substance.","CASnumber":"7440-01-9","GroupID":18,"PeriodID":2,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[He] 2s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e2p\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":10,"RelativeAtomicMass":"20.180","AtomicRadius":"1.54","CovalentRadii":"0.620","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"0.62","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cbr\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-248.59","MeltingPointK":"24.56","MeltingPointF":"-415.46","BoilingPointC":"-246.046","BoilingPointK":"27.104","BoilingPointF":"-410.883","MolarHeatCapacity":"1030","Density":"0.000825","DensityValue":"0.000825","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1898","Discovery":"1898","DiscoveredBy":"Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Greek \u0027neos\u0027, meaning new.","CrustalAbundance":"0.005","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe largest use of neon is in making the ubiquitous ‘neon signs’ for advertising. In a vacuum discharge tube neon glows a reddish orange colour. Only the red signs actually contain pure neon. Others contain different gases to give different colours.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNeon is also used to make high-voltage indicators and switching gear, lightning arresters, diving equipment and lasers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLiquid neon is an important cryogenic refrigerant. It has over 40 times more refrigerating capacity per unit volume than liquid helium, and more than 3 times that of liquid hydrogen.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Neon.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: neon\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! This week, we meet the element that made the red light district what it is today, well sort of; what you\u0027re sure to see is a blaze of neon signs and with the story of how they came to be, here\u0027s Victoria Gill.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVictoria Gill\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis could be the most captivating element of the periodic table. It\u0027s the gas that can give you your name or any word you like, in fact, in light. Neon gas filled the first illuminated science, which were produced almost a Century ago and since then, it has infiltrated language and culture. The word conjures up images of colourful or sometimes rather seedy, glowing science, many of which now don\u0027t contain the gas itself. Only the red glow is pure neon, almost every other colour is now produced using argon, mercury and phosphorus in varying proportions, which gives more than a 150 possible colours. Nevertheless, it\u0027s neon that\u0027s now a generic name for all the glowing tubes that allow advertisers and even many artists to draw and write with light and it was that glow that gave its presence away for the first time.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBefore it was isolated, the space it left in the periodic table was the source of years of frustration. With his discovery of Argon in 1894 and the isolation of helium that followed in 1895, the British chemist, Sir William Ramsay had found the first and the third members of the group of inert gases. To fill the gap, he needed to find the second. Finally, in 1898 at University College, London, Ramsay and his colleague, Morris Travers modified an experiment they tried previously, they allowed solid argon surrounded by liquid air to evaporate slowly under reduced pressure and collected the gas that came off first. When they put the sample of their newly discovered gas into an atomic spectrometer, heating it up, they were startled by its glowing brilliance. Travers wrote of this discovery, \u003cem\u003e\"the blaze of crimson light from the tube told its own story and was a sight to dwell upon and never forget.\" \u003c/em\u003e The name neon comes from the Greek, \u003cem\u003eneos\u003c/em\u003e meaning new. It was actually Ramsey\u0027s thirteen year old son, who suggested the name for the gas, saying he would like to call it \u003cem\u003enovum\u003c/em\u003e from the Latin word for new. His father liked the idea, but preferred to use the Greek. So a new element in name and nature, finally took its place in the periodic table. And initially its lack of reactivity meant there were no obvious uses for Neon.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt took a bit of imagination from the French engineer, chemist and inventor, Georges Claude, who early in the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e Century first applied an electric discharge to a sealed tube of neon gas. The red glow it produced, gave Claude the idea of manufacturing a source of light in an entirely new way. He made glass tubes of Neon, which could be used just like light bulbs. Claude displayed the first neon lamp to the public on December 11\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e, 1910 at an exhibition in Paris. His striking display turned heads but unfortunately sold no neon tubes. People simply didn\u0027t want to illuminate their homes with red light; but Claude wasn\u0027t deterred. He patented his invention in 1915 and during his quest to find a use for it he discovered that by bending the tubes, he could make letters that glowed. The use of neon tubes for advertising signs began in 1923, when his company Claude Neon, introduced the gas filled tubular signs to the United States. He sold two to a Packard car dealership in Los Angeles. The first neon signs were dubbed \u0027liquid fire\u0027 and people would stop in the street to stare at them, even in daylight, they glow visibly. These days neon is extracted from liquid air by fractional distillation and just a few tons a year of the abundantly available gas is enough to satisfy any commercial needs. And of course there are now many sources of illuminated signs, screens and displays that give us far more impressive scrolling letters and moving pictures that we associate with the bright colourful lights of say Times Square in New York City. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo Neon might have lost some of its unique lustre here on Earth, but further away, it has helped reveal some secretes of the most important glowing object for our planet, the Sun. Solar particles or solar wind also contain Neon in the ratio of two neon isotopes in Moon rock samples, rocks that get blasted by the solar wind for billions of years had until recently baffled scientists. This is because the ratio of the two isotopes varied according to the depths in the rock; with more neon-22 than neon-20 at lower depths. So did this mean that the sun had once been significantly more active than it is today, shooting out higher energy particles that could penetrate deeper into the rocks? This question was finally answered when scientists studied a piece of metallic glass that had been exposed to the solar wind for just two years on the Genesis spacecraft, which crashed to Earth in 2004. When scientists measured the distribution of Neon in the glass samples, exposed to solar wind, they found the top layer also contained more neon-20 than the underlying layer. The underlying layer was similar to the moon rock. Since the activity of the sun was very unlikely to have changed during the two-year mission, it seems that a type of space erosion was causing the discrepancy, micrometeoroids or the particles simply removed some of the original neon from the top surface of the lunar rock. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo may be you should stop and dwell upon the next neon sign you see and just appreciate a truly unique glow.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, an element that\u0027s as at home in outer space, as it is advertising a brand name here on Earth. That was Victoria Gill with the story of neon. Next time, to the chemical that ironed out the wrinkles in steel making.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRon Caspi\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen Sir Henry Bessemer invented the process of steel making in 1856, his steel broke up when hot rolled or forged; the problem was solved later that year, when Robert Foster Mushet, another Englishman, discovered that adding small amounts of manganese to the molten iron solves the problem. Since manganese has a greater affinity for sulfur than does iron, it converts the low-melting iron sulfide in steel to high-melting manganese sulfide. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut how did it work, Ron Caspi will be here next week with the story of manganese, the element that makes photosynthesis feasible and gave us an alternative to green glass. That\u0027s on next week\u0027s \u003cem\u003eChemistry in its element;\u003c/em\u003e I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Neon","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ne","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"In 1898, William Ramsay and Morris Travers at University College London isolated krypton gas by evaporating liquid argon. They had been expecting to find a lighter gas which would fit a niche above argon in the periodic table of the elements. They then repeated their experiment, this time allowing \u003cem\u003esolid\u003c/em\u003e argon to evaporate slowly under reduced pressure and collected the gas which came off first. This time they were successful, and when they put a sample of the new gas into their atomic spectrometer it startled them by the brilliant red glow that we now associate with neon signs. Ramsay named the new gas neon, basing it on \u003cem\u003eneos, \u003c/em\u003e the Greek word for new.","CSID":22377,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22377.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":11,"Symbol":"Na","Name":"Sodium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The two lines in a circle represents sodium, and is one of the element symbols developed by John Dalton in the 19th century. The orange glow is like the colour of sodium street lighting and the spiked ‘flash’ symbol reflects the element\u0027s high reactivity.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eSodium is the sixth most common element on Earth, and makes up 2.6% of the Earth’s crust. The most common compound is sodium chloride. This very soluble salt has been leached into the oceans over the lifetime of the planet, but many salt beds or ‘lakes’ are found where ancient seas have evaporated. It is also found in many minerals including cryolite, zeolite and sodalite. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause sodium is so reactive it is never found as the metal in nature. Sodium metal is produced by electrolysis of dry molten sodium chloride.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Sodium is essential to all living things, and humans have known this since prehistoric times. Our bodies contain about 100 grams, but we are constantly losing sodium in different ways so we need to replace it. We can get all the sodium we need from our food, without adding any extra. The average person eats about 10 grams of salt a day, but all we really need is about 3 grams. Any extra sodium may contribute to high blood pressure. Sodium is important for many different functions of the human body. For example, it helps cells to transmit nerve signals and regulate water levels in tissues and blood.","Appearance":"Sodium is a soft metal that tarnishes within seconds of being exposed to the air. It also reacts vigorously with water.","CASnumber":"7440-23-5","GroupID":1,"PeriodID":3,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ne] 3s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":11,"RelativeAtomicMass":"22.990","AtomicRadius":"2.27","CovalentRadii":"1.600","ElectronAffinity":"52.867","ElectroNegativity":"0.93","CovalentRadius":"1.60","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"97.794","MeltingPointK":"370.944","MeltingPointF":"208.029","BoilingPointC":"882.940","BoilingPointK":"1156.090","BoilingPointF":"1621.292","MolarHeatCapacity":"1228","Density":"0.97","DensityValue":"0.97","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"6.3","DiscoveryYear":"1807","Discovery":"1807","DiscoveredBy":"Humphry Davy","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the English word \u0027soda\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"23600","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":24.3,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":4,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eSodium is used as a heat exchanger in some nuclear reactors, and as a reagent in the chemicals industry. But sodium salts have more uses than the metal itself.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe most common compound of sodium is sodium chloride (common salt). It is added to food and used to de-ice roads in winter. It is also used as a feedstock for the chemical industry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSodium carbonate (washing soda) is also a useful sodium salt. It is used as a water softener.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Sodium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: sodium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week an essential element with a split personality. Here\u0027s David Read.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Read\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSodium, like most elements in the periodic table could be said to have a dual personality. On one side it is an essential nutrient for most living things, and yet, due to its reactive nature is also capable of wreaking havoc if you happen to combine it with something you shouldn\u0027t.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs such sodium is found naturally only in compounds and never as the free element. Even so it is highly abundant, accounting for around 2.6 per cent of the earths crust by weight. Its most common compounds include dissolved sodium chloride (or table salt), its solid form, halite and as a charge balancing cation in zeolites.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAside from being an essential nutrient, the story of man and sodium is said to begin all the way back in the time of the Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt, with the first recorded mention of a sodium compound in the form of hieroglyphics. It is difficult to describe a pictogram through speech but imagine a squiggly line over the top of a hollow eye-shape, over the top of a semicircle, with a left-facing vulture image next to them all. This pictogram meant divine or pure and its name is the root of the word natron, which was used to refer to washing soda, or sodium carbonate decahydrate, as we would know it today. Sodium carbonate was used in soap, and also, in the process of mummification thanks to its water absorbing and bacteria killing pH control properties.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn medieval Europe, however, sodium carbonate was also used as a cure for headaches, and so took the name sodanum, from the Arabic suda, meaning headache. It was this terminology that inspired Sir Humphrey Davy to call the element sodium when he first isolated it by passing an electric current through caustic soda, or sodium hydroxide, in 1807. This process is known as electrolysis and using it Davy went on to isolate elemental potassium, calcium, magnesium and barium by a very similar method.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry teachers often confuse children when they tell them about chemical symbols. Whilst ones like H, N, C and O all seem perfectly logical, abbreviating sodium to Na seems counterintuitive at first. However, if we consider the word natron, we can see where the abbreviated form came from. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen isolated in metallic form, silvery white sodium is a violent element, immediately oxidising upon contact with air, and violently producing hydrogen gas which may burst into flame when brought into contact with water. It is one of the highly reactive group one elements that are named the alkali metals. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLike the other alkali metals, it has a very distinctive flame test - a bright orange colour, from the D-line emission. This is something you will have seen in all built up areas in the form of street lamps, which use sodium to produce the unnatural yellow light bathing our streets. This effect was first noted in 1860 by Kirchoff and Bunsen of Bunsen Burner fame.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlmost all young chemists will have done a flame test at some point, and sodium chloride is a popular choice. Unfortunately, the intensity of the colour is such that if any of the compound is spilled into the Bunsen burner, it is cursed to burn with a blue and orange speckled flame seemingly forever. The reaction of sodium with water is a favourite demonstration, and clips of it abound on the internet. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSodium and its compounds have applications so diverse it would be impossible to mention them all here, a couple of examples include the fact that sodium is used to cool nuclear reactors, since it won\u0027t boil as water would at the high temperatures that are reached.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSodium hydroxide can be used to remove sulfur from petrol and diesel, although the toxic soup of by-products that is formed has led to the process being outlawed in most countries. Sodium hydroxide is also used in biodiesel manufacture, and as a key component in products that remove blockages from drains.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBaking soda actually contains sodium (it\u0027s in the name!) and its chemical name is sodium bicarbonate, where I\u0027m sure you\u0027ve come across it in baking or cooking where it undergoes thermal decomposition at above 70°C to release carbon dioxide - which then makes your dough rise.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is as an ion, however, that sodium really becomes important. An average human being has to take in around two grams of sodium a day - and virtually all of this will be taken in the form of salt in the diet. Sodium ions are used to build up electrical gradients in the firing of neurons in the brain. This involves sodium (and its big brother potassium) diffusing through cell membranes. Sodium diffuses in and is pumped back out, while potassium does the reverse journey. This can take up a huge amount of the body\u0027s energy - sometimes as much as 40 per cent.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI\u0027d like to end with a brief story which highlights the dual personality of sodium. One man bought three and a half pounds of sodium metal from the internet and spent the evening reacting it with water in various shapes and sizes whilst he and his friends watched from a safe distance. The party was apparently a success, but he doesn\u0027t suggest hosting your own. The following day when the host came outside to check the area where he detonated the sodium was clear, he noticed that it was covered in swarms of yellow butterflies. After doing some research, he found that these butterflies had an interesting habit. The males search for sodium and gradually collect it, presenting it to their mates later as a ritual. So, that sums up the two faces of sodium. Its violent reactive nature contrasted with its use by amorous butterflies.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat was Southampton university\u0027s David Read with the two faced chemistry of sodium. Now next week, the chemical equivalent of train spotting.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s easy to accuse the scientists who produce new, very heavy elements of being chemistry\u0027s train spotters. Just as train spotters spend hours watching for a particular locomotive so they can underline it in their book, it may seem that these chemists laboriously produce an atom or two of a superheavy element as an exercise in ticking the box. But element 114 has provided more than one surprise, showing why such elements are well worth investigating.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out why element 114 is worth the effort join Brian Clegg in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Sodium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Na","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"China; India; USA","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eSalt (sodium chloride, NaCl) and soda (sodium carbonate, Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) had been known since prehistoric times, the former used as a flavouring and preservative, and the latter for glass manufacture. Salt came from seawater, while soda came from the Natron Valley in Egypt or from the ash of certain plants. Their composition was debated by early chemists and the solution finally came from the Royal Institution in London in October 1807 where Humphry Davy exposed caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, NaOH) to an electric current and obtained globules of sodium metal, just as he had previously done for potassium, although he needed to use a stronger current.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe following year, Louis-Josef Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard obtained sodium by heating to red heat a mixture of caustic soda and iron filings.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514534,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514534.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":12,"Symbol":"Mg","Name":"Magnesium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is inspired by chlorophyll, the molecule contained in green plants that enables them to photosynthesise. Chlorophyll contains a single atom of magnesium at its centre.","NaturalAbundance":"Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, but does not occur uncombined in nature. It is found in large deposits in minerals such as magnesite and dolomite. The sea contains trillions of tonnes of magnesium, and this is the source of much of the 850,000 tonnes now produced each year. It is prepared by reducing magnesium oxide with silicon, or by the electrolysis of molten magnesium chloride.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eMagnesium is an essential element in both plant and animal life. Chlorophyll is the chemical that allows plants to capture sunlight, and photosynthesis to take place. Chlorophyll is a magnesium-centred porphyrin complex. Without magnesium photosynthesis could not take place, and life as we know it would not exist. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn humans, magnesium is essential to the working of hundreds of enzymes. Humans take in about 250–350 milligrams of magnesium each day. We each store about 20 grams in our bodies, mainly in the bones. \u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A silvery-white metal that ignites easily in air and burns with a bright light.","CASnumber":"7439-95-4","GroupID":2,"PeriodID":3,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ne] 3s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":12,"RelativeAtomicMass":"24.305","AtomicRadius":"1.73","CovalentRadii":"1.400","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"1.31","CovalentRadius":"1.40","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"650","MeltingPointK":"923","MeltingPointF":"1202","BoilingPointC":"1090","BoilingPointK":"1363","BoilingPointF":"1994","MolarHeatCapacity":"1023","Density":"1.74","DensityValue":"1.74","YoungsModulus":"44.7","ShearModulus":"17.3","BulkModulus":"44.7","DiscoveryYear":"1755","Discovery":"1755","DiscoveredBy":"Joseph Black","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from Magnesia, a district of Eastern Thessaly in Greece.","CrustalAbundance":"28104","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":26,"ProductionConcentrations":64,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.1,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eMagnesium is one-third less dense than aluminium. It improves the mechanical, fabrication and welding characteristics of aluminium when used as an alloying agent. These alloys are useful in aeroplane and car construction.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMagnesium is used in products that benefit from being lightweight, such as car seats, luggage, laptops, cameras and power tools. It is also added to molten iron and steel to remove sulfur. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs magnesium ignites easily in air and burns with a bright light, it’s used in flares, fireworks and sparklers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMagnesium sulfate is sometimes used as a mordant for dyes. Magnesium hydroxide is added to plastics to make them fire retardant. Magnesium oxide is used to make heat-resistant bricks for fireplaces and furnaces. It is also added to cattle feed and fertilisers. Magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia), sulfate (Epsom salts), chloride and citrate are all used in medicine.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGrignard reagents are organic magnesium compounds that are important for the chemical industry. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Magnesium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: magnesium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week we meet the substance whose chemical claim to fame is that its quite literally hit a bum note in the past as a cure for constipation. But its explosive role isn\u0027t just confined to the colon because it\u0027s also the basis of incendriary bombs and even the existence of life on earth. And to tell the story of Magnesium, here\u0027s John Emsley.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Emsley\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was once the destroyer of cities - now it\u0027s a saver of energy\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe summer of 1618 saw England gripped by drought, but as Henry Wicker walked across Epsom Common he was came across a pool of water from which thirsty cattle refused to drink. He found that the water tasted bitter and on evaporation it yielded a salt which had a remarkable effect: it acted as a laxative. This became the famous Epsom\u0027s salt (magnesium sulfate, MgSO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e) and became a treatment for constipation for the next 350 years. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first person to propose that magnesium was an element was Joseph Black of Edinburgh in 1755, and an impure form of metallic magnesium was produced in 1792 by Anton Rupprecht who heated magnesia (magnesium oxide, MgO) with charcoal. He named the element \u003cem\u003eaustrium\u003c/em\u003e after his native Austria. A small sample of the \u003cem\u003epure\u003c/em\u003e metal was isolated by Humphry Davy in 1808, by the electrolysis of moist MgO, and he proposed the name \u003cem\u003emagnium\u003c/em\u003e based on the mineral magnesite (MgCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) which came from Magnesia in Greece. Neither name survived and eventually it was called magnesium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMagnesium is essential to almost all life on Earth - it is at the heart of the chlorophyll molecule, which plants use to convert carbon dioxide into glucose, and then to cellulose, starch, and many other molecules which pass along the food chain. Humans take in around 300 mg of magnesium per day and we need at least 200 mg, but the body has a store of around 25 g of this element in its skeleton so there is rarely a deficiency.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlmonds, brazil nuts, cashew nuts, soybeans, parsnips, bran, and even chocolate are all rich in magnesium. Some brands of beer contain a lot, such as Webster\u0027s Yorkshire Bitter - it may owe some of its flavour to the high levels of magnesium sulfate in the water used to brew it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMagnesium is the seventh most abundant element in the Earth\u0027s crust, and third most abundant if the Earth\u0027s mantle is also taken into consideration because this consists largely of olivine and pyroxene, which are magnesium silicates. It is also abundant in sea water (1200 p.p.m.) so much so that this was the source of magnesium for bombs in World War II. The metal itself was produced by the electrolysis of the molten chloride.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOnce magnesium starts to burn it is almost impossible to extinguish, because it reacts exothermically with oxygen, nitrogen and water. It burns with a bright light and was used for photographic flash bulbs It made an ideal incendiary agent and in some air raids during World War II as many as half a million 2 kg magnesium bombs would be scattered over a city in the space of an hour. The result was massive conflagrations and firestorms. Bulk magnesium metal is not easily ignited so this had to be done by a thermite reaction at the heart of the bomb. The thermite reaction, between aluminium powder and iron oxide, releases more than enough heat to cause the magnesium casing of the bomb to burn fiercely.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMany minerals are known which contain magnesium; but the main ones are dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate, CaMg(CO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e)\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) and magnesite which are mined to the extent of 10 million tonnes per year. Magnesite is heated to convert it to magnesia (MgO), and this has several applications: fertilizers; cattle feed supplement; a bulking agent in plastics; and for heat-resistant bricks for fireplaces and furnaces. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe metal itself is being produced in increasing amounts. It was originally introduced for racing bicycles which were the first vehicles to use pure magnesium frames, giving a better combination of strength and lightness than other metals. (A steel frame is nearly five times heavier than a magnesium one.) \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor use as a metal, magnesium is alloyed with a few percent of aluminium, plus traces of zinc and manganese, to improve strength, corrosion resistance and welding qualities, and this alloy is used to save energy by making things lighter. It is found in car and aircraft seats, lightweight luggage, lawn mowers, power tools, disc drives and cameras. At the end of its useful life the magnesium in all these products can be recycled at very little cost. Because it is an electropositive metal, magnesium can be act as a \u0027sacrificial\u0027 electrode to protect iron and steel structures because it corrodes away preferentially when they are exposed to water which otherwise would cause rusting\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo better bikes, better bombs and better bums. Thank you very much to science writer John Emsley for telling the tale of Magnesium. Next week the illuminating story of the element that spawned a light bulb but really needs to work on its image.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eQuentin Cooper\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf any element needs a change of PR this is the one. It\u0027s brittle, prone to ponginess and arguably the dunce of the periodic table. Even the man who discovered osmium treated it rather sniffily. It reeked - or at least some of its compounds did. Tennant described the \u003cem\u003e\"pungent and penetrating smell\" \u003c/em\u003e as one of the new element\u0027s \u003cem\u003e\"most distinguishing characters\"\u003c/em\u003e. So he called it osmium - osme being the Greek for odour.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat\u0027s Quentin Cooper who will be undressing osmium for us in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening, see you next time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Magnesium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Mg","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Russia; China; North Korea","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Turkey","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe first person to recognise that magnesium was an element was Joseph Black at Edinburgh in 1755. He distinguished magnesia (magnesium oxide, MgO) from lime (calcium oxide, CaO) although both were produced by heating similar kinds of carbonate rocks, magnesite and limestone respectively. Another magnesium mineral called meerschaum (magnesium silicate) was reported by Thomas Henry in 1789, who said that it was much used in Turkey to make pipes for smoking tobacco.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAn impure form of metallic magnesium was first produced in 1792 by Anton Rupprecht who heated magnesia with charcoal. A pure, but tiny, amount of the metal was isolated in 1808 by Humphry Davy by the electrolysis of magnesium oxide. However, it was the French scientist, Antoine-Alexandre-Brutus Bussy who made a sizeable amount of the metal in 1831 by reacting magnesium chloride with potassium, and he then studied its properties.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4575328,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4575328.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"10–30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"18.4","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":13,"Symbol":"Al","Name":"Aluminium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Aircraft fuselages and aluminium foil are just two of the many and varied uses of this element","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eAluminium is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust (8.1%) but is rarely found uncombined in nature. It is usually found in minerals such as bauxite and cryolite. These minerals are aluminium silicates. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost commercially produced aluminium is extracted by the Hall–Héroult process. In this process aluminium oxide is dissolved in molten cryolite and then electrolytically reduced to pure aluminium. Making aluminium is very energy intensive. 5% of the electricity generated in the USA is used in aluminium production. However, once it has been made it does not readily corrode and can be easily recycled.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eAluminium has no known biological role. In its soluble +3 form it is toxic to plants. Acidic soils make up almost half of arable land on Earth, and the acidity speeds up the release of Al3+ from its minerals. Crops can then absorb the Al3+ leading to lower yields. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOur bodies absorb only a small amount of the aluminium we take in with our food. Foods with above average amounts of aluminium are tea, processed cheese, lentils and sponge cakes (where it comes from the raising agent). Cooking in aluminium pans does not greatly increase the amount in our diet, except when cooking acidic foods such as rhubarb. Some indigestion tablets are pure aluminium hydroxide. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAluminium can accumulate in the body, and a link with Alzheimer’s disease (senile dementia) has been suggested but not proven.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"Aluminium is a silvery-white, lightweight metal. It is soft and malleable.","CASnumber":"7429-90-5","GroupID":13,"PeriodID":3,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ne] 3s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e3p\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":13,"RelativeAtomicMass":"26.982","AtomicRadius":"1.84","CovalentRadii":"1.240","ElectronAffinity":"41.762","ElectroNegativity":"1.61","CovalentRadius":"1.24","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"660.323","MeltingPointK":"933.473","MeltingPointF":"1220.581","BoilingPointC":"2519","BoilingPointK":"2792","BoilingPointF":"4566","MolarHeatCapacity":"897","Density":"2.70","DensityValue":"2.70","YoungsModulus":"70.3","ShearModulus":"26.1","BulkModulus":"75.5","DiscoveryYear":"1825","Discovery":"1825","DiscoveredBy":" Hans Oersted","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin name for alum, \u0027alumen\u0027 meaning bitter salt.","CrustalAbundance":"84149","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":26,"ProductionConcentrations":31,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":74.5,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":4.8,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eAluminium is used in a huge variety of products including cans, foils, kitchen utensils, window frames, beer kegs and aeroplane parts. This is because of its particular properties. It has low density, is non-toxic, has a high thermal conductivity, has excellent corrosion resistance and can be easily cast, machined and formed. It is also non-magnetic and non-sparking. It is the second most malleable metal and the sixth most ductile.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is often used as an alloy because aluminium itself is not particularly strong. Alloys with copper, manganese, magnesium and silicon are lightweight but strong. They are very important in the construction of aeroplanes and other forms of transport.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAluminium is a good electrical conductor and is often used in electrical transmission lines. It is cheaper than copper and weight for weight is almost twice as good a conductor.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen evaporated in a vacuum, aluminium forms a highly reflective coating for both light and heat. It does not deteriorate, like a silver coating would. These aluminium coatings have many uses, including telescope mirrors, decorative paper, packages and toys. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Aluminium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: aluminium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week the chemical cause of transatlantic linguistic friction. Is it an um or an ium at the end? It turns out us Brits might have egg on our faces as well as a liberal smattering of what we call aluminium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKira J. Weissman\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027I feel like I\u0027m trapped in a tin box at 39000 feet\u0027. It\u0027s a common refrain of the flying-phobic, but maybe they would find comfort in knowing that the box is actually made of aluminium - more than 66000 kg of it, if they\u0027re sitting in a jumbo jet. While lamenting one\u0027s presence in an \u0027aluminium box\u0027 doesn\u0027t have quite the same ring, there are several good reasons to appreciate this choice of material. Pure aluminium is soft. However, alloying it with elements such as such as copper, magnesium, and zinc, dramatically boosts its strength while leaving it lightweight, obviously an asset when fighting against gravity. The resulting alloys, sometimes more malleable than aluminium itself, can be moulded into a variety of shapes, including the aerodynamic arc of a plane\u0027s wings, or its tubular fuselage. And whereas iron rusts away when exposed to the elements, aluminium forms a microscopically thin oxide layer, protecting its surface from further corrosion. With this hefty CV, it\u0027s not surprising to find aluminium in many other vehicles, including ships, cars, trucks, trains and bicycles.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHappily for the transportation industry, nature has blessed us with vast quantities of aluminium. The most abundant metal in the earth\u0027s crust, it\u0027s literally everywhere. Yet aluminium remained undiscovered until 1808, as it\u0027s bound up with oxygen and silicon into hundreds of different minerals, never appearing naturally in its metallic form. Sir Humphrey Davy, the Cornish chemist who discovered the metal, called it \u0027aluminum\u0027, after one of its source compounds, alum. Shortly after, however, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (or IUPAC) stepped in, standardizing the suffix to the more conventional \u0027ium\u0027. In a further twist to the nomenclature story, the American Chemical Society resurrected the original spelling in 1925, and so ironically it is the Americans and not the British that pronounce the element\u0027s name as Davy intended.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1825, the honour of isolating aluminium for the first time fell to the Danish Scientist Hans Christian Øersted. He reportedly said of his prize, \u0027It forms a lump of metal that resembles tin in colour and sheen\" - not an overly flattering description, but possibly an explanation for airline passengers\u0027 present confusion. The difficulty of ripping aluminium from its oxides - for all early processes yielded only kilogram quantities at best - ensured its temporary status as a precious metal, more valuable even than gold. In fact, an aluminium bar held pride of place alongside the Crown Jewels at the 1855 Paris Exhibition, while Napoleon is said to have reserved aluminium tableware for only his most honoured guests.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt wasn\u0027t until 1886 that Charles Martin Hall, an uncommonly dogged, amateur scientist of 22, developed the first economic means for extracting aluminium. Working in a woodshed with his older sister as assistant, he dissolved aluminium oxide in a bath of molten sodium hexafluoroaluminate (more commonly known as \u0027cryolite\u0027), and then pried the aluminium and oxygen apart using a strong electrical current. Remarkably, another 22 year-old, the Frenchman Paul Louis Toussaint Héroult, discovered exactly the same electrolytic technique at almost exactly the same time, provoking a transatlantic patent race. Their legacy, enshrined as the Hall-Héroult process, remains the primary method for producing aluminium on a commercial scale - currently million of tons every year from aluminium\u0027s most plentiful ore, bauxite. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt wasn\u0027t only the transportation industry that grasped aluminium\u0027s advantages. By the early 1900s, aluminium had already supplanted copper in electrical power lines, its flexibility, light weight and low cost more than compensating for its poorer conductivity. Aluminium alloys are a construction favourite, finding use in cladding, windows, gutters, door frames and roofing, but are just as likely to turn up inside the home: in appliances, pots and pans, utensils, TV aerials, and furniture. As a thin foil, aluminium is a packaging material \u003cem\u003epar excellence\u003c/em\u003e, flexible and durable, impermeable to water, and resistant to chemical attack - in short, ideal for protecting a life-saving medication or your favourite candy bar. But perhaps aluminium\u0027s most recognizable incarnation is the aluminium beverage can, hundreds of billions of which are produced annually. Each can\u0027s naturally glossy surface makes as an attractive backdrop for the product name, and while its thin walls can withstand up to 90 pounds of pressure per square inch (three times that in a typical car tyre), the contents can be easily accessed with a simple pull on the tab. And although aluminium refining gobbles up a large chunk of global electricity, aluminium cans can be recycled economically and repeatedly, each time saving almost 95% of the energy required to smelt the metal in the first place.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere is, however, a darker side to this shiny metal. Despite its abundance in Nature, aluminium is not known to serve any useful purpose for living cells. Yet in its soluble, +3 form, aluminium is toxic to plants. Release of Al\u003csup\u003e3+\u003c/sup\u003e from its minerals is accelerated in the acidic soils which comprise almost half of arable land on the planet, making aluminium a major culprit in reducing crop yields. Humans don\u0027t require aluminium, and yet it enters our bodies every day - it\u0027s in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. While small amounts of aluminium are normally present in foods, we are responsible for the major sources of dietary aluminium: food additives, such as leavening, emulsifying and colouring agents. Swallowing over-the-counter antacids can raise intake levels by several thousand-fold. And many of us apply aluminium-containing deodorants directly to our skin every day. What\u0027s worrying about all this is that several studies have implicated aluminium as a risk factor for both breast cancer and Alzheimer\u0027s disease. While most experts remain unconvinced by the evidence, aluminium at high concentrations is a proven neurotoxin, primarily effecting bone and brain. So, until more research is done, the jury will remain out. Now, perhaps that IS something to trouble your mind on your next long haul flight.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eResearcher Kira Weissman from Saarland University in Saarbruken, Germany with the story of Aluminium and why I haven\u0027t been saying it in the way that Humphrey David intended. Next week, talking of the way the elements sound, what about this one.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere aren\u0027t many elements with names that are onomatopoeic. Say oxygen or iodine and there is no clue in the sound of the word to the nature of the element, but zinc is different - zinc, zinc, zinc, you can almost hear a set of coins falling into an old fashioned bath. It just has to be a hard metal. In use, zinc is often hidden away, almost secretive. It stops iron rusting, sooths sunburn, keeps dandruff at bay, combines with copper to make a very familiar gold coloured alloy and keeps us alive but we hardly notice it. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can catch up with the clink of zinc with Brian Clegg on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Aluminium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Al","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Guinea; Austrailia; Brazil","TopProductionCountries":"Australia; Brazil; China","History":"The analysis of a curious metal ornament found in the tomb of Chou-Chu, a military leader in 3\u003csup\u003erd\u003c/sup\u003e century China, turned out to be 85% aluminium. How it was produced remains a mystery. By the end of the 1700s, aluminium oxide was known to contain a metal, but it defeated all attempts to extract it. Humphry Davy had used electric current to extract sodium and potassium from their so-called ‘earths’ (oxides), but his method did not release aluminium in the same way. The first person to produce it was Hans Christian Oersted at Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1825, and he did it by heating aluminium chloride with potassium. Even so, his sample was impure. It fell to the German chemist Friedrich Wöhler to perfect the method in 1827, and obtain pure aluminium for the first time by using sodium instead of potassium.","CSID":4514248,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514248.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"Medium","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"4.7","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":14,"Symbol":"Si","Name":"Silicon","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on a diatom. Diatoms are photosynthesising algae. They are unique in that their cell walls are made of silica (hydrated silicon dioxide).","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eSilicon makes up 27.7% of the Earth’s crust by mass and is the second most abundant element (oxygen is the first). It does not occur uncombined in nature but occurs chiefly as the oxide (silica) and as silicates. The oxide includes sand, quartz, rock crystal, amethyst, agate, flint and opal. The silicate form includes asbestos, granite, hornblende, feldspar, clay and mica. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElemental silicon is produced commercially by reducing sand with carbon in an electric furnace. High-purity silicon, for the electronics industry, is prepared by the thermal decomposition of ultra-pure trichlorosilane, followed by recrystallisation.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eSilicon is essential to plant life but its use in animal cells is uncertain. Phytoliths are tiny particles of silica that form within some plants. Since these particles do not rot they remain in fossils and provide us with useful evolutionary evidence. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSilicon is non-toxic but some silicates, such as asbestos, are carcinogenic. Workers, such as miners and stonecutters, who are exposed to siliceous dust can develop a serious lung disease called silicosis.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"The element, when ultrapure, is a solid with a blue-grey metallic sheen.","CASnumber":"7440-21-3","GroupID":14,"PeriodID":3,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ne] 3s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e3p\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":14,"RelativeAtomicMass":"28.085","AtomicRadius":"2.10","CovalentRadii":"1.140","ElectronAffinity":"134.068","ElectroNegativity":"1.90","CovalentRadius":"1.14","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e, -4","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1414","MeltingPointK":"1687","MeltingPointF":"2577","BoilingPointC":"3265","BoilingPointK":"3538","BoilingPointF":"5909","MolarHeatCapacity":"712","Density":"2.3296","DensityValue":"2.3296","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"100","DiscoveryYear":"1824","Discovery":"1824","DiscoveredBy":"Jöns Jacob Berzelius","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin \u0027silex\u0027 or \u0027silicis\u0027, meaning flint.","CrustalAbundance":"282000","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"amorphous Si, crystalline Si","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eSilicon is one of the most useful elements to mankind. Most is used to make alloys including aluminium-silicon and ferro-silicon (iron-silicon). These are used to make dynamo and transformer plates, engine blocks, cylinder heads and machine tools and to deoxidise steel.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSilicon is also used to make silicones. These are polymers of various siloxanes, silicon-oxygen chains with two methyl (or other organic) groups attached to each silicon atom. Silicone oil is a lubricant and is added to some cosmetics and hair conditioners. Silicone rubber increasingly useful across many areas of manufacturing, from kitchen wares to automative parts, and is used as a waterproof sealant, eg in bathrooms.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe element silicon is used extensively as a semiconductor in solid-state devices in the computer and microelectronics industries. For this, hyperpure silicon is needed. The silicon is selectively doped with tiny amounts of boron, gallium, phosphorus or arsenic to control its electrical properties. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGranite and most other rocks contain a wide variety of complex silicate minerals, as well as silica (silicon dioxide). Sand rich in silica, as well as some clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates) are important ingredients for making concrete. Sand of nearly pure silica, relatively rare, is the basis for many forms of glass. Silicon, as silicate, is present in pottery, enamels and high-temperature ceramics.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSilicon carbides are important abrasives and are also used in lasers. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Silicon.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: silicon\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor this week\u0027s element we enter the world of science fiction to explore life in outer space. Here\u0027s Andrea Sella. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen I was about 12, my friends and I went through a phase of reading science fiction. There the were the fantastic worlds of Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven and Robert Heinlein, involving impossible adventures on mysterious planets - the successes of the Apollo space programme at the time only helped us suspend our disbelief. One of the themes I remember from these stories was the idea that alien life forms, often based around the element silicon, abounded elsewhere in the universe. Why silicon? Well, it is often said that elements close to each other in the periodic table share similar properties and so, seduced by the age-old red herring that \"carbon is the element of life\", the writers selected the element below it, silicon. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI was reminded of these readings a couple of weeks ago when I went to see an exhibition of work by a couple of friends of mine. Called \"Stone Hole\" it consisted of stunning panoramic photographs taken at extremely high resolution inside sea caves in Cornwall. As we wandered through the gallery a thought occurred to me. \"Could one imagine a world without silicon?\" Every single photograph was, not surprisingly, dominated by rocks based on silicon and it was a powerful reminder of the fact that silicon is the second most abundant element in the earth\u0027s crust, beaten to first place by oxygen, the element with which it invariable entangled. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSilicate rocks - those in which silicon is surrounded tetrahedrally by four oxygen atoms - exist in an astonishing variety, the differences being determined by how the tetrahedra building blocks link together, and what other elements are present to complete the picture. When the tetrahedra link one to the next, one gets a mad tangle of chains looking like an enormous pot of spaghetti - the sorts of structures one gets in ordinary glass. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe purest of these chain-like materials is silicon dioxide - silica - found quite commonly in nature as the colourless mineral quartz or rock crystal. In good, crystalline quartz, the chains are arranged in beautiful helices and these can all spiral to the left. Or to the right. When this happens the crystals that result are exact mirror images of each other. But not superimposable - like left and right shoes. To a chemist, these crystals are chiral, a property once thought to be the exclusive property of the element carbon, and chirality, in turn, was imagined to be a fundamental feature of life itself. Yet here it is, in the cold, inorganic world of silicon. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost grandiose of all, one can make porous 3D structures - a bit like molecular honeycombs - particularly in the presence of other tetrahedral linkers based on aluminium. These spectacular materials are called the zeolites, or molecular sieves. By carefully tailoring the synthetic conditions, one can build material in which the pores and cavities have well defined sizes - now you have a material that can be used like a lobster traps, to catch molecules or ions of appropriate size. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut what of the element itself? Freeing it from oxygen is tough, it hangs on like grim death and requires brutal conditions. It was Humphrey Davy, the Cornish chemist and showman, who first began to suspect that silica must be a compound, not an element. He applied electric currents to molten alkalis and salts and to his astonishment and delight, isolated some spectacularly reactive metals, including potassium. He now moved on to see what potassium could do. Passing potassium vapour over some silica he obtained a dark material that he could then burn and convert back to pure silica. Where he pushed, others followed. In France, Thénard and Gay-Lussac carried out similar experiments using silicon fluoride. Within a couple of years, the great Swedish analyst Jöns Jakob Berzelius had isolated a more substantial amount of the material and declared it an element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSilicon\u0027s properties are neither fish nor fowl. Dark gray in colour and with a very glossy glass-like sheen, it looks like a metal but is in fact quite a poor conductor of electricity, and there in many ways, lies the secret of its ultimate success. The problem is that electrons are trapped, a bit like pieces on a draughts board in which no spaces are free. What makes silicon, and other semiconductors, special is that it is possible to promote one of the electrons to an empty board - the conduction band - where they can move freely. It\u0027s a bit like the 3-dimensional chess played by the point-eared Dr Spock in Star Trek. Temperature is crucial. Warming a semiconductor, allow some electrons to leap, like salmon, up to the empty conduction band. And at the same time, the space left behind - known as a hole - can move too. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut there is another way to make silicon conduct electricity: it seems perverse, but by deliberately introducing impurities like boron or phosphorus one can subtly change the electrical behaviour of silicon. Such tricks lie at the heart of the functioning of the silicon chips that allow you to listen to this podcast. In less than 50 years silicon has gone from being an intriguing curiosity to being one of the fundamental elements in our lives. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut the question remains, is silicon\u0027s importance simply restricted to the mineral world? The prospects do not seem good - silicate fibres, like those in blue asbestos are just the right size to penetrate deep inside the lungs where they pierce and slash the inner lining of the lungs. And yet, because of its extraordinary structural variability, silicon chemistry has been harnessed by biological systems. Silicate shards lurk in the spines of nettles waiting to score the soft skin of the unwary hiker and inject minuscule amounts of irritant. And in almost unimaginable numbers delicate silicate structures are grown by the many tiny life-forms that lie at the base of marine food chains, the diatoms. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCould one therefore find silicon-based aliens somewhere in space? My hunch would probably be not. Certainly not as the element. It is far too reactive and one will always find it associated with oxygen. But even linked with oxygen, it seems unlikely, or at least not under the kinds of mild conditions that we find on earth. But then again, there is nothing like a surprise to make one think. As the geneticist J B S Haldane put it, \"The universe is not queerer than we suppose. It is queerer than we can suppose\". I live in hope. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo although unlikely there could be some silicon based surprises lurking out in space. That was the ever hopeful Andrea Sella from University College London with the life forming chemistry of silicon. Now next week we hear about Roentgenium the element that we need to get just right. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe idea was to make the nickel ions penetrate the bismuth nucleus, so that the two nuclei would fuse together, making a bigger atom. The energy of the collision had to be carefully controlled, because if the nickel ions were not going fast enough, they could not overcome the repulsion between the two positive nuclei and would just fly off the bismuth on contact. However, if the nickel ions had too much energy, the resulting \"compound nucleus\" would have so much excess energy that it could just undergo fission and fall apart. The trick was, like Goldilocks\u0027 porridge, to be \"just right\", so that the fusion of the nuclei would occur, just. Meera Senthilingam And join Simon Cotton to find out how successful collisions were created by the founders of the element roentgenium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Silicon","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Si","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eSilica (SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) in the form of sharp flints were among the first tools made by humans. The ancient civilizations used other forms of silica such as rock crystal, and knew how to turn sand into glass. Considering silicon’s abundance, it is somewhat surprising that it aroused little curiosity among early chemists.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAttempts to reduce silica to its components by electrolysis had failed. In 1811, Joseph Gay Lussac and Louis Jacques Thénard reacted silicon tetrachloride with potassium metal and produced some very impure form of silicon. The credit for discovering silicon really goes to the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius of Stockholm who, in 1824, obtained silicon by heating potassium fluorosilicate with potassium. The product was contaminated with potassium silicide, but he removed this by stirring it with water, with which it reacts, and thereby obtained relatively pure silicon powder.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4574465,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4574465.html","PropertyID":3,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":15,"Symbol":"P","Name":"Phosphorus","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of a ball-and-stick model of white phosphorus. It has a tetrahedral shape and has the formula P\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003ePhosphorus is not found uncombined in nature, but is widely found in compounds in minerals. An important source is phosphate rock, which contains the apatite minerals and is found in large quantities in the USA and elsewhere. There are fears that ‘peak phosphorus’ will occur around 2050, after which our sources will dwindle.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhite phosphorus is manufactured industrially by heating phosphate rock in the presence of carbon and silica in a furnace. This produces phosphorus as a vapour, which is then collected under water. Red phosphorus is made by gently heating white phosphorus to about 250°C in the absence of air.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Phosphorus is essential to all living things. It forms the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA and RNA. It is important for energy transfer in cells as part of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), and is found in many other biologically important molecules. We take in about 1 gram of phosphate a day, and store about 750 grams in our bodies, since our bones and teeth are mainly calcium phosphate. Over-use of phosphates from fertilisers and detergents can cause them to pollute rivers and lakes causing algae to grow rapidly. The algae block out light stopping further photosynthesis. Oxygen dissolved in the water soon gets used up and the lake dies.","Appearance":"The two main forms of phosphorus are white phosphorus and red phosphorus. White phosphorus is a poisonous waxy solid and contact with skin can cause severe burns. It glows in the dark and is spontaneously flammable when exposed to air. Red phosphorus is an amorphous non-toxic solid.","CASnumber":"7723-14-0","GroupID":15,"PeriodID":3,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ne] 3s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e3p\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":15,"RelativeAtomicMass":"30.974","AtomicRadius":"1.80","CovalentRadii":"1.090","ElectronAffinity":"72.037","ElectroNegativity":"2.19","CovalentRadius":"1.09","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e5\u003c/strong\u003e, 3, -3","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"44.15","MeltingPointK":"317.3","MeltingPointF":"111.47","BoilingPointC":"280.5","BoilingPointK":"553.7","BoilingPointF":"536.9","MolarHeatCapacity":"769","Density":"1.823 (white)","DensityValue":"1.823","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"10.9 (red); 4.9 (white)","DiscoveryYear":"1669","Discovery":"1669","DiscoveredBy":"Hennig Brandt","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027phosphoros\u0027, meaning bringer of light.","CrustalAbundance":"567","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":44.7,"ProductionConcentrations":38.5,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":5,"Allotropes":"White P, Red P, Black P, P\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eWhite phosphorus is used in flares and incendiary devices. Red phosphorus is in the material stuck on the side of matchboxes, used to strike safety matches against to light them. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBy far the largest use of phosphorus compounds is for fertilisers. Ammonium phosphate is made from phosphate ores. The ores are first converted into phosphoric acids before being made into ammonium phosphate.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePhosphorus is also important in the production of steel. Phosphates are ingredients in some detergents, but are beginning to be phased out in some countries. This is because they can lead to high phosphate levels in natural water supplies causing unwanted algae to grow. Phosphates are also used in the production of special glasses and fine chinaware. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Phosphorus.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: phosphorus\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello - this week fertilisers, fire bombs, phossy jaw and food additives. What\u0027s the connection? Here\u0027s Nina Notman. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNina Notman\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePhosphorus is a non-metal that sits just below nitrogen in group 15 of the periodic table. This element exists in several forms, of which white and red are the best known. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhite phosphorus is definitely the more exciting of the two. As it glows in the dark, is dangerously flammable in the air above 30 degrees, and is a deadly poison. Red phosphorus however has none of these fascinating properties.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo where did it all begin? Phosphorus was first made by Hennig Brandt in Hamburg in Germany in 1669. When he evaporated urine and heated the residue until it was red hot. Glowing phosphorus vapour came off and he condensed it under water. And for more than 100 years most phosphorus was made this way. This was until people realised that bone was a great source of phosphorus. Bone can be dissolved in sulfuric acid to form phosphoric acid, which is then heated with charcoal to form white phosphorus.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhite phosphorus has found a range of rather nasty applications in warfare. It was used in the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century in tracer bullets, fire bombs, and smoke grenades. The scattering of phosphorus fire bombs over cities in World War II caused widespread death and destruction. In July 1943, Hamburg was subject to several air raids in which 25,000 phosphorus bombs were dropped over vast areas of the city. This is rather ironically considering where phosphorus was first made. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnother group of warfare agents based on phosphorus are nerve gases such as sarin. Sarin is a fluorinated phosphonate that was used by Iraq against Iran in the early to mid-1980s. And was also released in a Tokyo subway in 1995, killing 12 people and harming nearly a thousand others.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhite phosphorus has also found a wide range of other uses. One of these was in phosphorus matches that were first sold in Stockton-on-Tees in the UK in 1827. This created a whole new industry of cheap lights - but at a terrible cost. Breathing in phosphorus vapour led to the industrial disease phossy jaw, which slowly ate away the jaw bone. This condition particularly afflicted the girls who made phosphorus matches. So these were eventually banned in the early 1900s and were replaced by modern matches which use either phosphorus sulfide or red phosphorus. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs well as in matches, today phosphorus has found other uses in lighting. Magnesium phosphide is the basis of self-igniting warning flares used at sea. When it reacts with water it forms the spontaneously flammable gas, diphosphine which triggers the lighting of the flare.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSuper pure phosphorus is also used to make light emitting diodes. These LEDs contain metal phosphides such as those of gallium and indium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the natural world the elemental form of phosphorus is never encountered. It is only seen as phosphate, and phosphate is essential to life for numerous reasons. It is part of DNA, and also constitutes a huge proportion of teeth enamel and bones in the form of calcium phosphate. Organophosphates are also important, such as the energy molecule ATP and the phospholipids of cell membranes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA normal diet provides our bodies with the phosphate it needs. With tuna, chicken, eggs and cheese having lots. And even cola provide us with some, in the form of phosphoric acid.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToday most of our phosphorus comes from phosphate rock that is mined around the world, and then converted to phosphoric acid. Fifty million tonnes are made every year and it has multiple uses. It is used to make fertilisers, animal feeds, rust removers, corrosion preventers, and even dishwasher tablets. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome phosphate rock is also heated with coke and sand in an electric furnace to form white phosphorus which is then converted to phosphorus trichloride and phosphorous acid. And it is from these that flame retardants, insecticides, and weed-killers are made. A little is also turned into phosphorus sulfides which are used as oil additives to reduce engine wear.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePhosphate is also environmentally important. It naturally moves from soil, to rivers, to oceans, to bottom sediment. Here it accumulates until it is moved by geological uplift to dry land so the circle can start again. During its journey, phosphate passes through many plants, microbes, and animals of various eco-systems. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToo much phosphate however can be damaging to natural waters because it encourages unwanted species like algae to flourish. These then crowd out other forms of desired life. There is now a legal requirement to remove phosphate from wastewaters in many parts of the world, and in the future this could be recycled as a sustainable resource so that one day the phosphate we flush down sinks and toilets might reappear in our homes in other guises such as in dishwasher tablets and maybe even in our food and colas.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNina Notman with the tale of Phosphorus, the element extracted from the golden stream, otherwise known as urine. Next time Andrea Sella will be joining us with the explosive story of element number 53. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1811 a young French chemist, Bernard Courtois, working in Paris stumbled across a new element. His family\u0027s firm produced the saltpetre needed to make gunpowder for Napoleon\u0027s wars. They used wood ash in their process and wartime shortages of wood forced them instead to burn seaweed. Adding concentrated sulphuric acid to the ash, Courtois, obtained an astonishing purple vapour that crystallized onto the sides of the container. Astonished by this discovery he bottled up the greyish crystals and sent them to one of the foremost chemists of his day Joseph Guy-Lussac who confirmed that this was a new element and named it iode - iodine - after the Greek word for purple. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear more about how Iodine exploded onto the world\u0027s stage on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Phosphorus","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"P","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Morocco; China; USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Mexico; Morocco","History":"\u003cdiv\u003ePhosphorus was first made by Hennig Brandt at Hamburg in 1669 when he evaporated urine and heated the residue until it was red hot, whereupon phosphorus vapour distilled which he collected by condensing it in water. Brandt kept his discovery secret, thinking he had discovered the Philosopher’s Stone that could turn base metals into gold. When he ran out of money, he sold phosphorus to Daniel Kraft who exhibited it around Europe including London where Robert Boyle was fascinated by it. He discovered how it was produced and investigated it systematically. (His assistant Ambrose Godfrey set up his own business making and selling phosphorus and became rich.)\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen it was realised that bone was calcium phosphate, and could be used to make phosphorus, and it became more widely available. Demand from match manufacturers in the 1800s ensured a ready market.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4575369,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4575369.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"29.4","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":16,"Symbol":"S","Name":"Sulfur","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The alchemical symbol for sulfur is shown against a ‘fire and brimstone’ background.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eSulfur occurs naturally as the element, often in volcanic areas. This has traditionally been a major source for human use. It is also widely found in many minerals including iron pyrites, galena, gypsum and Epsom salts. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElemental sulfur was once commercially recovered from wells by the Frasch process. This involved forcing super-heated steam into the underground deposits to melt the sulfur, so it could be pumped to the surface as a liquid. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eModern sulfur production is almost entirely from the various purification processes used to remove sulfur from natural gas, oil and tar sands. All living things contain sulfur and when fossilised (as in fossil fuels) the sulfur remains present. If unpurified fossil fuels are burnt, sulfur dioxide can enter the atmosphere, leading to acid rain.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eSulfur is essential to all living things. It is taken up as sulfate from the soil (or seawater) by plants and algae. It is used to make two of the essential amino acids needed to make proteins. It is also needed in some co-enzymes. The average human contains 140 grams and takes in about 1 gram a day, mainly in proteins.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSulfur and sulfate are non-toxic. However, carbon disulfide, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide are all toxic. Hydrogen sulfide is particularly dangerous and can cause death by respiratory paralysis. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSulfur dioxide is produced when coal and unpurified oil are burned. Sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere causes acid rain. This can cause lakes to die, partly by making toxic aluminium salts soluble, so that they are taken up by living things. \u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"There are several allotropes of sulfur. The most common appears as yellow crystals or powder. ","CASnumber":"7704-34-9","GroupID":16,"PeriodID":3,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ne] 3s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e3p\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":16,"RelativeAtomicMass":"32.06","AtomicRadius":"1.80","CovalentRadii":"1.040","ElectronAffinity":"200.41","ElectroNegativity":"2.58","CovalentRadius":"1.04","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e6\u003c/strong\u003e, 4, 2, -2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"115.21","MeltingPointK":"388.36","MeltingPointF":"239.38","BoilingPointC":"444.61","BoilingPointK":"717.76","BoilingPointF":"832.3","MolarHeatCapacity":"708","Density":"2.07","DensityValue":"2.07","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"7.7","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"Prehistoric","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name is derived either from the Sanskrit \u0027sulvere\u0027, or the Latin \u0027sulfurium\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"404","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":17.4,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":3.5,"Allotropes":"α-S (orthorhombic), β-S (monoclinic), S\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, S\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, cyclo-S\u003csub\u003e8\u003c/sub\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eSulfur is used in the vulcanisation of black rubber, as a fungicide and in black gunpowder. Most sulfur is, however, used in the production of sulfuric acid, which is perhaps the most important chemical manufactured by western civilisations. The most important of sulfuric acid’s many uses is in the manufacture of phosphoric acid, to make phosphates for fertilisers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMercaptans are a family of organosulfur compounds. Some are added to natural gas supplies because of their distinctive smell, so that gas leaks can be detected easily. Others are used in silver polish, and in the production of pesticides and herbicides. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSulfites are used to bleach paper and as preservatives for many foodstuffs. Many surfactants and detergents are sulfate derivatives. Calcium sulfate (gypsum) is mined on the scale of 100 million tonnes each year for use in cement and plaster.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Sulfur.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: sulfur\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week stinky sediments, skunks and the smell of hell. Well they all begin with the letter S, and so does this week\u0027s element. Here\u0027s Steve Mylon.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Mylon\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"How did it smell?\" That was the only question I needed to ask a geologist colleague of mine about the sediment she was trying to understand. The smell of the sediment tells a great deal about the underlying chemistry. Thick black anoxic sediments can be accompanied by a putrid smell which is unique to reduced sulfur. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMaybe this is why sulfur has such a bad reputation. My son wouldn\u0027t eat eggs for 6 months when he got a smell of his first rotten one. In the bible it seems that whenever something bad happens or is about to happen burning sulfur is in the picture:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor example,\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eGenesis\u003c/em\u003e we hear, \"the lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd in \u003cem\u003eRevelation\u003c/em\u003e we read that the sinners will find their place in a fiery lake of burning sulfur.\" \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe odd thing is that in both cases we shouldn\u0027t expect anything smelly to be produced. When sulfur burns in air, it generally forms sulfur dioxide or sulfur trioxide, the latter of which lacks any smell [amended from the podcast audio file, which states that sulfur dioxide does not smell]. These compounds can further oxidize and rain out as sulfuric or sulfurous acid. This is the mechanism for acid rain which has reeked havoc on the forests of the northeastern United States as sulfur rich coals are burned to generate electricity in midwestern states and carried east by prevailing winds where sulfuric acid is rained out causing all sorts of ecological problems. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAdditionally, the combination of burning coal and fog creates smog in many industrial cities causing respiratory problems among the locals. Here too, sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid are implicated as the culprits. But again, there is no smell associated with this form of sulfur.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo if hell or the devil is said have the \u0027smell of sulfur\u0027, maybe that\u0027s not so bad. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut reduce sulfur by giving it a couple of electrons, and its smell is unmistakable. The requirement of sulfur reduction to sulfide has clearly been lost in translation . \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHell that smells like hydrogen sulfide or any number of organic-sulfur compound will not be a nice place at all. The organic sulfide compounds known as thiols or mercaptans smell so bad, that they are commonly added to odorless natural gas in very small quantities in order to serve as a \u0027smell alarm\u0027 should there be leak in a natural gas line. Skunks take advantage of the foul smell of butyl seleno-mercaptan as a means of defending themselves against their enemies. And for me, personally, the worst chemistry of all occurs when reduced sulfur imparts a bad (skunky) taste in bottles of wine or beer. -bound to ruin a nice night out on the town or an afternoon at the local pub.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, where does the \"smell of hell\" come from in anoxic sediments. Interestingly, some bacteria have evolved to make use of oxidized sulfur , sulfate, as an electron acceptor during respiration. In a similar manner to the way humans reduce elemental oxygen to water, these bacteria reduce sulfate to hydrogen sulfide- They clearly don\u0027t mind the smell. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSmell is not the only interesting chemistry that accompanies reduced sulfur. The deep black associated with anoxic sediments results from the low solubility of most metal sulfides. Sulfate reduction to sulfide generally accompanies the precipitation of pyrite (iron sulfide), cinnabar (mercury sulfide), galena (lead sulfide) and many more minerals. These metal sulfides have become an important industrial source for many of these important metals.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndustry is one place you are almost certain to find sulfur or more importantly sulfuric acid which is used in processes ranging from fertilizer production to oil refining. In fact sulfuric acid ranks as the most highly produced chemical in the industrialized world. Imagine that, the element with such a hellish reputation has become one of the most important. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd some even suggest that sulfur could save the planet. The biogenic compound dimethylsulfide (DMS) is produced from the cleavage of dimethylsufonoprioponate, an osmotic regulatory compound produced by plankton in the ocean. The volatility and low solubility of DMS results in some 20 Tg (10^12) of sulfur emitted to the atmosphere annually. DMS is oxidized to SO2 and finally to sulfuric acid particles which can act as cloud condensation nuclei forming clouds which have a net cooling effect to the planet. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e Imagine warmer temperatures followed by greater biological activity resulting in more DMS to the atmosphere. The resulting cloud formation might work to cool a warming planet. It\u0027s almost like the plankton are opening an umbrella made up-in part- of sulfur. From a symbol of damnation to savior...what a turn around!!. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSteve Mylon sniffing out the stinky story of Sulfur. Thankfully next week\u0027s element is a lot less odiforous. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Emsley\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe story of its discovery started when Rayleigh found that the nitrogen extracted from the air had a higher density than that made by decomposing ammonia. The difference was small but real. Ramsay wrote to Rayleigh suggesting that he should look for a heavier gas in the nitrogen got from air, while Rayleigh should look for a lighter gas in that from ammonia. Ramsay removed all the nitrogen from his sample by repeatedly passing it over heated magnesium. He was left with one percent which would not react and found it was denser than nitrogen. Its atomic spectrum showed new red and green lines, confirming it a new element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd that new element was Argon nicknamed the lazy element because originally scientists thought that it wouldn\u0027t react with anything. Now we know that\u0027s not true and John Emsley will be here to unlock Argon secrets on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Sulfur","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"S","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"China; USA; Canada","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eSulfur is mentioned 15 times in the \u003cem\u003eBible\u003c/em\u003e, and was best known for destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. It was also known to the ancient Greeks, and burnt as a fumigant. Sulfur was mined near Mount Etna in Sicily and used for bleaching cloth and preserving wine, both of which involved burning it to form sulfur dioxide, and allowing this to be absorbed by wet clothes or the grape juice. For centuries, sulfur along with mercury and salt, was believed to be a component of all metals and formed the basis of alchemy whereby one metal could be transmuted into another.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAntoine Lavoisier thought that sulfur was an element, but in 1808 Humphry Davy said it contained hydrogen. However, his sample was impure and when Louis-Josef Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard proved it to be an element the following year, Davy eventually agreed.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4515054,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4515054.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":17,"Symbol":"Cl","Name":"Chlorine","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol shows a gas mask. This is because chlorine is a toxic gas, and has been used as a chemical weapon. Chlorine is yellowy-green in colour, as is the image. ","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine is not found uncombined in nature. Halite (sodium chloride or ‘common salt’) is the main mineral that is mined for chlorine. Sodium chloride is a very soluble salt that has been leached into the oceans over the lifetime of the Earth. Several salt beds, or ‘lakes’ are found where ancient seas have evaporated, and these can be mined for chloride. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine is also found in the minerals carnallite (magnesium potassium chloride) and sylvite (potassium chloride). \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e40 million tonnes of chlorine gas are made each year from the electrolysis of brine (sodium chloride solution). This process also produces useful sodium hydroxide.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe chloride ion is essential to life. It is mostly present in cell fluid as a negative ion to balance the positive (mainly potassium) ions. It is also present in extra-cellular fluid (eg blood) to balance the positive (mainly sodium) ions. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe get most of the chloride we need from salt. Typical daily salt intake is about 6 grams, but we could manage with half this amount. \u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A yellowy-green dense gas with a choking smell. ","CASnumber":"7782-50-5","GroupID":17,"PeriodID":3,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ne] 3s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e3p\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":17,"RelativeAtomicMass":"35.45","AtomicRadius":"1.75","CovalentRadii":"1.000","ElectronAffinity":"348.575","ElectroNegativity":"3.16","CovalentRadius":"1.00","CommonOxidationStates":"7, 5, 3, 1, \u003cstrong\u003e-1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-101.5","MeltingPointK":"171.7","MeltingPointF":"-150.7","BoilingPointC":"-34.04","BoilingPointK":"239.11","BoilingPointF":"-29.27","MolarHeatCapacity":"479","Density":"0.002898","DensityValue":"0.002898","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"1.1 (liquid)","DiscoveryYear":"1774","Discovery":"1774","DiscoveredBy":"Carl Wilhelm Scheele ","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027chloros\u0027, meaning greenish yellow.","CrustalAbundance":"145","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":24.3,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":4,"Allotropes":"Cl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine kills bacteria – it is a disinfectant. It is used to treat drinking water and swimming pool water. It is also used to make hundreds of consumer products from paper to paints, and from textiles to insecticides. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAbout 20% of chlorine produced is used to make PVC. This is a very versatile plastic used in window frames, car interiors, electrical wiring insulation, water pipes, blood bags and vinyl flooring.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnother major use for chlorine is in organic chemistry. It is used as an oxidising agent and in substitution reactions. 85% of pharmaceuticals use chlorine or its compounds at some stage in their manufacture.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the past chlorine was commonly used to make chloroform (an anaesthetic) and carbon tetrachloride (a dry-cleaning solvent). However, both of these chemicals are now strictly controlled as they can cause liver damage. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine gas is itself very poisonous, and was used as a chemical weapon during the First World War.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Chlorine.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: chlorine\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to\u003ci\u003e Chemistry in its element\u003c/i\u003e brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello. What\u0027s got three isotopes, keeps swimming pools clean, damages the ozone layer and is used in more chemical synthesis reactions than you can shake a benzene ring at. Well the man with the answer is Tim Harrison.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTim Harrison\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine is what you might describe as a Jekyll and Hyde element; it is the friend of the synthetic chemist and has found a use in a number of \u0027nice\u0027 applications such as the disinfecting of drinking water and keeping our swimming pools clean. It also has an unpleasant side, being the first chemical warfare agent and taking some of the blame in the depletion of the Earth\u0027s ozone layer. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElemental chlorine is a pale, yellowy green gas at room temperature. It was the Greek word khlôros meaning \u0027yellowish-green\u0027 that was used as inspiration by Sir Humphrey Davy when he named this element in the 19th century. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis element was first isolated in 1774 by the Swiss-German chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, by reacting hydrochloric acid with manganese (IV) oxide. But he failed to realise his achievement, mistakenly believing it also contained oxygen. It was Davy in 1810 who finally concluded that Scheele had made elemental chlorine. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine is in group 17 of periodic table, also called the halogens, and is not found as the element in nature - only as a compound. The most common of these being salt, or sodium chloride, and the potassium compounds sylvite (or potassium chloride) and carnallite (potassium magnesium chloride hexahydrate). It is also estimated that there are around two thousand organic chlorine compounds. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine has two stable isotopes chlorine-35 and chlorine-37with Chlorine-35 accounting for roughly 3 out of every 4 naturally occurring chlorine atoms. Chlorine-36 is also known naturally and is a radioactive isotope with a half life of about 30,000 years. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine has a major role to play in synthetic organic chemistry, taking part in three of the most common reaction mechanisms. In the first of these, the photochemical substitution reaction, chlorine reacts with an alkane by replacing one of the hydrogen atoms attached to a carbon forming a chloroalkane. This radical reaction is initiated by the use of sunlight or ultraviolet light to split diatomic chlorine into two radicals. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine can also react with alkenes via the electrophilic addition mechanism. This time two chlorine atoms add to a molecule across the electron-rich carbon-carbon double bond. This reaction has to be carried out in the dark to avoid complications with competing free radical substitutions. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA third common mechanism is electrophilic substitution, which occurs when chlorine reacts with a benzene ring by replacing a hydrogen atom forming chlorobenzene and hydrogen chloride. This reaction is most commonly known as the Friedal-Crafts reaction. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine also has a multitude of industrial uses. Including making bulk materials like bleached paper products, plastics such as PVC and the solvents tetrachloromethane, chloroform and dichloromethane. It is also used to make dyes, textiles, medicines, antiseptics, insecticides and paints. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s best known uses however are probably in making bleaches such as \u0027Domestos\u0027 and in treating drinking and swimming pool waters to make them safe to use and of course its role as a chemical warfare agent. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe treatment of water with chlorine began in London after a cholera outbreak in 1850 when the physician and pioneering hygienist John Snow identified a well in Soho as the source of the outbreak. Chlorine is still used in most sewage treatment works today. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSnow also used a compound of chlorine - chloroform with the formula CHCl3 - as an anesthetic to aid the childbirth of two of Queen Victoria\u0027s children.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e The use of chlorine gas as a chemical weapon was pioneered by German chemist Fritz Haber, who is better known for his work with ammonia. It was first used against the Allied soldiers in the battle of Ypres during the first world war. While it was quickly replaced by the more deadly phosgene and mustard gases, chlorine gas has been used as a weapon as recently as 2007 in Iraq during the second gulf war. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine was also once used to make a series of aerosol solvents and refrigerants called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs. However their use was stopped once it became apparent that when in the atmosphere these compounds absorb ultraviolet light and cause homolytic bond fission producing a chlorine free radical which in turn reacts with ozone. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis has led to a reduction in the concentration of ozone in the so-called ozone layer, and therefore a reduction in the protection for those of us on the surface of the planet making us more susceptible to skin cancers. So, that\u0027s chlorine - a Jeckll and Hyde element with an extremely wide range of applications. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo slap on your sun screen. Tim Harrison was telling the tale of Element number 17, and that\u0027s chlorine. Tim\u0027s based at the University of Bristol\u0027s ChemLabs. Next week, the stuff that gives itself an x-ray. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis grey metallic element gives off beta particles as it decays. These can cause radioactive damage in their own right, but prometheum is probably most dangerous because those beta particles generate X-rays when they hit heavy nuclei, making a sample of promethium bathe its surroundings in a constant low dosage x-ray beam. It was initially used to replace radium in luminous dials. Promethium chloride was mixed with phosphors that glow yellowy-green or blue when radiation hits them. However, as the dangers of the element\u0027s radioactive properties became apparent, this too was dropped from the domestic glow-in-the-dark market, only employed now in specialist applications. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear what some of those applications are when Brian Clegg looks at the story of promethium in next week\u0027s \u003ci\u003eChemistry in its Element\u003c/i\u003e. In the meantime more elements are available from the Chemistry in its Element\u0026nbsp;podcast, that\u0027s on iTunes or on the web at chemistryworld.org/elements. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you very much for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Chlorine","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Cl","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"China; India; USA","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eHydrochloric acid (HCl) was known to the alchemists. The gaseous element itself was first produced in 1774 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele at Uppsala, Sweden, by heating hydrochloric acid with the mineral pyrolusite which is naturally occuring manganese dioxide, MnO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e. A dense, greenish-yellow gas was evolved which he recorded as having a choking smell and which dissolved in water to give an acid solution. He noted that it bleached litmus paper, and decolourised leaves and flowers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHumphry Davy investigated it in 1807 and eventually concluded not only that it was a simple substance, but that it was truly an element. He announced this in 1810 and yet it took another ten years for some chemists finally to accept that chlorine really was an element.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514529,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514529.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":18,"Symbol":"Ar","Name":"Argon","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":" The image reflects the use of the element in the welding industry. Argon provides an inert atmosphere in which welded metals will not oxidise.","NaturalAbundance":"Argon makes up 0.94% of the Earth’s atmosphere and is the third most abundant atmospheric gas. Levels have gradually increased since the Earth was formed because radioactive potassium-40 turns into argon as it decays. Argon is obtained commercially by the distillation of liquid air.","BiologicalRoles":"Argon has no known biological role.","Appearance":"Argon is a colourless, odourless gas that is totally inert to other substances. ","CASnumber":"7440-37-1","GroupID":18,"PeriodID":3,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ne] 3s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e3p\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":18,"RelativeAtomicMass":"39.95","AtomicRadius":"1.88","CovalentRadii":"1.010","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.01","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cbr\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-189.34","MeltingPointK":"83.81","MeltingPointF":"-308.81","BoilingPointC":"-185.848","BoilingPointK":"87.302","BoilingPointF":"-302.526","MolarHeatCapacity":"520","Density":"0.001633","DensityValue":"0.001633","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1894","Discovery":"1894","DiscoveredBy":"Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek, \u0027argos\u0027, meaning idle.","CrustalAbundance":"3.5","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eArgon is often used when an inert atmosphere is needed. It is used in this way for the production of titanium and other reactive elements. It is also used by welders to protect the weld area and in incandescent light bulbs to stop oxygen from corroding the filament. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArgon is used in fluorescent tubes and low-energy light bulbs. A low-energy light bulb often contains argon gas and mercury. When it is switched on an electric discharge passes through the gas, generating UV light. The coating on the inside surface of the bulb is activated by the UV light and it glows brightly. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDouble-glazed windows use argon to fill the space between the panes. The tyres of luxury cars can contain argon to protect the rubber and reduce road noise.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Argon.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: argon\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week the element that\u0027s so indolent that scientists at one time thought it wouldn\u0027t react with anything, but in the chemical world laziness can have its advantages especially if it\u0027s super quiet car tyres or a safe chemical with which to pump up your diving suit that you\u0027re after. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHere\u0027s John Emsley.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Emsley\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s lazy, it\u0027s hard-working, it\u0027s colourless, it\u0027s colourful - it\u0027s argon!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArgon\u0027s name comes from the Greek word \u003cem\u003eargos\u003c/em\u003e meaning lazy and indeed for more than a hundred years after its discovery chemists were unable to get it to combine with any other elements. But in the year 2000, chemists at the University of Helsinki led by Markku Räsänen announced the first ever compound: argon fluorohydride. They made it by condensing a mixture of argon and hydrogen fluoride on to caesium iodide at -265\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC and exposing it to UV light. On warming above just -246\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC it reverted right back to argon and hydrogen fluoride. And no other process has ever induced argon to react - [a truly lazy element]. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere are 50 \u003cem\u003etrillion\u003c/em\u003e tonnes of argon swirling around in the Earth\u0027s atmosphere and this has slowly built-up over billions of years, almost all coming from the decay of the radioactive isotope potassium-40 which has a half-life of 12.7 billion years. Although argon makes up 0.93% of the atmosphere it evaded discovery until 1894 when the physicist Lord Rayleigh and the chemist William Ramsay identified it. In 1904 Rayleigh won the Nobel Prize for Physics and Ramsay won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their work. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe story of its discovery started when Rayleigh found that the nitrogen extracted from the air had a higher density than that made by decomposing ammonia. The difference was small but real. Ramsay wrote to Rayleigh suggesting that he should look for a heavier gas in the nitrogen got from air, while Rayleigh should look for a lighter gas in that from ammonia. Ramsay removed all the nitrogen from his sample by repeatedly passing it over heated magnesium, with which nitrogen reacts to form magnesium nitride. He was left with one percent which would not react and found it was denser than nitrogen. Its atomic spectrum showed new red and green lines, confirming it a new element. Although in fact it contained traces of the other noble gases as well.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArgon was first isolated in 1785 in Clapham, South London, by Henry Cavendish. He had passed electric sparks through air and absorbed the gases which formed, but he was puzzled that there remained an unreactive 1%. He didn\u0027t realise that he had stumbled on a new gaseous element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost argon goes to making steel where it is blown through the molten iron, along with oxygen. Argon does the stirring while the oxygen removes carbon as carbon dioxide. It is also used when air must be excluded to prevent oxidation of hot metals, as in welding aluminium and the production of titanium to exclude air. Welding aluminium is done with an electric arc which requires a flow of argon of at 10-20 litres per minute. Atomic energy fuel elements are protected with an argon atmosphere during refining and reprocessing.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe ultra-fine metal powders needed to make alloys are produced by directing a jet of liquid argon at a jet of the molten metal. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome smelters prevent toxic metal dusts from escaping to the environment by venting them through an argon plasma torch. In this, argon atoms are electrically charged to reach temperatures of 10 000 °C and the toxic dust particles passing through it are turned into to a blob of molten scrap.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor a gas that is chemically lazy argon has proved to be eminently employable. Illuminated signs glow blue if they contain argon and bright blue if a little mercury vapour is also present. Double glazing is even more efficient if the gap between the two panes of glass is filled with argon rather than just air because argon is a poorer conductor of heat. Thermal conductivity of argon at room temperature (300 K) is 17.72 mW m\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003eK\u003csup\u003e-1 \u003c/sup\u003e (milliWatts per metre per degree) whereas for air it is 26 mW m\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003eK\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csub\u003e.\u003c/sub\u003eFor the same reason argon is used to inflate diving suits. Old documents and other things that are susceptible to oxidation can be protected by being stored in an atmosphere of argon. Blue argon lasers are used in surgery to weld arteries, destroy tumors and correct eye defects.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe most exotic use of argon is in the tyres of luxury cars. Not only does it protect the rubber from attack by oxygen, but it ensures less tyre noise when the car is moving at speed. Laziness can prove useful in the case of this element. Its high tech uses range from double glazing and laser eye surgery to putting your name in lights.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eJohn Emsley unlocking the secrets of the heavier than air noble gas argon. Next week, would you marry this man? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Mylon\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s almost never the case where the popular elements are that way because of their utility and interesting chemistry. But for gold and silver it\u0027s all so superficial. They are more popular because they\u0027re prettier. My wife for example, a non chemist, wouldn\u0027t dream of wearing a copper wedding ring. That might have something to do with the fact that copper oxide has an annoying habit of dyeing your skin green. But if she only took the time to learn about copper, to get to know it some; maybe then she would be likely to turn her back on the others and wear it with pride. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSteve Mylon\u0027s back to cross your palm with copper on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Argon","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ar","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough argon is abundant in the Earth’s atmosphere, it evaded discovery until 1894 when Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay first separated it from liquid air. In fact the gas had been isolated in 1785 by Henry Cavendish who had noted that about 1% of air would not react even under the most extreme conditions. That 1% was argon.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArgon was discovered as a result of trying to explain why the density of nitrogen extracted from air differed from that obtained by the decomposition of ammonia. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRamsay removed all the nitrogen from the gas he had extracted from air, and did this by reacting it with hot magnesium, forming the solid magnesium nitride. He was then left with a gas that would not react and when he examined its spectrum he saw new groups of red and green lines, confirming that it was a new element.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22407,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22407.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":19,"Symbol":"K","Name":"Potassium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image features the alchemical symbol for potash, from which the element was first isolated.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003ePotassium is the seventh most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust. It makes up 2.4% by mass. There are deposits of billions of tonnes of potassium chloride throughout the world. Mining extracts about 35 million tonnes a year. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost potassium minerals are found in igneous rocks and are sparingly soluble. The metal is difficult to obtain from these minerals. There are, however, other minerals such as sylvite (potassium chloride), sylvinite (a mixture of potassium and sodium chloride) and carnallite (potassium magnesium chloride) that are found in deposits formed by evaporation of old seas or lakes. The potassium salts can be easily recovered from these. Potassium salts are also found in the ocean but in smaller amounts compared with sodium.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003ePotassium is essential to life. Potassium ions are found in all cells. It is important for maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlant cells are particularly rich in potassium, which they get from the soil. Agricultural land, from which harvests are taken every year, needs to have its potassium replenished by adding potassium-based fertilisers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe average human consumes up to 7 grams of potassium a day, and stores about 140 grams in the body cells. A normal healthy diet contains enough potassium, but some foods such as instant coffee, sardines, nuts, raisins, potatoes and chocolate have above average potassium content. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe naturally occurring isotope potassium-40 is radioactive and, although this radioactivity is mild, it may be one natural cause of genetic mutation in humans. \u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal that tarnishes in air within minutes.","CASnumber":"7440-09-7","GroupID":1,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 4s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":19,"RelativeAtomicMass":"39.098","AtomicRadius":"2.75","CovalentRadii":"2.000","ElectronAffinity":"48.385","ElectroNegativity":"0.82","CovalentRadius":"2.00","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"63.5","MeltingPointK":"336.7","MeltingPointF":"146.3","BoilingPointC":"759","BoilingPointK":"1032","BoilingPointF":"1398","MolarHeatCapacity":"757","Density":"0.89","DensityValue":"0.89","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"3.1","DiscoveryYear":"1807","Discovery":"1807","DiscoveredBy":"Humphry Davy","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the English word \u0027potash\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"22774","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":61.1,"ProductionConcentrations":20.9,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":81.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":4.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"The greatest demand for potassium compounds is in fertilisers. Many other potassium salts are of great importance, including the nitrate, carbonate, chloride, bromide, cyanide and sulfate. Potassium carbonate is used in the manufacture of glass. Potassium hydroxide is used to make detergent and liquid soap. Potassium chloride is used in pharmaceuticals and saline drips. ","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Potassium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: potassium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week the story of the first alkaline metal ever isolated, why it\u0027s an alkaline metal at all and why its symbol begins with the letter K. Here\u0027s Peter Wothers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePotassium - the only element named after a cooking utensil. It was named in 1807 by Humphry Davy after the compound from which he isolated the metal, potash, or potassium hydroxide.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAn extract from the 1730s by the Dutch chemist Herman Boerhaave describes how potash got its name:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \"Potas or Pot-ashes is brought yearly by the Merchant\u0027s Ships in great abundance from Coerland (now part of Latvia and Lithuania), Russia, and Poland. It is prepared there from the Wood of green Fir, Pine, Oak, and the like, of which they make large piles in proper Trenches, and burn them till they are reduced to Ashes... These ashes are then dissolved in boiling Water, and when the Liquor at top, which contains the Salt, is depurated, i.e. freed from impurities, by standing quiet, it is poured off clear. This, then, is immediately put into large copper Pots, and is there boiled for the space of three days, by which means they procure the Salt they call Potas, (which signifies Pot-Ashes) on account of its being thus made in Pots.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEven earlier in the 16th Century, Conrad Gesner tells us that \"Of the hearbe called \u003cem\u003eKali,\u003c/em\u003e doe certayne prepare a Salt\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHe describes this plant, \u003cem\u003eKali\u003c/em\u003e whose Latin name is \u003cem\u003eSalsola kali\u003c/em\u003e but is more commonly known as Saltwort:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eKali\u003c/em\u003e is of two Cubites of heygth, hauing no prickles or thornes, \u0026amp; is sometymes very red, saltye in taste, with a certayne vngratefull smell, found \u0026amp; gathered in saltie places: out of which, the Salt of \u003cem\u003eAlkali\u003c/em\u003e maye be purchased\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHis method of production of this Salt of Alkali is pretty similar to that described by Boerhaave with both processes actually yielding an impure mixture of what we would now call potassium and sodium carbonate; the wood ash method yielding more potassium carbonate, potash, the salty herbs giving more sodium carbonate, soda. However, it is from the herb kali, that we owe the word that describes both - al-kali or alkali; the \u0027al\u0027 prefix simply being Arabic definite article \u0027the\u0027.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe crude potash can be made more caustic or \u0027pure\u0027 by treating a solution of it with lime water, calcium hydroxide. The potassium carbonate and calcium hydroxide solutions react with a bit of chemical partner-swapping: insoluble calcium carbonate or chalk precipitates out, leaving a solution of potassium hydroxide. It was from this pure hydroxide that Davy first isolated the metal potassium. To do this he used the relatively new force of electricity.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAfter unsuccessfully trying to electrolyse aqueous solutions of potash, during which he only succeeded in breaking apart the water, he reasoned that he needed to do away with the water and try to electrolyse molten potassium hydroxide. This he did on the sixth of October, 1807 using the large Voltaic pile he had built at the Royal Institute in London. His younger cousin, Edmund Davy, was assisting Humphry at the time and he relates how when Humphry first saw \"the minute globules of potassium burst through the crust of potash, and take fire as they entered the atmosphere, he could not contain his joy\".\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDavy had every right to be delighted with this amazing new metal: it looked just like other bright, shiny metals but its density was less than that of water. This meant the metal would float on water --at least, it would do if it didn\u0027t explode as soon as it came into contact with the water. Potassium is so reactive , it will even react and burn a hole through ice. This was the first alkali metal to be isolated, but Davy went on to isolate sodium, calcium, magnesium and barium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhilst Davy named his new metal potassium after the potash, Berzelius, the Swedish chemist who invented the international system of chemical symbols now used by chemists the world over, preferred the name kalium for the metal, better reflecting its true origins, he thought. Hence it is due a small salty herb that we now end up with the symbol K for the element pot-ash-ium, potassium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCambridge chemist Peter Wothers. Next time beautiful but deadly is the name of the game.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBea Perks\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArsenic gets its name from a Persian word for the yellow pigment now known as orpiment. For keen lexicographers apparently the Persian word in question Zarnikh was subsequently borrowed by the Greeks for their word arsenikon which means masculine or potent. On the pigment front, Napoleon\u0027s wallpaper just before his death is reported to have incorporated a so called Scheele\u0027s green which exuded an arsenic vapour when it got damp.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo potent or not, licking the wallpaper in Napoleon\u0027s apartments is definitely off the menu. That\u0027s Bea Perks who will be with us next time to tell us the deadly tale of arsenic, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Potassium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"K","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Canada; Russia; Belarus","TopProductionCountries":"Canada; Russia; Belarus","History":"Potassium salts in the form of saltpetre (potassium nitrate, KNO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e), alum (potassium aluminium sulfate, KAl(SO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e)\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e), and potash (potassium carbonate, K\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) have been known for centuries. They were used in gunpowder, dyeing, and soap making. They were scraped from the walls of latrines, manufactured from clay and sulfuric acid, and collected as wood ash respectively. Reducing them to the element defeated the early chemists and potassium was classed as an ‘earth’ by Antoine Lavoisier. Then in 1807, Humphry Davy exposed moist potash to an electric current and observed the formation of metallic globules of a new metal, potassium. He noted that when they were dropped into water they skimmed around on the surface, burning with a lavender-coloured flame.","CSID":4575326,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4575326.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"81.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":20,"Symbol":"Ca","Name":"Calcium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The spiral shell and bones reflect the essential presence of calcium in all living things.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eCalcium is the fifth most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust (4.1%). It is not found uncombined in nature, but occurs abundantly as limestone (calcium carbonate), gypsum (calcium sulfate), fluorite (calcium fluoride) and apatite (calcium chloro- or fluoro-phosphate). \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHard water contains dissolved calcium bicarbonate. When this filters through the ground and reaches a cave, it precipitates out to form stalactites and stalagmites. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCalcium metal is prepared commercially by heating lime with aluminium in a vacuum.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eCalcium is essential to all living things, particularly for the growth of healthy teeth and bones. Calcium phosphate is the main component of bone. The average human contains about 1 kilogram of calcium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChildren and pregnant women are encouraged to eat foods rich in calcium, such as milk and dairy products, leafy green vegetables, fish and nuts and seeds.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"Calcium is a silvery-white, soft metal that tarnishes rapidly in air and reacts with water.","CASnumber":"7440-70-2","GroupID":2,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":20,"RelativeAtomicMass":"40.078","AtomicRadius":"2.31","CovalentRadii":"1.740","ElectronAffinity":"2.369","ElectroNegativity":"1.00","CovalentRadius":"1.74","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"842","MeltingPointK":"1115","MeltingPointF":"1548","BoilingPointC":"1484","BoilingPointK":"1757","BoilingPointF":"2703","MolarHeatCapacity":"647","Density":"1.54","DensityValue":"1.54","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"17.2","DiscoveryYear":"1808","Discovery":"1808","DiscoveredBy":"Humphry Davy","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin \u0027calx\u0027 meaning lime.","CrustalAbundance":"41500","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":65.2,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":5.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eCalcium metal is used as a reducing agent in preparing other metals such as thorium and uranium. It is also used as an alloying agent for aluminium, beryllium, copper, lead and magnesium alloys. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCalcium compounds are widely used. There are vast deposits of limestone (calcium carbonate) used directly as a building stone and indirectly for cement. When limestone is heated in kilns it gives off carbon dioxide gas leaving behind quicklime (calcium oxide). This reacts vigorously with water to give slaked lime (calcium hydroxide). Slaked lime is used to make cement, as a soil conditioner and in water treatment to reduce acidity, and in the chemicals industry. It is also used in steel making to remove impurities from the molten iron ore. When mixed with sand, slaked lime takes up carbon dioxide from the air and hardens as lime plaster. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGypsum (calcium sulfate) is used by builders as a plaster and by nurses for setting bones, as ‘plaster of Paris’. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Calcium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: calcium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, welcome to this week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I\u0027m Chris Smith. This week it\u0027s the turn of the element that gives us cement, plaster of Paris, our own bones, hard teeth and hard water. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKaren Faulds\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMilk, cheese, yogurt, spinach, almonds. What element do they all have in common? It\u0027s calcium of course! But whilst most off us immediately think of food when someone mentions calcium (and I personally hold the old milk TV adverts accountable for this), it actually has a far bigger role in our lives than that. Calcium is all around us. The average human contains approximately 1kg of calcium, of which 99% is stored in our bones. It is the 5th most abundant element in the earth\u0027s crust, occurring widely as calcium carbonate which is more commonly known as limestone. It is also the fifth most abundant dissolved ion in seawater. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCalcium was named after the Latin term calx meaning lime, and is a reactive silvery metallic element found in Group 2 of the periodic table. It was first isolated in 1808 in England when Sir Humphry Davy electrolyzed a mixture of lime and mercuric oxide. Today we obtain calcium through the electrolysis of a fused salt such as calcium chloride. Once exposed to air, elemental calcium rapidly forms a grey-white oxide and nitride coating. Unlike magnesium, calcium is quite difficult to ignite, but once lit, it burns with a brilliant high-intensity red flame. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe compounds of calcium are however much more useful than the element itself. Literature dating back to 975 AD shows that plaster of Paris (which is calcium sulphate) was used even then for setting broken bones. Calcium oxide (also known as lime or quicklime) is a major component of mortar and cement. The production of cement using calcium oxide has long been known; it was used by the Romans and also the Egyptians who built the Great Pyramid of Giza and Tutankhamen\u0027s tomb. Calcium fluoride is also well known for being insoluble and transparent over a wide range of wavelengths, making it useful for making cells and windows for infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOur drinking water also contains calcium ions - more so in so called hard water areas. Hard water is the term used for water with a high proportion of calcium and magnesium (2 plus) ions. The calcium usually enters the water as it flows past either calcium carbonate, from limestone and chalk, or calcium sulfate, from other mineral deposits. Whilst some people do not like the taste, hard water is generally not harmful to your health. Although it does make your kettle furry! Interestingly, the taste of beer (something dear to my heart) seems related to the calcium concentration of the water used, and it is claimed that good beer should have a calcium concentration that is higher than that of hard tap water. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCalcium is what is known as an essential element, meaning that it is an element which is absolutely necessary for life processes. Which is what the old milk TV adverts were trying to tell us after all. Calcium is used to produce the minerals contained in bones, shells and teeth through a process called biomineralisation. Calcium phosphate (also known as hydroxyapatite) is the mineral component of bones and teeth and is a particularly good example of how organisms fabricate \u0027living\u0027 composite materials. Indeed, the different properties (such as stiffness) of bone are produced by varying the amount of organic component, mostly a fibrous protein called collagen, with which hydroxyapatite is associated. The bone in our body functions not only as a structural support, but also as the central Ca store. Thus, during pregnancy, bones tend to be raided for their Ca in a process called demineralisation. Bone does not last forever; a serious medical problem is osteoporosis which is the decalcification of bone. This loss of bone mass which occurs with increasing age makes bones more susceptible to breaking under stress and it occurs mainly in older people, especially women. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCalcium ions also play a crucial role in higher organisms as an intracellular messenger. Fluxes of Ca2+ trigger enzyme action in cells in response to receiving a hormonal or electrical signal from elsewhere in the organism. Calcium is also very important in helping blood to clot. When bleeding from a wound suddenly occurs, platelets gather at the wound and attempt to block the blood flow. Calcium, vitamin K, and a protein called fibrinogen help the platelets to form a clot. If your blood is lacking calcium or one of these other nutrients, it will take longer than normal for your blood to clot. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe ability to detect extremely small amounts of an element can be a very useful adaptation for an animal if that element is important to it. For example, hermit crabs, which inhabit second hand shells and change to newer, bigger shells as they grow, have the ability to recognise shells suitable for occupation not only by feeling for them, but apparently also by measuring the minute amount of calcium carbonate that is dissolved in the water around a shell. They can readily distinguish natural shells containing calcium carbonate from calcium-bearing replicas made from calcium sulphate. The concentration of calcium detected by the hermit crab is in the order of 4ppm or less, which is amazingly low. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo from strong teeth and bones, through to good tasting beer and ensuring hermit crabs find their perfect home -you can see that calcium really is an essential element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWell, I\u0027m very at home with my hard water, and the local beer tastes quite good too, although I do get through quite a few kettles - indeed Russell Hobbs probably owe their buoyant share price just down to me. Well, maybe. That was Strathclyde University\u0027s Karen Faulds with the story of Calcium. Next week, if you were an element which one would you be? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePat Bailey\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf I had to choose a person to represent gold, then I guess it might be an ambitious young stockbroker, a bit flashy, and not great at forming relationships. For helium - an airy-fairy blonde with a bit of a squeaky voice, but with aspirations to join the nobility. And for boron? Well at first glance a boring, middle-aged accountant, maybe wearing brown corduroys and a tweed jacket . but with an unexpected side-to him in his spare time - skydiving, and a member of a highly dubious society that indulges in swapping partners. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can get the inside story on Boron\u0027s swinging antics with Pat Bailey in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Calcium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ca","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"China; USA; India","History":"Lime (calcium oxide, CaO) was the useful material obtained by heating limestone and used for centuries to make plaster and mortar. Antoine Lavoisier classified it as an ‘earth’ because it seemed impossible to reduce it further, but he suspected it was the oxide of an unknown element. In 1808, Humphry Davy tried to reduce moist lime by electrolysis, just as he had done with sodium and potassium, but he was not successful. So he tried a mixture of lime and mercury oxide and while this produced an amalgam of calcium and mercury, it was not enough to confirm that he’d obtained a new element. (Jöns Jacob Berzelius had conducted a similar experiment and also obtained the amalgam.) Davy tried using more lime in the mixture and produced more of the amalgam from which he distilled off the mercury leaving just calcium.","CSID":4573905,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4573905.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":21,"Symbol":"Sc","Name":"Scandium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The element’s name is derived from the Latin name for Scandinavia. The image reflects this with an ancient Scandinavian figurine and carved runic standing stone.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eScandium is very widely distributed, and occurs in minute quantities in over 800 mineral species. It is the main component of the very rare and collectable mineral thortveitite, found in Scandinavia.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eScandium can be recovered from thortveitite or extracted as a by-product from uranium mill tailings (sandy waste material). Metallic scandium can be prepared by reducing the fluoride with calcium metal. It can also be prepared by electrolysing molten potassium, lithium and scandium chlorides, using electrodes of tungsten wire and molten zinc.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Scandium has no known biological role. It is a suspected carcinogen.","Appearance":"A silvery metal that tarnishes in air, burns easily and reacts with water.","CASnumber":"7440-20-2","GroupID":3,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":21,"RelativeAtomicMass":"44.956","AtomicRadius":"2.15","CovalentRadii":"1.590","ElectronAffinity":"18.139","ElectroNegativity":"1.36","CovalentRadius":"1.59","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1541","MeltingPointK":"1814","MeltingPointF":"2806","BoilingPointC":"2836","BoilingPointK":"3109","BoilingPointF":"5137","MolarHeatCapacity":"568","Density":"2.99","DensityValue":"2.99","YoungsModulus":"74.4","ShearModulus":"29.1","BulkModulus":"56.6","DiscoveryYear":"1879","Discovery":"1879","DiscoveredBy":"Lars Frederik Nilson","OriginOfName":"The name derives from \u0027Scandia\u0027, the Latin name for Scandinavia.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eScandium is mainly used for research purposes. It has, however, great potential because it has almost as low a density as aluminium and a much higher melting point. An aluminium-scandium alloy has been used in Russian MIG fighter planes, high-end bicycle frames and baseball bats. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eScandium iodide is added to mercury vapour lamps to produce a highly efficient light source resembling sunlight. These lamps help television cameras to reproduce colour well when filming indoors or at night-time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe radioactive isotope scandium-46 is used as a tracer in oil refining to monitor the movement of various fractions. It can also be used in underground pipes to detect leaks.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Scandium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: scandium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, an element whose existence had been expected, Here\u0027s David Linsay.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Lindsay\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eScandium, atomic number 21. It is the first of the transition metals, and its discovery is entwined with that of vertical neighbours yttrium and lanthanum. The Swedish island of Resarö, near Stockholm, became a hotbed of elemental discovery in the late eighteenth, and early nineteenth, centuries. A quarry near the village of Ytterby yielded two different mineral ores, from which the seventeen so-called \"rare earth\" elements were eventually identified, those being scandium, yttrium and the fifteen lanthanide elements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1788, a Lieutenant Arrhenius found an unusual black rock near the town of Ytterby. He passed this on to the famous Finnish scientist Johan Gadolin, and the story of the discovery of the rare earths began. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1879, Lars Nilson, isolated the oxide of a new metal element from the minerals gadolinite and euxenite. Nilson was a student of the legendary Jacob Berzelius, himself discoverer of many elements. Nilson named this oxide scandia, after Scandinavia. The discovery of this element was especially notable, as, seven years previously, Mendeleev had used his periodic table to predict the existence of ten as yet unknown elements, and for four of these, he predicted in great detail the properties they should have. One of these four, Mendeleev predicted, should have properties very similar to boron, and he named this element \"ekaboron\", meaning \"like boron\". The metal of this new oxide, scandia, was indeed found to have similar properties to this \"ekaboron\", thus demonstrating the power of Mendeleev\u0027s construction. For example, Mendeleev predicted the element\u0027s molecular weight would be 44 and that it would form one oxide with formula Eb\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e; scandium has molecular weight 45, and forms scandium oxide, Sc\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e. Some of Mendeleev\u0027s predictions were even more detailed. He predicted that the carbonate of ekaboron would not be soluble in water, which scandium carbonate is not. He even made a prediction related to the discovery of the element - that it would not be discovered spectroscopically. Indeed, scandium produces no spectroscopic lines, so could not be identified by this method of analysis. However, it was another Swedish chemist, Per Theodor Cleve, who was also working on the rare earths, who noticed the similarity between Nilson\u0027s new element, and the ekaboron predicted by Mendeleev. Despite the discovery of the oxide of this new element, it would take almost another sixty years until pure, elemental scandium was prepared, being made by electrolysis of scandium chloride in the presence of lithium and potassium, at high temperature. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eScandium is the first of the transition metals. Many of the transition metals exhibit a very rich and varied chemistry, due to the fact that they can exist in a wide variety of oxidation states. Scandium, however, is limited to the plus three oxidation state, meaning its chemistry is not quite as diverse as some of its transition metal counterparts. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eScandium is very much a late starter compared to many of the other elements, due to its relatively low occurrence and the difficulty in obtaining it from its ores. For example, it wasn\u0027t until the 1960s when the first pound, or 450 grams, of high purity scandium was obtained. Compounds of scandium find use in organic chemistry. Like many of the lanthanides, the trifluoromethansulfonate, or triflate, of scandium finds use as a so-called Lewis acid, accepting a pair of electrons from a suitable organic molecule, and activating the organic molecule to take part in highly efficient and selective chemical reactions. Scandium is also the source of artificial natural light. This might sound like a contradiction, but when scandium iodide is added in very small amounts to mercury vapour lamps, it produces light that is very similar to natural sunlight, and these lamps are used for applications ranging from floodlights to film projectors. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eScandium is added in small amounts to aluminium, to produce an alloy which is very light, yet very strong. As such, it has found use as a material for high performance road and mountain bikes. The advent of new frame materials, such as carbon fibre and titanium, has somewhat lessened the popularity of scandium alloy bike frames, but many such frames are still being made today. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, that\u0027s Scandium - the element first found in the late eighteenth century, and not isolated pure and in large quantities until the middle of the twentieth century. One which helped demonstrate the power of the periodic table, and which you\u0027ll find illuminating football fields, and in the frames of mountain bikes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd bringing us into the light there, was Reading University\u0027s David Lindsay, with the bright, strong chemistry of scandium. Now next week an element providing one more punch in the fight to protect our environment. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs everyone knows chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs for short, have been widely used in the past for fridges and freezers as the refridgerant gas. CFCs contribute to both depleting the ozone layer and they are also greenhouse gases. Due to this their use in the developed world has largely ceased, meaning a good, environmentally friendly replacement is needed. Gadolinium may prove useful to the fridges of the future due to a process known as magnetic refridgeration or adiabatic demagnetisation.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd join Uppingham School\u0027s Simon Cotton, to find out how magnetic refridgeration using the ions of gadolinium will be keeping our food cool in the future, in next week\u0027s chemistry in its element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Scandium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Sc","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1869, Mendeleev noticed that there was a gap in atomic weights between calcium (40) and titanium (48) and predicted there was an undiscovered element of intermediate atomic weight. He forecast that its oxide would be X\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e. It was discovered as scandium in 1879, by Lars Frederik Nilson of the University of Uppsala, Sweden. He extracted it from euxenite, a complex mineral containing eight metal oxides. He had already extracted erbium oxide from euxenite, and from this oxide he obtained ytterbium oxide and then another oxide of a lighter element whose atomic spectrum showed it to be an unknown metal. This was the metal that Mendeleev had predicted and its oxide was Sc\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eScandium metal itself was only produced in 1937 by the electrolysis of molten scandium chloride.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22392,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22392.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":22,"Symbol":"Ti","Name":"Titanium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol is representative of the Titans of Greek mythology, after which the element is named. It is based on early votive offering figurines.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eTitanium is the ninth most abundant element on Earth. It is almost always present in igneous rocks and the sediments derived from them. It occurs in the minerals ilmenite, rutile and sphene and is present in titanates and many iron ores. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTitanium is produced commercially by reducing titanium(IV) chloride with magnesium. Titanium(IV) oxide is produced commercially by either the ‘sulfate process’ or the ‘chloride process’, both of which use the mineral ilmenite as a starting material.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":" Titanium has no known biological role. It is non-toxic. Fine titanium dioxide dust is a suspected carcinogen. ","Appearance":"A hard, shiny and strong metal. ","CASnumber":"7440-32-6","GroupID":4,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":22,"RelativeAtomicMass":"47.867","AtomicRadius":"2.11","CovalentRadii":"1.480","ElectronAffinity":"7.622","ElectroNegativity":"1.54","CovalentRadius":"1.48","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e, 3","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1670","MeltingPointK":"1943","MeltingPointF":"3038","BoilingPointC":"3287","BoilingPointK":"3560","BoilingPointF":"5949","MolarHeatCapacity":"524","Density":"4.506","DensityValue":"4.506","YoungsModulus":"115.7","ShearModulus":"43.8","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1791","Discovery":"1791","DiscoveredBy":"William Gregor","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Titans, the sons of the Earth goddess of Greek mythology.","CrustalAbundance":"4136","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":29,"ProductionConcentrations":21,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":81.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":4.8,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eTitanium is as strong as steel but much less dense. It is therefore important as an alloying agent with many metals including aluminium, molybdenum and iron. These alloys are mainly used in aircraft, spacecraft and missiles because of their low density and ability to withstand extremes of temperature. They are also used in golf clubs, laptops, bicycles and crutches. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePower plant condensers use titanium pipes because of their resistance to corrosion. Because titanium has excellent resistance to corrosion in seawater, it is used in desalination plants and to protect the hulls of ships, submarines and other structures exposed to seawater. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTitanium metal connects well with bone, so it has found surgical applications such as in joint replacements (especially hip joints) and tooth implants. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe largest use of titanium is in the form of titanium(IV) oxide. It is extensively used as a pigment in house paint, artists’ paint, plastics, enamels and paper. It is a bright white pigment with excellent covering power. It is also a good reflector of infrared radiation and so is used in solar observatories where heat causes poor visibility. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTitanium(IV) oxide is used in sunscreens because it prevents UV light from reaching the skin. Nanoparticles of titanium(IV) oxide appear invisible when applied to the skin.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Titanium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: titanium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, you may be surprised to learn just how reliant you are on this widely used element that cleans and protects our environment. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTitanium. It is notoriously hard to make, but we have come to rely on it and indeed we couldn\u0027t do without this element or its compounds today. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, why is it so important? The most important compound is the oxide TiO2, which makes up 95% of the Ti used worldwide. We actually use 4 million tons of TiO2 each year, a lot of it for paint and other applications that need something that is bright white, insoluble and not toxic, like medicines and toothpaste. In the food industry it is additive number E171, used to whiten things like confectionary, cheeses, icings and toppings. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is also used in sunscreens, since it is a very opaque white and also very good at absorbing UV light. The ability to absorb UV light helps the TiO2 to act as a photocatalyst. This means that when UV light falls upon it, it generates free electrons that react with molecules on the surface, forming very reactive organic free radicals. Now you don\u0027t want these radicals on your skin, so the TiO2 used in sunscreens is coated with a protective layer of silica or alumina. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn other situations, these radicals can be a good thing, as they can kill bacteria. Scientists have found that if you introduce small amounts of different elements like nitrogen or silver into the TiO2, UV light is not needed as visible light will do the same job. You can put very thin coatings of TiO2 onto glass (or other substances like tiles); these are being tested in hospitals, as a way of reducing infections. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen water gets onto this type of glass, it spreads out, so that it doesn\u0027t fog up (think car wing mirrors) and also washes away dirt. This is the basis of Pilkington\u0027s ActivT self-cleaning glass, a great British invention. Scientists are now investigating building TiO2 into the surfaces of buildings, pavements and roads, with the aim of getting rid of chewing gum and even dog mess. They are also testing road surfaces with a layer of TiO2 in it, as they think it could remove air pollutants from car exhausts. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first titanium compound was identified by a Cornish vicar named William Gregor in 1791, when he extracted the impure oxide. He dissolved it in acid and got a colourless solution, but found that it could be reduced by zinc to make a purple solution. He was a transition metal chemist ahead of his time. Lots of chemists tried - for over a hundred years - to get the pure metal. We now know that this is very difficult because even the normally unreactive gas nitrogen reacts with hot titanium metal to form the nitride, TiN. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNowadays titanium is manufactured by the Kroll process. First you heat titanium dioxide with carbon to about 1000 degrees C and pass chlorine over it. This makes TiCl4. People call that \"Tickle\". Then you cover the Tickle with an argon blanket and react with hot magnesium [at 850 degrees C] to get the metallic element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTitanium metal is not as cheap as iron - because it is more difficult to extract - so its applications tend to be specialist ones. Titanium metal has some very valuable properties. In practice, it is pretty unreactive because, like aluminium, it forms a thin protective layer of the oxide, so it doesn\u0027t corrode. Its density is 4.5 grams per cm3, much less than iron, so titanium alloys are important in the aerospace industry. It was used to make much of the SR-71 Blackbird, the world\u0027s fastest manned aircraft, as well as a major parts of the engines and airframe of the big passenger aircraft including 747s and Airbuses. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis metal is resistant to seawater so it finds marine applications like propeller shafts, and the Russians are said to have used it to construct submarines. Titanium isn\u0027t toxic, and it is not rejected by the body. It also connects with bone, so it has found surgical applications such as in joint replacements - especially hip joints - and tooth implants.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e So there are lots of applications for titanium and its compounds - we just can\u0027t do without it. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndeed we can\u0027t, seeing as it\u0027s in our food, sunscreen and windows, and soon may even be in our hospitals and on our roads. That was Simon Cotton from Uppingham School with the diverse uses and chemistry of titanium. Now next week, a sparkling element that makes otherwise plain minerals into precious stones. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChristopher Blanford\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOf all chromium\u0027s natural occurrences, my favourites are gemstones, where a trace of the element adds a blaze of colour. As corundum, beryl, and crysoberyl, these metal oxides are colourless and obscure minerals. But add a dash of chromium, and they become ruby, emerald and alexandrite. In ruby - which is aluminium oxide with a few parts per thousand of the aluminium ions are replaced by chromium(III) ions - the chromium atoms are surrounded by six oxygen atoms. This leads to the chromium atoms strongly absorbing light in the violet and yellow-green regions. We see this as mainly red with some blue, giving, in the best cases, the characteristic pigeon-blood colour of the finest rubies. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChristopher Blanford explains the sparkling and colourful chemistry of chromium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam from the nakedscientists.com and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Titanium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ti","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; Australia; India","TopProductionCountries":"Canada; Australia; South Africa","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe first titanium mineral, a black sand called menachanite, was discovered in 1791 in Cornwall by the Reverend William Gregor. He analysed it and deduced it was made up of the oxides of iron and an unknown metal, and reported it as such to the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1795, the German scientist Martin Heinrich Klaproth of Berlin investigated a red ore known as Schörl from Hungary. This is a form of rutile (TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) and Klaproth realised it was the oxide of a previously unknown element which he named titanium. When he was told of Gregor’s discovery he investigated menachanite and confirmed it too contained titanium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was not until 1910 that M. A. Hunter, working for General Electric in the USA, made pure titanium metal by heating titanium tetrachloride and sodium metal.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22402,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22402.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"Medium","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":23,"Symbol":"V","Name":"Vanadium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol is based on an 8th-century figurine of the Scandinavian goddess Freyja, after whom the element is named. It is set against a text from an Icelandic saga written in the 13th century.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eVanadium is found in about 65 different minerals including vanadinite, carnotite and patronite. It is also found in phosphate rock, certain iron ores and some crude oils in the form of organic complexes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eVanadium metal is obtained by reducing vanadium(V) oxide with calcium in a pressure vessel. Vanadium of high purity can be obtained by reducing vanadium(III) chloride with magnesium. \u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Vanadium is essential to some species, including humans, although we need very little. We take in just 0.01 milligrams each day, and this is more than sufficient for our needs. In some compounds vanadium can become toxic.","Appearance":"A silvery metal that resists corrosion. ","CASnumber":"7440-62-2","GroupID":5,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":23,"RelativeAtomicMass":"50.942","AtomicRadius":"2.07","CovalentRadii":"1.440","ElectronAffinity":"50.655","ElectroNegativity":"1.63","CovalentRadius":"1.44","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e5\u003c/strong\u003e, 4, 3, 2, 0","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1910","MeltingPointK":"2183","MeltingPointF":"3470","BoilingPointC":"3407","BoilingPointK":"3680","BoilingPointF":"6165","MolarHeatCapacity":"489","Density":"6.0","DensityValue":"6.0","YoungsModulus":"127.6","ShearModulus":"46.7","BulkModulus":"158.0","DiscoveryYear":"1801","Discovery":"1801","DiscoveredBy":"Andrés Manuel del Rio","OriginOfName":"The element is named after \u0027Vanadis\u0027, the old Norse name for the Scandinavian goddess Freyja.","CrustalAbundance":"138","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":36,"ProductionConcentrations":34,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":44.3,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.7,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eAbout 80% of the vanadium produced is used as a steel additive. Vanadium-steel alloys are very tough and are used for armour plate, axles, tools, piston rods and crankshafts. Less than 1% of vanadium, and as little chromium, makes steel shock resistant and vibration resistant. Vanadium alloys are used in nuclear reactors because of vanadium’s low neutron-absorbing properties. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eVanadium(V) oxide is used as a pigment for ceramics and glass, as a catalyst and in producing superconducting magnets.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Vanadium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: vanadium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week to an element with a role in body building and that\u0027s not just of the human kind. This is the stuff that was essential in helping to get the Model T Fords to first roll off of the production line because it strengthens steel. It\u0027s also the catalytic power behind the production of sulphuric acid and its named after the Norse God of beauty, love and fertility. And to reveal her identify here\u0027s Chris Orvig.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Orvig\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eVanadium, a first row transition metal in the Periodic Table, is an element of mystery. Not only was it first transported two hundred years ago from Mexico, and lost in a shipwreck along with all of the relevant lab notes by the great German scientist Baron von Humboldt, but it required discovery several times by such famous names as Wöhler, Berzelius and del Rio (who was actually talked out of his claim in 1805). Final and convincing verification came from the Swede Nils Sefström out of an oxide in iron ores in 1831. Vanadium metal was first prepared in the 1860s by English chemist Henry Enfield Roscoe. The place of vanadium as a trace element necessary for life processes has been just as tortuously argued and hotly debated through most of the last century - doubtless many organisms and other mammals require it.but do humans? A deficiency condition in humans has never been defined, but vanadium does have a medicinally relevant role as a potential treatment for diabetes mellitus, but more on this later.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eVanadium is the fifth most abundant transition metal in the earth\u0027s crust, often found with titanium and iron in their ores, and significant concentrations are found in certain coal and oil deposits, such as crude and shale oils. In its metallic state, it strengthens stainless steel and some superconducting alloys, while in its numerous ionic states it has been used spectroscopically to probe enzyme active sites and is found in both naturally occurring catalysts in seaweed and lab catalysts for oxidation chemistry. Silver vanadium oxides have a role in battery chemistry. The first large scale industrial use of vanadium metal was a century ago in the steels used to fashion the chassis of the Ford Model T car, and steel remains the main use of vanadium metal. Because vanadium is a light transition metal, not a \"heavy metal\" as often incorrectly claimed in the toxicology literature, vanadium metal contributes reduced weight to high tensile strength steels. The compound of greatest commercial importance is vanadium pentoxide, V\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003e, which is used as a catalyst for the production of sulfuric acid, the bulk commodity chemical of greatest world production.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTremendous versatility for an element named by Sefström for Vanadis (also known as Freyja) the Norse goddess of beauty, love and fertility. All seven oxidation states from -1 to +5 are known in inorganic chemistry, and give rise to the many beautiful colours often associated with transition metal compounds. Its multiple oxidation states, ready hydrolysis and polymerisation bestow upon vanadium a chemistry far richer and more complex than that of many elements, formation of aggregated oxyanions and sulfur complexes being just two examples. The highest three oxidation states (III, IV and V) are of significant importance in water and are the oxidation states found in the more than one hundred known vanadium minerals. The tar sands of Alberta in western Canada present a huge untapped reservoir of vanadium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCertain marine ascidians and sea squirts concentrate vanadium up to one million fold from surrounding seawater, while mushroom species such as \u003cem\u003eamanita muscaria\u003c/em\u003e concentrate vanadium(IV); in both cases the reasons have yet to be elucidated. Biology exploits vanadium\u0027s oxidation state promiscuity in the vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases, which were discovered in marine brown algae and seaweed in the 1980s; these are surprisingly robust marine enzymes that oxidise substrates using peroxide as an electron acceptor. There is even a vanadium nitrogenase - a vanadium nitrogen-reducing alternative to the iron-molybdenum enzyme that reduces dinitrogen to ammonia in the root-nodules of many plants.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost conveniently for studies of vanadium(V) chemistry (that which is important in oxidation catalysis), naturally occurring vanadium is mono-isotopic - vanadium-51 has a nuclear spin of 7/2 which is useful for NMR spectroscopy. Vanadium(IV) has one unpaired 3\u003cem\u003ed\u003c/em\u003e electron that, coupled with the nuclear spin, is exquisitely diagnostic in EPR spectroscopy - the vanadyl ion (VO\u003csup\u003e2+\u003c/sup\u003e) is a sensitive spectroscopic probe that has been used to elucidate enzyme active site structure, as well as catalytic activity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eVanadium has significant effects on cellular growth, redox and signaling processes, as well as enzyme function. Vanadyl sulphate is a very controversial dietary supplement, popular in body-building and can often be purchased in gym shops where allowed by law. The vanadate anion is a phosphate mimic that has been used as a probe of the enzymes that transfer phosphates in cell signaling - the phosphatases and kinases. Not surprisingly vanadium shows many interesting biological properties resulting from this activity, not the least of which is its ability to enhance, but not mimic, the action of insulin, the key hormone in diabetes mellitus. This property was first shown in France in three diabetic humans and published in 1899 in \u003cem\u003eLa Presse Médicale\u003c/em\u003e. Vanadium does not act in the complete absence of insulin - hence it is an enhancer rather than a mimic of insulin. Significant efforts over the last 25 years, since John McNeill of the University of British Columbia showed that vanadate was effective in a diabetic rat model, have led to a number of vanadium compounds now being clinically investigated in humans as potential agents for the treatment of diabetes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA colourful transition metal with a sweet side. That was chemist Chris Orvig and he\u0027s based at the University of British Columbia. Next week you\u0027ll have to be sure to hold your nose.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBernard J Bulkin\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eButyl seleno mercaptan is the essential ingredient of skunk smell, and is certainly a contender for the title of the worst smelling compound. Once you have smelt it you will never forget it, nor underestimate the impact that this interesting element can have.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYuk, but thankfully you can catch up with the whole story of selenium and without having to have an unforgettable encounter with a skunk and that\u0027s all on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Vanadium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"V","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; Russia; South Africa","TopProductionCountries":"South Africa; China; Russia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eVanadium was discovered twice. The first time was in 1801 by Andrés Manuel del Rio who was Professor of Mineralogy in Mexico City. He found it in a specimen of vanadite, Pb\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003e(VO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e)\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eCl and sent a sample to Paris. However, French chemists concluded that it was a chromium mineral.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe second time vanadium was discovered was in 1831 by the Swedish chemist Nil Gabriel Selfström at Stockholm. He separated it from a sample of cast iron made from ore that had been mined at Småland. He was able to show that it was a new element, and in so doing he beat a rival chemist, Friedrich Wöhler, to the discovery He was also working another vanadium mineral from Zimapan.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePure vanadium was produced by Henry Roscoe at Manchester, in 1869, and he showed that previous samples of the metal were really vanadium nitride (VN).\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22426,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22426.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"Low","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":24,"Symbol":"Cr","Name":"Chromium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the toxic nature of the metal and its ‘mirror shine’ when polished.","NaturalAbundance":"Chromium is found mainly in chromite. This ore is found in many places including South Africa, India, Kazakhstan and Turkey. Chromium metal is usually produced by reducing chromite with carbon in an electric-arc furnace, or reducing chromium(III) oxide with aluminium or silicon.","BiologicalRoles":"Chromium is an essential trace element for humans because it helps us to use glucose. However, it is poisonous in excess. We take in about 1 milligram a day. Foods such as brewer’s yeast, wheat germ and kidney are rich in chromium. ","Appearance":"A hard, silvery metal with a blue tinge.","CASnumber":"7440-47-3","GroupID":6,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":24,"RelativeAtomicMass":"51.996","AtomicRadius":"2.06","CovalentRadii":"1.300","ElectronAffinity":"64.259","ElectroNegativity":"1.66","CovalentRadius":"1.30","CommonOxidationStates":"6, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, 2, 0","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1907","MeltingPointK":"2180","MeltingPointF":"3465","BoilingPointC":"2671","BoilingPointK":"2944","BoilingPointF":"4840","MolarHeatCapacity":"449","Density":"7.15","DensityValue":"7.15","YoungsModulus":"279.1","ShearModulus":"115.4","BulkModulus":"160.1","DiscoveryYear":"1798","Discovery":"1798","DiscoveredBy":"Nicholas Louis Vauquelin","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027chroma\u0027, meaning colour.","CrustalAbundance":"135","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":46,"ProductionConcentrations":37,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":44.3,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.2,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eChromium is used to harden steel, to manufacture stainless steel (named as it won’t rust) and to produce several alloys. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChromium plating can be used to give a polished mirror finish to steel. Chromium-plated car and lorry parts, such as bumpers, were once very common. It is also possible to chromium plate plastics, which are often used in bathroom fittings.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAbout 90% of all leather is tanned using chrome. However, the waste effluent is toxic so alternatives are being investigated.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChromium compounds are used as industrial catalysts and pigments (in bright green, yellow, red and orange colours). Rubies get their red colour from chromium, and glass treated with chromium has an emerald green colour. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Chromium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: chromium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week an element that adds sparkle and value to minerals, through the colourful characteristics of its compounds. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChristopher Blanford\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the Western world, the colourful history of chromium begins, suitably enough, at the far end of the visible spectrum with a red-orange mineral that was named \"Siberian red lead\" by its discoverer, the 18th-century geologist Johann Lehmann. Although Mendeleev\u0027s periodic table was still almost a century away at this time, scientists around the world were rapidly discovering new elements - 30% of the naturally occurring elements were first isolated between 1775 and 1825. It was in the middle of this surge of discovery, over 35 years after Siberian red lead was first found that the French chemist Louis Vauquelin showed that this mineral, now known as crocoite, contained a previously unknown chemical element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt took Vauquelin several steps to isolate chromium. First he mixed the crocoite solution with potassium carbonate to precipitate out the lead. Then he decomposed the lemon yellow chromate intermediate in acid, and finally removed the compounded oxygen by heating with carbon - leaving behind elemental chromium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe name for this new element was debated among his friends, who suggested \"chrome\" from the Greek word for colour because of the colouration of its compounds. Although he objected to this name at first because the metal itself had no characteristic colour, his friends\u0027 views won out. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen Vauquelin exhibited his pale grey metal to the French Academy of Sciences, he commented on the metal\u0027s brittleness, resistance to acids and incapability of being melted. He thought these properties made it overly difficult to work with and thus limited its applications as a metal. He did suggest, however, that chromium\u0027s compounds would be widely used as beautiful, brilliantly coloured pigments. A browse through images of chromium compounds on Wikipedia shows a whole spectrum of colours: dark red chromium(VI) oxide, orange-red lead chromate, bright yellow sodium chromate, brilliant chrome green (that\u0027s chrome(III) oxide), light blue chromium(II) chloride, and violet anhydrous chromium(III) chloride. The last of these compounds shows an amazing property when hydrated. Its colour changes between pale green, dark green and violet depending on how many of the chromium ion\u0027s six coordination sites are occupied by chloride rather than water. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOf all these pigments, one of them stands out. I\u0027m a chemist who was born, raised and schooled in the Midwestern United States, so the iconic yellow school buses in North America were familiar sights. Chrome yellow, also known as \"school bus yellow\", was adopted in 1939 for all U.S. school buses to provide high contrast and visibility in twilight hours. However, the presence of both toxic lead and hexavalent chromium of Erin Brockovitch fame has led to it being largely replaced by a family of azo dyes, known as Pigment Yellows, though chrome yellow is still used in some marine and industrial applications. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOf all chromium\u0027s natural occurrences, my favourites are gemstones, where a trace of the element adds a blaze of colour. As corundum, beryl, and crysoberyl, these metal oxides are colourless and obscure minerals. But add a dash of chromium, and they become ruby, emerald and alexandrite. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe chemist\u0027s tool of crystal-field theory, which models the electronic structure of transition metal complexes, provides a surprisingly accurate way of describing and predicting the source and variability of colour in chromium\u0027s compounds. In ruby - which is aluminium oxide with a few parts per thousand of the aluminium ions are replaced by chromium(III) ions - the chromium atoms are surrounded by six oxygen atoms. This means that the chromium atoms strongly absorb light in the violet and yellow-green regions. We see this as mainly red with some blue, giving, in the best cases, the characteristic pigeon-blood colour of the finest rubies. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe Cr3+ ion is about 26% bigger than the Al3+ ion it replaces. So, when more chromium is added to aluminium oxide, the octahedral environment around the chromium becomes distorted and the two bands of absorption shift towards the red. In aluminium oxide in which 20 to 40% of the atoms of aluminium have swapped to chromium, the absorbed and transmitted colours swap and we see this complex as green, transforming a synthetic ruby into a green sapphire. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMy next gem, the emerald, in an oxide of silicon, aluminium and beryllium. It has the same substitution of a chromium ion for an aluminium ion and a similar distorted octahedral arrangement of oxygen around chromium, giving emeralds their characteristic green colour, like that from green sapphires. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOf the chromium gemstones, alexandrite is the most fascinating to me. Its stones are strongly pleochroic. That is, they absorb different wavelengths depending on the direction and polarisation of the light that\u0027s hitting them. So, depending on a gem\u0027s orientation, alexandrite\u0027s colour ranges from red-orange to yellow and emerald green. Its colour also changes depending on whether it is viewed in daylight or under the warm red tones of candlelight. When moved from daylight to candlelight, the best specimens turn from a brilliant green to a fiery red. Lesser gems turn from dull green to a turbid blood red. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOutside this rainbow of chromium compounds, chromium helps prevent a particularly undesirable colour: rust brown. In corrosion-resistant, or \"stainless\", steels, at least 11% of its mass is chromium. The alloyed chromium reacts with oxygen to form a transparent nanoscopic layer of oxide that forms a barrier to further oxygen penetration and so prevents the ruddy, flaky products of iron oxidation. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGiven these widespread uses of chromium complexes, it should come as no surprise when I tell you that under one-half of a per cent of chromium produced is chromium in its elemental form. So, to some extent, Vauquelin\u0027s prediction from two centuries ago about the limited usefulness of elemental chromium was spot on. On the other hand, the first picture in my mind for chromium (after gemstones, of course) is when it is in its metallic form, such as for the mirrored corrosion and wear-resistant \"chrome\" surfaces of ball bearings and the shiny silvery trim on car parts. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo it\u0027s shiny and colourful as well as corrosion and wear resistant. I don\u0027t think I would say chromium had limited uses, would you? That was Oxford University\u0027s Christopher Blanford with the complex and colourful chemistry of chromium. Next week, a planetary element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe\u0027re so familiar with uranium and plutonium that it\u0027s easy to miss that they are named after the seventh and ninth planets of the solar system. (At least, Pluto was the ninth planet until it was stripped of its status in 2006.) Between those planets sits Neptune, and the gap between the two elements leaves a space for their relatively unsung cousin, neptunium - element number 93 in the periodic table. In June 1940, American physicists Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson, working at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, wrote a paper describing a reaction of uranium that had been discovered when bombarding it with neutrons using a cyclotron particle accelerator. Remarkably, the openly published Berkeley paper would show the first step to overcoming one of the biggest obstacles to building an atomic bomb. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Brian Clegg will reveal how this obstacle was overcome in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Chromium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Cr","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Kazakhstan; South Africa; India","TopProductionCountries":"South Africa; Kazakhstan; India","History":"Chromium was discovered by the French chemist Nicholas Louis Vauquelin at Paris in1798. He was intrigued by a bright red mineral that had been discovered in a Siberian gold mine in 1766 and was referred to as Siberian red lead. It is now known as crocoite and is a form of lead chromate. Vauquelin analysed it and confirmed that it was a lead mineral. Then he dissolved it in acid, precipitated the lead, filtered this off, and focused his attention on the remaining liquor from which he succeeded in isolating chromium. Intrigued by the range of colours that it could produce in solution, he named it chromium from the Greek word \u003cem\u003echroma\u003c/em\u003e meaning colour. He then discovered that the green colouration of emeralds was also due to chromium","CSID":22412,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22412.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"61.8","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":25,"Symbol":"Mn","Name":"Manganese","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of an antique electromagnet and a cow. The electromagnet is because manganese may have got its name from the Latin word for magnet. The cow reflects the importance of the element as a food supplement for grazing animals.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eManganese is the fifth most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust. Its minerals are widely distributed, with pyrolusite (manganese dioxide) and rhodochrosite (manganese carbonate) being the most common. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe main mining areas for manganese are in China, Africa, Australia and Gabon. The metal is obtained by reducing the oxide with sodium, magnesium or aluminium, or by the electrolysis of manganese sulfate.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eManganese nodules have been found on the floor of the oceans. These nodules contain about 24% manganese, along with smaller amounts of many other elements.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eManganese is an essential element in all known living organisms. Many types of enzymes contain manganese. For example, the enzyme responsible for converting water molecules to oxygen during photosynthesis contains four atoms of manganese. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome soils have low levels of manganese and so it is added to some fertilisers and given as a food supplement to grazing animals. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe average human body contains about 12 milligrams of manganese. We take in about 4 milligrams each day from such foods as nuts, bran, wholegrain cereals, tea and parsley. Without it, bones grow spongier and break more easily. It is also essential for utilisation of vitamin B1.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A hard, brittle, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7439-96-5","GroupID":7,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":25,"RelativeAtomicMass":"54.938","AtomicRadius":"2.05","CovalentRadii":"1.290","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"1.55","CovalentRadius":"1.29","CommonOxidationStates":"7, 6, 4, 3, \u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e, 0, -1","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1246","MeltingPointK":"1519","MeltingPointF":"2275","BoilingPointC":"2061","BoilingPointK":"2334","BoilingPointF":"3742","MolarHeatCapacity":"479","Density":"7.3","DensityValue":"7.3","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"118","DiscoveryYear":"1774","Discovery":"1774","DiscoveredBy":"Johan Gottlieb Gahn","OriginOfName":"The derivation of Manganese may have come from one of two routes: either from the Latin \u0027magnes\u0027, meaning magnet, or from the black magnesium oxide, \u0027magnesia nigra\u0027. ","CrustalAbundance":"774","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":24,"ProductionConcentrations":33,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":5.7,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eManganese is too brittle to be of much use as a pure metal. It is mainly used in alloys, such as steel. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSteel contains about 1% manganese, to increase the strength and also improve workability and resistance to wear. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eManganese steel contains about 13% manganese. This is extremely strong and is used for railway tracks, safes, rifle barrels and prison bars.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDrinks cans are made of an alloy of aluminium with 1.5% manganese, to improve resistance to corrosion. With aluminium, antimony and copper it forms highly magnetic alloys. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eManganese(IV) oxide is used as a catalyst, a rubber additive and to decolourise glass that is coloured green by iron impurities. Manganese sulfate is used to make a fungicide. Manganese(II) oxide is a powerful oxidising agent and is used in quantitative analysis. It is also used to make fertilisers and ceramics.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Manganese.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: manganese\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! This week to the element that lies at the root of plant photosynthesis, fights free radicals, strengthens steel, makes mysterious ocean floor nodules and even goes to mix up with magnesium. Here\u0027s Ron Caspi.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRon Caspi\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI always feel that manganese is sadly overlooked. It\u0027s the fifth most abundant metal in the Earth crust and the second most abundant transition metal after iron, but say, manganese and many people will think of the much more familiar magnesium. There is a good reason why the names of these two elements are so confusingly similar, but we\u0027ll get to that in a minute. There are more than 300 different minerals that contain manganese. Large terrestrial deposits are found in Australia, Gabon, South Africa, Brazil and Russia. Yet more fascinating are the mysterious three trillion tons of manganese nodules that cover great parts of the ocean floor. These nodules are never covered by the constantly accumulating sediment. They manage to always stay above the sediment, due to the constant pushing and turning by their keepers, the small animals that live on the ocean floor. Almost half a billion dollars were invested in developing mining techniques for the nodules, but they\u0027re found so deep, mostly at depth of 4 to 6 kilometres, that the mining is still not commercially viable. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eManganese is an extremely versatile element. It can exist in six different oxidation states. In nature, it is usually found in either its reduced +2 state, which easily dissolves in water or in the +4 state, which forms many types of insoluble oxides. The +3 form of manganese is used as a powerful weapon, by dry rot fungi that break down wood. Wood contains a lot of lignin, a polymer that is almost indestructible by biological systems; indestructible that is unless you use manganese. A fungal enzyme, manganese peroxidase, oxidizes manganese +2 atoms to manganese +3, which are then sent to the tiny spaces within the wood lattice. Manganese +3 is highly reactive and can break down the chemical bonds of lignin, making it available as food for the fungus. Fungi are not the only organisms that harness the power of manganese chemistry. Manganese is an essential element for all life forms. It is absolutely necessary for the activity of several enzymes that must bind a manganese atom before they can function, including superoxide dismutase, an enzyme that protects us from the harmful effects of toxic oxygen radicals. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne of the most important reactions in biology, photosynthesis, is completely dependent on manganese. It is the star player in the reaction centre of photosystem II where water molecules are converted to oxygen. Without manganese, there would be no photosynthesis as we know it and there would be no oxygen in the atmosphere. While biology discovered manganese early on, it took humankind a bit longer. Already in ancient Egypt, glass blowers who got tired of their greenish glass founded by adding small amounts of certain minerals to the mix, they could make perfectly clear glass. They didn\u0027t realize it at that time, but these minerals, which were affectionately named, Sapo vitri or glass soap were manganese oxides. Excellent ores were found in the region of Magnesia, the region of northern Greece, just south of Macedonia, and this is how the trouble with manganese names started. Different ores from the region, which included both magnesium and manganese, were simply called magnesia. In the 1600s, the term magnesia alba or white magnesia was adopted for magnesium minerals, while magnesia nigra or black magnesia was used for the darker manganese oxides. By the way, the famous magnetic minerals that were discovered in that region were named Lapis magnis or stone of magnesia, which eventually became today\u0027s magnet. For a while, there was a total mix up concerning manganese and magnesium, but in the late 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e Century, a group of Swedish chemists, headed by Torbern Bergman were convinced that manganese is its own element. In 1774, Scheele, a member of the group presented these conclusions to the Stockholm Academy and later that year, Johann Gahn, another member became the first man to purify manganese and prove that it is an element. It took a few more years, but by 1807, the name manganese was accepted by all. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToday, manganese is used for countless industrial purposes. By far, the most important one is in steel making. When Sir Henry Bessemer invented the process of steel making in 1856, his steel broke up when hot rolled or forged; the problem was solved later that year, when Robert Foster Mushet, another Englishman, discovered that adding small amounts of manganese to the molten iron solves the problem. Since manganese has a greater affinity for sulphur than does iron, it converts the low-melting iron sulphide in steel to high-melting manganese sulphide. Since then, all steel contains manganese. In fact, about 90% of all Manganese produced today, is used in steel. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFrom the mysterious nodules at the bottom of the ocean to the decay of wood, from ancient glassblowing to modern steel-making, from fighting oxygen radicals to photosynthesis, manganese has always played a fascinating role in the chemistry, geology, and biology of our planet, a role that is seriously under appreciated.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRon Caspi. Next time, to a cheeky chemical with some practical and also some less than practical uses that is unless you\u0027re a practical joker.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlloys containing bismuth were used for safety valves and boilers, melting if the temperature rose too high and a classic prank invented in Victorian times was to cast spoons from an alloy consisting of 8 parts bismuth, 5 parts lead and 3 parts tin. Its melting point is low enough for the spoon to vanish into a cup of hot tea to the astonishment of the unsuspected visitor.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAndrea Sella, who\u0027ll be revealing the story of bismuth on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I hope you can join us. I am Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Manganese","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Mn","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"South Africa; Ukraine; Brazil","TopProductionCountries":"China; South Africa; Australia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eManganese in the form of the black ore pyrolucite (manganese dioxide, MnO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) was used by the pre-historic cave painters of the Lascaux region of France around 30,000 years ago. In more recent times was used by glass makers to remove the pale greenish tint of natural glass.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1740, the Berlin glass technologist Johann Heinrich Pott investigated it chemically and showed that it contained no iron as has been assumed. From it he was able to make potassium permanganate (KMnO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e), one of the strongest oxidising agents known. Several chemists in the 1700s tried unsuccessfully to isolate the metal component in pyrolusite. The first person to do this was the Swedish chemist and mineralogist Johan Gottlieb Gahn in 1774. However, a student at Vienna, Ignatius Kaim, had already described how he had produced manganese metal, in his dissertation written in 1771.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22372,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22372.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"44.3","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":26,"Symbol":"Fe","Name":"Iron","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of the alchemical symbol for iron. The symbol is shown against a rusty mild steel plate.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eIron is the fourth most abundant element, by mass, in the Earth’s crust. The core of the Earth is thought to be largely composed of iron with nickel and sulfur. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe most common iron-containing ore is haematite, but iron is found widely distributed in other minerals such as magnetite and taconite. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCommercially, iron is produced in a blast furnace by heating haematite or magnetite with coke (carbon) and limestone (calcium carbonate). This forms pig iron, which contains about 3% carbon and other impurities, but is used to make steel. Around 1.3 billion tonnes of crude steel are produced worldwide each year.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eIron is an essential element for all forms of life and is non-toxic. The average human contains about 4 grams of iron. A lot of this is in haemoglobin, in the blood. Haemoglobin carries oxygen from our lungs to the cells, where it is needed for tissue respiration. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHumans need 10–18 milligrams of iron each day. A lack of iron will cause anaemia to develop. Foods such as liver, kidney, molasses, brewer’s yeast, cocoa and liquorice contain a lot of iron.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A shiny, greyish metal that rusts in damp air.","CASnumber":"7439-89-6","GroupID":8,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":26,"RelativeAtomicMass":"55.845","AtomicRadius":"2.04","CovalentRadii":"1.240","ElectronAffinity":"14.569","ElectroNegativity":"1.83","CovalentRadius":"1.24","CommonOxidationStates":"6, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, 2, 0, -2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1538","MeltingPointK":"1811","MeltingPointF":"2800","BoilingPointC":"2861","BoilingPointK":"3134","BoilingPointF":"5182","MolarHeatCapacity":"449","Density":"7.87","DensityValue":"7.87","YoungsModulus":"211.4 (soft); 152.3 (cast)","ShearModulus":"81.6 (soft); 60.0 (cast)","BulkModulus":"169.8","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"approx 3500BC","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon name \u0027iren\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"52157","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":21,"ProductionConcentrations":41,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":5.2,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eIron is an enigma – it rusts easily, yet it is the most important of all metals. 90% of all metal that is refined today is iron. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost is used to manufacture steel, used in civil engineering (reinforced concrete, girders etc) and in manufacturing. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere are many different types of steel with different properties and uses. Ordinary carbon steel is an alloy of iron with carbon (from 0.1% for mild steel up to 2% for high carbon steels), with small amounts of other elements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlloy steels are carbon steels with other additives such as nickel, chromium, vanadium, tungsten and manganese. These are stronger and tougher than carbon steels and have a huge variety of applications including bridges, electricity pylons, bicycle chains, cutting tools and rifle barrels.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStainless steel is very resistant to corrosion. It contains at least 10.5% chromium. Other metals such as nickel, molybdenum, titanium and copper are added to enhance its strength and workability. It is used in architecture, bearings, cutlery, surgical instruments and jewellery.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCast iron contains 3–5% carbon. It is used for pipes, valves and pumps. It is not as tough as steel but it is cheaper. Magnets can be made of iron and its alloys and compounds.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIron catalysts are used in the Haber process for producing ammonia, and in the Fischer–Tropsch process for converting syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) into liquid fuels.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Iron.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: iron\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week we turn to one of the most important elements in the human body. It\u0027s the one that makes metabolism possible and don\u0027t we just know it. There are iron man challenges, iron fisted leaders and those said to have iron in the soul. But there\u0027s a dark side to element number 26 too because its powerful chemistry means that it\u0027s also bad news for brain cells as Nobel Laureate Kary Mullis explains\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKary Mullis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor the human brain, iron is essential yet deadly. It exists on Earth mainly in two\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e oxidation states - FeII and FeIII. FeIII is predominant within a few meters of the atmosphere which about two billion years ago turned 20% oxygen - oxidizing this iron to the plus three state which is virtually insoluble in water. This change from the relatively plentiful and soluble FeII, took a heavy toil on almost everything alive at the time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSurviving terrestrial and ocean-dwelling microbes developed soluble siderophore molecules to regain access to this plentiful, but otherwise inaccessible essential resource, which used hydroxamate or catechol chelating groups to bring the FeIII back into solution. Eventually higher organisms including animals, evolved. And animals used the energy of oxygen recombining with the hydrocarbons and carbohydrates in plant life to enable motion. Iron was essential to this process.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut no animal, however, has been able to adequately deal, in the long run - meaning eighty year life spans - with the fact that iron is essential for the conversion of solar energy to movement, but is virtually insoluble in water at neutral pH, and, even worse, is toxic. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCarbon, sulfur, nitrogen. calcium, magnesium, sodium, maybe ten other elements are also involved in life, but none of them have the power of iron to move electrons around, and none of them have the power to totally destroy the whole system. Iron does. Systems have evolved to maintain iron in specific useful and safe configurations - enzymes which utilize its catalytic powers, or transferrins and haemosiderins, which move it around and store it. But these are not perfect. Sometimes iron atoms are misplaced, and there are no known systems to recapture iron that has precipitated inside of a cell. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn some tissues, cells overloaded with iron can be recycled or destroyed - but this doesn\u0027t work for neurons. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNeurons sprout thousands of processes during their existence - reaching out to form networks of connections to other neurons. During development of the adult human brain a large percentage of cells are completely eliminated, and some new ones are added. It is a learning process. But once an area of the brain is up and running, there is nothing that can be done biologically, if a large number of its cells stop working for any reason. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd the slow creep of precipitating iron over many decades is perhaps\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e most often that reason. In less sophisticated tissues, like the liver, new stem cells can be activated, but in the brain, trained, structurally complex, interconnected neurons are needed, with thousands of projections that are accumulated over a lifetime of learning. So the result is slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease, like Parkinson\u0027s and Alzheimer\u0027s.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis same basic mechanism can result in a variety of diseases. There are twenty or thirty proteins that that deal with iron in the brain - holding iron and passing it from place to place. Every new individual endowed with a new set of chromosomes is endowed with a new set of these proteins. Some combinations will be better than others and some will be dangerous individually and collectively. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA mutation in a gene that codes for one of these proteins could disrupt its function - allowing iron atoms to become lost. These atoms that have been lost from the chemical groups that hold them will not always be safely returned to some structure like transferrin or haemoferritin. Some of them will react with water and be lost forever. Only they aren\u0027t really lost. They are piling up in the unlucky cell types that were the designated locations for expression of the most iron-leaky proteins. And oxides of iron are not just taking up critical space. Iron is very reactive. The infamous \"Reactive Oxygen Species\" which have been suspected of causing so many age related illnesses may just derive from various forms of iron.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is time for specialists trained in chemistry, and with an eye to the chemistry of iron, to pay some attention to neurodegenerative disease. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eKary Mullis telling the story of iron, the element that we can\u0027t do without, but which at the same time could hold the key to our neurological downfall. Next time on Chemistry in its Element Johnny Ball will tell the story of Marie Curie and the element that she discovered and then named after her homeland.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohnny Ball\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePitchblende, a uranium bearing ore, seemed to be far too radio active than could be accounted for by the uranium. They sieved and sorted by hand ounce by ounce through tons of pitchblende in a drafty, freezing shed, before eventually tiny amounts of polonium were discovered. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo be radioactive or at least podcast proactive and join us for the mysterious story of Polonium on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening, see you next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Iron","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Fe","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Australia; Brazil; Russia","TopProductionCountries":"China; Australia; Brazil","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIron objects have been found in Egypt dating from around 3500 BC. They contain about 7.5% nickel, which indicates that they were of meteoric origin.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe ancient Hittites of Asia Minor, today’s Turkey, were the first to smelt iron from its ores around 1500 BC and this new, stronger, metal gave them economic and political power. The Iron Age had begun. Some kinds of iron were clearly superior to others depending on its carbon content, although this was not appreciated. Some iron ore contained vanadium producing so-called Damascene steel, ideal for swords.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first person to explain the various types of iron was René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur who wrote a book on the subject in 1722. This explained how steel, wrought iron, and cast iron, were to be distinguished by the amount of charcoal (carbon) they contained. The Industrial Revolution which began that same century relied extensively on this metal.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22368,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22368.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"Medium","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"74.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":27,"Symbol":"Co","Name":"Cobalt","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image shows a goblin or ‘kobold’ (often accused of leading German miners astray in their search for tin). In the background is some early Chinese porcelain, which used the element cobalt to give it its blue glaze.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eCobalt is found in the minerals cobaltite, skutterudite and erythrite. Important ore deposits are found in DR Congo, Canada, Australia, Zambia and Brazil. Most cobalt is formed as a by-product of nickel refining.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA huge reserve of several transition metals (including cobalt) can be found in strange nodules on the floors of the deepest oceans. The nodules are manganese minerals that take millions of years to form, and together they contain many tonnes of cobalt. \u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eCobalt is an essential trace element, and forms part of the active site of vitamin B12. The amount we need is very small, and the body contains only about 1 milligram. Cobalt salts can be given to certain animals in small doses to correct mineral deficiencies. In large doses cobalt is carcinogenic. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCobalt-60 is a radioactive isotope. It is an important source of gamma-rays. It is widely used in cancer treatment, as a tracer and for radiotherapy. \u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A lustrous, silvery-blue metal. It is magnetic.","CASnumber":"7440-48-4","GroupID":9,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":27,"RelativeAtomicMass":"58.933","AtomicRadius":"2.00","CovalentRadii":"1.180","ElectronAffinity":"63.873","ElectroNegativity":"1.88","CovalentRadius":"1.18","CommonOxidationStates":"3, \u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e, 0, -1","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1495","MeltingPointK":"1768","MeltingPointF":"2723","BoilingPointC":"2927","BoilingPointK":"3200","BoilingPointF":"5301","MolarHeatCapacity":"421","Density":"8.86","DensityValue":"8.86","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1739","Discovery":"1739","DiscoveredBy":"Georg Brandt","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the German word \u0027kobald\u0027, meaning goblin.","CrustalAbundance":"26.6","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":45,"ProductionConcentrations":67,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":2.8,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eCobalt, like iron, can be magnetised and so is used to make magnets. It is alloyed with aluminium and nickel to make particularly powerful magnets.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOther alloys of cobalt are used in jet turbines and gas turbine generators, where high-temperature strength is important.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCobalt metal is sometimes used in electroplating because of its attractive appearance, hardness and resistance to corrosion. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCobalt salts have been used for centuries to produce brilliant blue colours in paint, porcelain, glass, pottery and enamels. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadioactive cobalt-60 is used to treat cancer and, in some countries, to irradiate food to preserve it. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Cobalt.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: cobalt\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello - beauty, blue glass, B12 and the best magnets that money can buy. So why is this week\u0027s element named after a goblin? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSarah Staniland\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI always find the question \u0027what\u0027s your favourite element\u0027 a difficult one. There are several front runners for vastly varying reasons; however, always a top contender has to be cobalt because it excels in several important character traits: Cobalt has amazing beauty and strength, as well as great cooperation. All together a highly useful metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBefore I even thought about the chemistry of colour I developed a love for blue glass, something I still collect to this day. Only after studying the transition metal chemistry did I realise that this beautiful blue colour comes from cobalt. Cobalt chloride in fact. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, as far as colours go, cobalt has a few more strings to its bow than just this wonderful blue. Cobalt can also colour glass green, while the hydrated form of cobalt chloride is a beautiful deep rose colour. As you can imagine this colour change due to the presence of water is highly useful, warranting cobalt chloride an ideal moisture indicator.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe array of beautiful colours that cobalt produces were never more prevalent to me than when I went to the cobalt mining region called the Copperbelt in Zambia. In this area the huge multicoloured cobalt minerals deposits tower high, with the shores of dams and streams coloured deep rose with silvery blue veins running through. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCobalt it is not found pure in Nature but found in sulphur minerals and usually associated with other transition metals. As you can probably guess from the name of the region in Zambia - the Copperbelt, cobalt is mined as a secondary product to copper that is dominant in the ore of this region. Because of this cobalt is normally recovered from the waste of the primary metal extraction. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever these mining hotspots are not the only places on the Earth where high concentrations of cobalt can be found. A huge reserve of several transition metals (including cobalt) can be found in strange nodules on the floors of the deepest oceans. The nodules are manganese minerals that take millions of years to form, and there are many tonnes of cobalt present in this form. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo you can see that cobalt is never found alone but always palled up with other transition metals in their ores, mainly copper and nickel. In fact cobalt metal was not isolated and purified until as late as 1735 by the Swedish scientist G. Brandt. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCobalt can also sometimes be found in mixed arsenic ores, and it is cobalt\u0027s association with arsenic that gives it its name. The word cobalt comes from the German \"Kobolds\" which means goblin or trouble maker. It was so called in this early mining region because it was very difficult to smelt without oxidising and smelting would release the associated arsenic vapours which would lead to pretty troublesome or even deadly processing conditions for the worker. The Kobolds were blamed and the name stuck.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWith the exception of the mining region, cobalt is not very abundant, with only trace amounts in the Earths crust (about 2500 times less than iron). However, it is a metal that is essential for life in the trace amounts. Cobalt is the metal at the centre of vitamin B\u003csub\u003e12\u003c/sub\u003e which helps regulate cell development and therefore DNA and energy production in the body. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCobalt has been known and used by people for its beautiful colouring and pigment properties as far back as 2500BC. Egyptian cobalt blue paints and Prussian cobalt oxide necklaces have been dated back to this time while cobalt glass has been found in a Greek vase dated at 100 BC. Cobalt was also used to colour glass in the Chinese Tang dynasty from 618 AD. In fact all the way up until the beginning of the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century people have only really exploited cobalt for its beautiful colour.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever cobalt is not just a pretty face. Cobalt is a lustrous very hard silvery metal belonging to a group called the \"transition metals\". It is one of only 3 ferromagnetic transition elements along with iron and nickel. As a metal it is very mechanically hard and tough, and it has a very high melting point (hence the smelting problems) and also remains magnetic to the highest temperature of all the magnetic elements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen cobalt is combined with other metals its strength allow a range of super alloys to be created. In particular, cobalt\u0027s very high melting point and mechanical strength at high temperatures has seen its extensive use in what is termed \u0027superalloys\u0027. These are alloys that retain mechanical strength at high temperatures. Because of its impressive properties cobalt is an important component in wear resistant and corrosive resistant alloys. And cobalt alloys and coatings are seen everywhere from drills to saws, from aircraft turbines to prosthetic bone replacements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe fact that cobalt is magnetic has also been exploited with the Japanese invention of cobalt magnetic steel where adding cobalt to steel vastly increases the magnetic hardness. Just a few years after that in the 1930s saw the pivotal invention of Alnico magnets, which as the name suggests, are composed of aluminium, nickel and cobalt. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe fact that cobalt retains its magnetism up to high temperatures is also a very favourable trait when the addition of cobalt to a magnetic material can improve its properties at high temperatures. More recently the creation of rare-earth magnets have given us much stronger, harder, permanent magnets than Alnico magnets. One such magnetic material, samarium cobalt retains its magnetism up to 800°C. Because it is magnetically and mechanically hard up to very high temperatures, it has found uses in high-speed motors and turbo machinery. More recently cobalt has a major use in newer batteries, magnetic particles for recording and storage information in magnetic tapes and hard drives. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo cobalt; giving joy in an array of beautiful colours, but also ultra strong, hard and magnetic. Cobalt is never alone, it is found associated with different metals in their ore and has its best mechanical properties when palled up with others.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEmphasising the importance, of course, of teamwork. That was Sarah Staniland with the story of Cobalt - she\u0027s based at the University of Leeds. Next week it\u0027s the turn of the stuff that amongst other things makes Parker pen nibs write so nicely, but if you haven\u0027t heard of it before, then you\u0027re probably in good company. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJonathan Steed \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStop the proverbial \"man in the street\" and ask him what ruthenium is and the chances are he won\u0027t be able to tell you. Compared to the \"sexier elements\" that are household names like carbon and oxygen, ruthenium is, frankly, a bit obscure. In fact even if your man in the street was wearing a lab coat and walking on a street very close to a university chemistry department he might still be a bit ignorant about this mysterious metal. It wasn\u0027t always that way, though. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear how ruthenium rose to prominence with Jonathan Steed on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Cobalt","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Co","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"DRC; Australia; Cuba","TopProductionCountries":"DRC; China; Zambia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, who ruled from 1361-1352 BC, contained a small glass object coloured deep blue with cobalt. Cobalt blue was known even earlier in China and was used for pottery glazes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1730, chemist Georg Brandt of Stockholm became interested in a dark blue ore from some local copper workings and he eventually proved that it contained a hitherto unrecognised metal and he gave it the name by which its ore was cursed by miners in Germany, where it was sometimes mistaken for a silver ore. He published his results in 1739. For many years his claim to have uncovered a new metal was disputed by other chemists who said his new element was really a compound of iron and arsenic, but eventually it was recognised as an element in its own right.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":94547,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.94547.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"Medium","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"2.8","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":28,"Symbol":"Ni","Name":"Nickel","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of baked beans, which contain a surprising amount of nickel.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe minerals from which most nickel is extracted are iron/nickel sulfides such as pentlandite. It is also found in other minerals, including garnierite. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA substantial amount of the nickel on Earth arrived with meteorites. One of these landed in the region near Ontario, Canada, hundreds of millions of years ago. This region is now responsible for about 15% of the world’s production.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe biological role of nickel is uncertain. It can affect the growth of plants and has been shown to be essential to some species. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome nickel compounds can cause cancer if the dust is inhaled, and some people are allergic to contact with the metal. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNickel cannot be avoided completely. We take in nickel compounds with our diet. It is an essential element for some beans, such as the navy bean that is used for baked beans.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A silvery metal that resists corrosion even at high temperatures.","CASnumber":"7440-02-0","GroupID":10,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e8\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":28,"RelativeAtomicMass":"58.693","AtomicRadius":"1.97","CovalentRadii":"1.170","ElectronAffinity":"111.537","ElectroNegativity":"1.91","CovalentRadius":"1.17","CommonOxidationStates":"3, \u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e, 0","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1455","MeltingPointK":"1728","MeltingPointF":"2651","BoilingPointC":"2913","BoilingPointK":"3186","BoilingPointF":"5275","MolarHeatCapacity":"444","Density":"8.90","DensityValue":"8.90","YoungsModulus":"199.5 (soft): 219.2 (hard)","ShearModulus":"76.0 (soft): 83.9 (hard)","BulkModulus":"177.3 (soft); 187.6 (hard)","DiscoveryYear":"1751","Discovery":"1751","DiscoveredBy":"Axel Fredrik Cronstedt","OriginOfName":"The name is the shortened for of the German \u0027kupfernickel\u0027 meaning either devil\u0027s copper or St. Nicholas\u0027s copper.","CrustalAbundance":"26.6","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":36,"ProductionConcentrations":17,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":18.4,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.2,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eNickel resists corrosion and is used to plate other metals to protect them. It is, however, mainly used in making alloys such as stainless steel. Nichrome is an alloy of nickel and chromium with small amounts of silicon, manganese and iron. It resists corrosion, even when red hot, so is used in toasters and electric ovens. A copper-nickel alloy is commonly used in desalination plants, which convert seawater into fresh water. Nickel steel is used for armour plating. Other alloys of nickel are used in boat propeller shafts and turbine blades.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNickel is used in batteries, including rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries used in hybrid vehicles.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNickel has a long history of being used in coins. The US five-cent piece (known as a ‘nickel’) is 25% nickel and 75% copper. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFinely divided nickel is used as a catalyst for hydrogenating vegetable oils. Adding nickel to glass gives it a green colour. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Nickel.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: nickel\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week even art galleries can spark chemical, or elemental, discussions. Andrea Sella.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSeveral years ago, I went with a friend to a small exhibition at London\u0027s National Gallery. It was a rare opportunity to see the masterpieces from the Doria Pamphilii gallery in Rome. The centrepiece was the famous portrait of Pope Innocent X by Velazquez, a spectacular snapshot of one of the most powerful men of his day, a tough-looking character in a gilded throne, sporting a neat goatee and a fierce and uncompromising glint in his eye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAcross from it were hung Francis Bacon\u0027s disturbing Three Screaming Popes, nightmarish variants on Velazquez\u0027 theme. The pictures were so ugly and brutal that I instinctively blinked and looked away, upwards. Unexpectedly, my eyes fell on a set of golden letters across the top of the doorway. I giggled and my friend said to me, \u0027what\u0027s so funny? These pictures are just awful.\u0027 \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Mond\u0027, I replied, \u0027fancy finding him here.\u0027 \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Who?\u0027 she asked, looking puzzled. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Mond,\u0027 I replied. \u0027This gallery was endowed by Ludwig Mond, the chemist who made nickel available to the world.\u0027 I fully expected her to roll her eyes and give me that pitying look that women reserve for the moment when the real nerd in a man is finally revealed.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut there was none of that. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027I\u0027ve never heard of him,\u0027 she said. \u0027Did he discover it?\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027No. He didn\u0027t. Nickel had been known for some time before that - it had been used in China and Peru to make a kind of steel. But it wasn\u0027t until the 19th century that two Swedish chemists, Cronstedt and Bergmann between them established that it was an element. It was named nickel after one of its ores, a reddish material that German miners called kupfernickel - St Nicholas\u0027s copper.\u0027 \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027But isn\u0027t nickel rather nasty? Wasn\u0027t there some problem with nickel jewellery?\u0027 my friend asked.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Yes. Nickel has long been used in alloys and to plate other metals - the nickel provides a tough resistant and shiny coating that protects the object from corrosion.\u0027 \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Oh, you mean a bit like chrome plating \u0027.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Yes, a bit like chrome, but less vulgar - chromium gives a brilliant shine. Nickel is a bit more subdued.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027You mean classy.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027I guess so. But the problem is that in contact with the skin, as in jewellery, the tiny amounts of nickel that dissolves in the sweat of the wearer was enough to cause skin reactions in some people and the using nickel turned out not to be a great idea.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027But what about Mond?\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Oh yeah. Right.\u0027 I replied. \u0027Mond was a German chemist who moved to the UK. And he had a problem - he was passing carbon monoxide gas through nickel valves and these kept failing and leaking. What Mond and his assistant Langer discovered was something remarkable - that his valves were corroding because the metal reacted with carbon monoxide, to make a compound called nickel carbonyl.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027So what?\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Well nickel carbonyl turned out to be a very volatile colourless liquid, one that boils just below room temperature.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Hmmm. Sounds a bit nasty,\u0027 she said doubtfully.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Oh yes. Very. Because it\u0027s so volatile, you need to be really careful when you handle it since if you inhale it, it will decompose releasing poisonous carbon monoxide and dumping metallic nickel into your lungs. So it\u0027s very dangerous indeed. But in a way, that\u0027s the beauty of it: nickel carbonyl is incredibly fragile. If you heat it up it shakes itself to pieces, and you get both the nickel and the carbon monoxide back. So what Mond had was a deliciously simple way to separate and purify nickel from any other metal. And what is more, he could recycle the carbon monoxide.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Wow.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Mond wasn\u0027t just an observant chemist. He was also a pretty savvy business man. He patented his process and set up in business to sell the purest nickel at prices far lower than anyone else. He made an absolute fortune, and then steadily expanded into other areas of chemistry. His firm would eventually form the core of Imperial Chemical Industries, ICI, the conglomerate set up to defend British interests against, ironically, the onslaught of the burgeoning German chemicals industry.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027So what do people do with nickel today, if it\u0027s so nasty,\u0027 she asked.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027Well, it\u0027s not really that nasty, provided you\u0027re careful in what you use it for. In the 1960s another German chemist named Wilke developed nickel compounds as cheap and simple catalysts for the petrochemicals industry to clip together small carbon molecules. It\u0027s also used in all sorts of alloys. There\u0027s Invar which is a kind of metallic pyrex, that doesn\u0027t expand or contract when you change the temperature. There\u0027s Monel, a steel so corrosion resistant that it will withstand even fluorine, which eats its way through just about anything. And there\u0027s the really weird memory metal, an alloy that no matter how much you twist and bend it, remembers its original shape and returns to it. And then there\u0027s superalloys made of nickel and aluminium with a dab of boron that are extremely light and actually get tougher as you heat them - so they\u0027re used in aircraft and rocket turbines.\u0027 \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI could see I was going a bit too far. We turned back to the Pope. \u0027He must have been a bruiser,\u0027 I said. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027You know what I like about you?\u0027 my friend asked giving my arm a squeeze. \u0027It\u0027s that we go to see paintings and I end up hearing about weird stuff.\u0027 \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u0027And you know what I like about you,\u0027 I replied. \u0027It\u0027s that you humour me when I go off on one.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNo doubt you\u0027re expecting me to say that it all ended happily. It didn\u0027t, and I haven\u0027t seen her in years. But weirdly enough, every time I think of nickel, I think of her. And the filthy look the Pope gave me.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo superalloys, relationships and the pope, what diverse chemical thoughts and stories nickel provokes. That was UCL\u0027s Andrea Sella with a contemporary story to nickel. Now next week the discovery of xenon. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe story of xenon begins in 1894 when Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay were investigating why nitrogen extracted from chemical compounds is about one-half per cent lighter than nitrogen extracted from the air - an observation first made by Henry Cavendish 100 years earlier. Ramsay found that after atmospheric nitrogen has reacted with hot magnesium metal, a tiny proportion of a heavier and even less reactive gas is left over. They named this gas argon from the Greek for lazy or inactive to reflect its extreme inertness. The problem was, where did this new element fit into Mendeleev\u0027s periodic table of the elements? There were no other known elements that it resembled which led them to suspect that there was a whole family of elements yet to be discovered. Remarkably, this turned out to be the case. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to hear how this story paned out, leading to the discovery of a new family of elements as well as xenon that would go on to light our roads and propel spaceships join Cambridge University\u0027s Peter Wothers in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then thank you for listening, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Nickel","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ni","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Australia; New Caledonia; Brazil","TopProductionCountries":"Russia; Indonesia; Philippines","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eMeteorites contain both iron and nickel, and earlier ages used them as a superior form of iron. Because the metal did not rust, it was regarded by the natives of Peru as a kind of silver. A zinc-nickel alloy called \u003cem\u003epai-t’ung\u003c/em\u003e (white copper) was in use in China as long ago as 200 BC. Some even reached Europe.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1751, Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, working at Stockholm, investigated a new mineral – now called nickeline (NiAs) – which came from a mine at Los, Hälsingland, Sweden. He thought it might contain copper but what he extracted was a new metal which he announced and named nickel in 1754. Many chemists thought it was an alloy of cobalt, arsenic, iron and copper – these elements were present as trace contaminants. It was not until 1775 that pure nickel was produced by Torbern Bergman and this confirmed its elemental nature.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":910,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.910.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"74.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":29,"Symbol":"Cu","Name":"Copper","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of one of the many alchemical symbols once used to represent the element copper. It is shown against a 17th-century map of Cyprus, from where the element gets its name.","NaturalAbundance":"Copper metal does occur naturally, but by far the greatest source is in minerals such as chalcopyrite and bornite. Copper is obtained from these ores and minerals by smelting, leaching and electrolysis. The major copper-producing countries are Chile, Peru and China. ","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eCopper is an essential element. An adult human needs around 1.2 milligrams of copper a day, to help enzymes transfer energy in cells. Excess copper is toxic. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGenetic diseases, such as Wilson’s disease and Menkes’ disease, can affect the body’s ability to use copper properly.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUnlike mammals, which use iron (in haemoglobin) to transport oxygen around their bodies, some crustaceans use copper complexes.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A reddish-gold metal that is easily worked and drawn into wires.","CASnumber":"7440-50-8","GroupID":11,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":29,"RelativeAtomicMass":"63.546","AtomicRadius":"1.96","CovalentRadii":"1.220","ElectronAffinity":"119.159","ElectroNegativity":"1.90","CovalentRadius":"1.22","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e, 1","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1084.62","MeltingPointK":"1357.77","MeltingPointF":"1984.32","BoilingPointC":"2560","BoilingPointK":"2833","BoilingPointF":"4640","MolarHeatCapacity":"385","Density":"8.96","DensityValue":"8.96","YoungsModulus":"129.8","ShearModulus":"48.3","BulkModulus":"137.8","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"Prehistoric","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Old English name \u0027coper\u0027 in turn derived from the Latin \u0027Cyprium aes\u0027, meaning a metal from Cyprus","CrustalAbundance":"27","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":28,"ProductionConcentrations":34,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":67.5,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":4.3,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eHistorically, copper was the first metal to be worked by people. The discovery that it could be hardened with a little tin to form the alloy bronze gave the name to the Bronze Age. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTraditionally it has been one of the metals used to make coins, along with silver and gold. However, it is the most common of the three and therefore the least valued. All US coins are now copper alloys, and gun metals also contain copper. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost copper is used in electrical equipment such as wiring and motors. This is because it conducts both heat and electricity very well, and can be drawn into wires. It also has uses in construction (for example roofing and plumbing), and industrial machinery (such as heat exchangers).\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCopper sulfate is used widely as an agricultural poison and as an algicide in water purification. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCopper compounds, such as Fehling’s solution, are used in chemical tests for sugar detection. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Copper.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: copper\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week coins, conductivity and copper. To tell the tale of the element that has carried us from the Stone Age to the Information Age, here is Steve Mylon.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Mylon\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePoor copper, until only recently it seems to have been out shone literally and figuratively by its transition metal cousins, Silver and Gold. I guess this is a combined result that history have in abundance. It\u0027s almost never the case where the popular elements are that way because of their utility and interesting chemistry. But for Gold and Silver it\u0027s all so superficial. They are more popular because they\u0027re prettier. My wife for example, a non chemist, wouldn\u0027t dream of wearing a copper wedding ring. That might have something to do with the fact that copper oxide has an annoying habit of dyeing your skin green. But if she only took the time to learn about copper, to get to know it some; may be then she would be likely to turn her back on the others and wear it with pride. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome report that copper is the first metal to be mined and crafted by humans. Whether this is or is not the case, there is evidence of civilizations using copper as far back as 10,000 years. For cultures to advance from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age it was copper that they needed. Bronze has 2 parts copper and one part tin, not silver or gold. Copper\u0027s importance to civilization has never let out and even now due to its excellent conductivity, copper is in great demand world wide, as rapidly developing nations such as China and India establish the infrastructure required to bring electricity to the homes of their citizens. In the past five years for example the price of copper has increased by more than four fold. Perhaps the greatest slap in the face to this important metal is its use in coins throughout many countries of the world. The orange brown coins are generally of low denomination while the shiny more silver like coins occupies the place at the top. Even in the United States\u0027 5 cent piece, the nickel looks shiny and silvery, but actually contains 75% copper and only 25% nickel. Yet we don\u0027t even call it the copper. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOf course I could go on and on spotting out many interesting facts and factoids about copper and why others should warm up to it. They easily could because it\u0027s an excellent heat conductor as well, but I find this metal so interesting for many other reasons as well. Copper is one of the few tracer metals that is essential for all species. For the most part the biological requirement of copper is quite low as only a few enzymes such as cytochrome oxidase and superoxide dismutase require copper at their active sites. These generally rely on the oxidation-reduction cycling and play an important role in respiration. For humans, the requirement is quite low as well, merely 2mg of copper a day for adults. Yet too little copper in your diet can lead to high blood pressure and higher levels of cholesterol. Interestingly for copper the gap separating the required amount and the toxic amount is quite small. It may be the smallest for all the required trace metals. This is probably why it is commonly used as a pesticide, fungicide and algaecide, because such small amounts can get the jobs done. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn my opinion you\u0027re unlikely to find a metal on the periodic table that has the versatility of copper and still has not been given the respect amongst its peers that it deserves. While substantially more abundant than gold and silver it importance in history is unmatched and its utility at the macro scale is only matched by its utility at the micro scale. No other metal can compete. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo I\u0027ll try to explain this to my wife, when I present her with a pair of copper earrings or a nice copper necklace this holiday season. My guess is she\u0027ll turn up her nose because she\u0027ll think that this is the stuff that pennies are made of, even though these days they really aren\u0027t. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA man married to copper, that\u0027s Steve Mylon. Next time we will be delving into the discovery of an element with a very firey temperament. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHis younger cousin Edmund Davy was assisting Humphry at that time and he relates how when Humphry first saw the minute globules of potassium burst through the crust of potash and take fire, he could not contain his joy. Davy had every right to be delighted with this amazing new metal. It looks just like other bright shiny metals but its density was less than that of water. This meant that the metal would float on water. At least it would do if it didn\u0027t explode as soon as it came into contact with water. Potassium is so reactive; it will even react and burn a hole through ice.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePeter Wothers with the story of element number 19, potassium. That\u0027s in next week\u0027s \u003cem\u003eChemistry in its element\u003c/em\u003e. I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and good bye!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Copper","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Cu","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Chile; Peru; Australia","TopProductionCountries":"Chile; Peru; China","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eCopper beads have been excavated in northern Iraq and which are more than ten thousand years old and presumably made from native copper, nuggets of which can sometimes be found. Copper was widely used in the ancient world as bronze, its alloy with tin, which was used to make cutlery, coins, and tools. In China it was used for bells.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCopper is not difficult to extract from it ores, but mineable deposits were relatively rare. Some, such as the copper mine at Falun, Sweden, date from the 1200s, were the source of great wealth. One way to extract the metal was to roast the sulfide ore then leach out the copper sulfate that was formed, with water. This was then trickled over scrap iron on the surface of which the copper deposited, forming a flaky layer that was easily removed.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22414,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22414.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"Low","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"67.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":30,"Symbol":"Zn","Name":"Zinc","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"An alchemical symbol for zinc is against an abstract background inspired by zinc roofing materials.","NaturalAbundance":"Zinc is found in several ores, the principal ones being zinc blende (zinc sulfide) and calamine (zinc silicate). The principal mining areas are in China, Australia and Peru. Commercially, zinc is obtained from its ores by concentrating and roasting the ore, then reducing it to zinc by heating with carbon or by electrolysis. World production is more than 11 million tonnes a year.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eZinc is essential for all living things, forming the active site in over 20 metallo-enzymes. The average human body contains about 2.5 grams and takes in about 15 milligrams per day. Some foods have above average levels of zinc, including herring, beef, lamb, sunflower seeds and cheese. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZinc can be carcinogenic in excess. If freshly formed zinc(II) oxide is inhaled, a disorder called the ‘oxide shakes’ or ‘zinc chills’ can occur.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A silvery-white metal with a blue tinge. It tarnishes in air.","CASnumber":"7440-66-6","GroupID":12,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":30,"RelativeAtomicMass":"65.38","AtomicRadius":"2.01","CovalentRadii":"1.200","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"1.65","CovalentRadius":"1.20","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"419.527","MeltingPointK":"692.677","MeltingPointF":"787.149","BoilingPointC":"907","BoilingPointK":"1180","BoilingPointF":"1665","MolarHeatCapacity":"388","Density":"7.134","DensityValue":"7.134","YoungsModulus":"108.4","ShearModulus":"43.4","BulkModulus":"72.0","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"Identified as an element in 1746, but known to the Greeks and Romans before 20BC.","DiscoveredBy":"Andreas Marggraf","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the German, \u0027zinc\u0027, which may in turn be derived from the Persian word \u0027sing\u0027, meaning stone.","CrustalAbundance":"72","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":22,"ProductionConcentrations":30,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":4.8,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eMost zinc is used to galvanise other metals, such as iron, to prevent rusting. Galvanised steel is used for car bodies, street lamp posts, safety barriers and suspension bridges. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLarge quantities of zinc are used to produce die-castings, which are important in the automobile, electrical and hardware industries. Zinc is also used in alloys such as brass, nickel silver and aluminium solder. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZinc oxide is widely used in the manufacture of very many products such as paints, rubber, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, inks, soaps, batteries, textiles and electrical equipment. Zinc sulfide is used in making luminous paints, fluorescent lights and x-ray screens. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Zinc.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: zinc\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by\u003ci\u003e Chemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week the chemical behind calamine lotion for itchy skin, anti dandruff shampoo for a flaky scalp and underarm deodorant for - well, I think we\u0027ve probably all stood next to someone whom we wish knew a bit more about the chemistry of zinc. Here\u0027s Brian Clegg.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere aren\u0027t many elements with names that are onomatopoeic. Say \u0027oxygen\u0027 or \u0027iodine\u0027 and there is no clue in the sound of the word to the nature of the element. But zinc is different. Zinc - zinc - zinc - you can almost hear a set of coins falling into an old fashioned bath. It just has to be a hard metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn use, Zinc is often hidden away, almost secretive. It stops iron rusting, soothes sunburn, keeps dandruff at bay, combines with copper to make a very familiar gold-coloured alloy and keeps us alive, but we hardly notice it. This blue-grey metal, known commercially as spelter, is anything but flashy and attention-grabbing. Even the origins of that evocative name are uncertain. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe dictionary tells us that the word zinc comes from the German (with a K at the end instead of a C), but how that name came into being is unknown. The earliest reference to zinc was in 1651. The substance was known before - objects with zinc in them date back over 2,500 years, and the Romans used that gold coloured alloy - but zinc wasn\u0027t identified as a distinct material in the west until the seventeenth century.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRepresented in the periodic table as Zn, zinc is a transition metal, grouped with cadmium and mercury. With the middling atomic number 30, it has five stable isotopes of atomic weight from the dominant zinc 64 to zinc 70, plus an extra 25 radioisotopes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause of its hazy origins, it\u0027s difficult to pin down one person as the discoverer of the element. Although it seems to have been refined in India as early as the twelfth century, the earliest specific claim to have produced the metal was back in 1668, and a process for extracting zinc from its oxide was patented in the UK in 1738 by metal trader William Champion. But it is usually the German chemist Andreas Marggraf who wins the laurels as \u0027discoverer\u0027 for his 1746 experiment isolating zinc.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough zinc\u0027s history is more than a little hazy, there\u0027s no doubting its usefulness. You\u0027ve only got to look at a galvanized metal roof or bucket to see zinc at work. Galvanization is named after Luigi Galvani, the man who made frog legs twitch with electric current, but galvanization has nothing to do with electrical showmanship. In fact electricity\u0027s role is surprisingly subtle.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe most common form of galvanization is hot dip galvanization, where iron or steel is slid through a bath of liquid zinc at around 460 degrees Celsius, forty degrees above its melting point. The coating prevents the object treated from rusting. Initially the zinc simply stops the air getting to the iron, but later the zinc corrodes in preference to iron in an electro-chemical process, acting as a so-called sacrificial anode. This is where the \u0027galvanic\u0027 part of the name comes in. Some galvanization is more literally electrical - car bodies, for example, are electroplated with zinc to apply a thin, even layer.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZinc\u0027s electrical capabilities also extend to the most popular batteries. A traditional dry cell has an outer zinc casing acting as the anode (confusingly the anode, usually thought of as positive, is the negative end of a battery), while a carbon rod provides the cathode, the positive electrode. In the longer lasting alkaline batteries, the anode is formed from powdered zinc (giving more surface area for reaction), while the cathode is made up of the compound manganese dioxide.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut the most \u003cem\u003evisible\u003c/em\u003e example of zinc at work doesn\u0027t give any indication of this greyish metal - instead it\u0027s in an alloy that mixes the sheen of gold with the common touch. When molten zinc and copper are mixed together, the result is bold as brass. In fact, it is brass. Everything from door fixings to decorative plaques for horse collars have been made in this flexible alloy. Any orchestra would be much poorer without its brass instruments. It\u0027s even likely to turn up in the zips on your clothing.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWell-polished brass has a pleasant glow - but our most intimate contact with zinc, or to be precise zinc oxide - often comes when dealing with the unwanted glow of sunburn. When I was young and there was little in the way of sun block, sunburned skin would be lavishly coated in soothing pink calamine lotion. The primary ingredient of this is zinc oxide, which is white - it\u0027s small amounts of iron oxide that give it that colour. Even now, though, when we can avoid the need for calamine, zinc oxide plays its part. Called Chinese white when it\u0027s used in paints, zinc oxide is a good absorber of ultraviolet light - so sun block often contains a suspension of tiny zinc oxide particles - as does most mineral-based makeup.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd that\u0027s just the start for this versatile oxide. You\u0027ll find it used in fire retardants and foods - where it fortifies the likes of breakfast cereals - in glass and ceramics, in glues and rubber. That surprise appearance on the breakfast table reflects another important side to zinc. We need it to stay healthy. It\u0027s one of the trace elements, nutrients that our bodies need in small quantities to keep functioning. It\u0027s often present in vitamin supplements, though most of us get plenty from meat and eggs. The zinc ends up in various proteins, particularly in enzymes involved in the development of the body, digestion and fertility. A shortage of zinc in the diet can lead to delayed healing, skin irritation and loss of the sense of taste, and encourages many chronic illnesses.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWith zinc also appearing in anti-dandruff shampoos in the form of zinc pyrithione and in underarm deodorants as zinc chloride, this is an element that even makes us more attractive to the opposite sex. Zinc is a hidden star. We\u0027re rarely aware of it, unlike its flashier neighbours in the period table, but zinc is a workhorse element that helps us all.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBristolbased science writer Brian Clegg with the onomatopoeic element, zinc. Next week, what\u0027s lurking in your basement. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Holt\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first reports of problems associated with radon gas in domestic buildings was in the United States in 1984, when an employee at a nuclear power plant began setting off the radiation detector alarms on his way \u003cem\u003einto\u003c/em\u003e work. The problem was eventually traced to his home, where the level of radon gas in the basement was found to be abnormally high. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut where was it coming from and what was the risk to his health. Katherine Holt will be here with all of the answers and the rest of the Radon story on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I do hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening, and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Zinc","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Zn","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Australia; China; Peru","TopProductionCountries":"China; Australia; Peru","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eZinc was known to the Romans but rarely used. It was first recognised as a metal in its own right in India and the waste from a zinc smelter at Zawar, in Rajasthan, testifies to the large scale on which it was refined during the period 1100 to the 1500.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZinc refining in China was carried out on a large scale by the 1500s. An East India Company ship which sank off the coast of Sweden in 1745 was carrying a cargo of Chinese zinc and analysis of reclaimed ingots showed them to be almost the pure metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1668, a Flemish metallurgist, P. Moras de Respour, reported the extraction of metallic zinc from zinc oxide, but as far as Europe was concerned zinc was discovered by the German chemist Andreas Marggraf in 1746, and indeed he was the first to recognise it as a new metal.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22430,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22430.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"Low","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"74.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":31,"Symbol":"Ga","Name":"Gallium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects on puns relating to the origin of the element’s name. Lecoq de Boisbaudran named the element after France (‘Gaul’ in Latin) and also himself, since Lecoq, which means ‘the rooster’ translates to ‘Gallus’ in Latin. A silvery metallic rooster is shown on a background of an antique map of France.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eIt is present in trace amounts in the minerals diaspore, sphalerite, germanite, bauxite and coal. It is mainly produced as a by-product of zinc refining.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe metal can be obtained by electrolysis of a solution of gallium(III) hydroxide in potassium hydroxide.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Gallium has no known biological role. It is non-toxic.","Appearance":"Gallium is a soft, silvery-white metal, similar to aluminium. ","CASnumber":"7440-55-3","GroupID":13,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e4p\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":31,"RelativeAtomicMass":"69.723","AtomicRadius":"1.87","CovalentRadii":"1.230","ElectronAffinity":"41.49","ElectroNegativity":"1.81","CovalentRadius":"1.23","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"29.7646","MeltingPointK":"302.9146","MeltingPointF":"85.5763","BoilingPointC":"2229","BoilingPointK":"2502","BoilingPointF":"4044","MolarHeatCapacity":"373","Density":"5.91","DensityValue":"5.91","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1875","Discovery":"1875","DiscoveredBy":"Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin name for France, \u0027Gallia\u0027","CrustalAbundance":"16","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":54,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eGallium arsenide has a similar structure to silicon and is a useful silicon substitute for the electronics industry. It is an important component of many semiconductors. It is also used in red LEDs (light emitting diodes) because of its ability to convert electricity to light. Solar panels on the Mars Exploration Rover contained gallium arsenide.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGallium nitride is also a semiconductor. It has particular properties that make it very versatile. It has important uses in Blu-ray technology, mobile phones, blue and green LEDs and pressure sensors for touch switches.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGallium readily alloys with most metals. It is particularly used in low-melting alloys. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt has a high boiling point, which makes it ideal for recording temperatures that would vaporise a thermometer. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Gallium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: gallium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello and this week to the story of the element that\u0027s named after a rooster although the man here to tell us about it actually chickened out when it came to eating some of this chemical, although he did confess to giving it a quick lick. And to tell us how it tasted and why Gallium could hold the key to the next generation of LEDs, here\u0027s Andrea Sella. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen I was a child growing up in New York, some of the sweets most sort after by my classmates and me, with yellow and brown packs of highly coloured sugar coated chocolate pills bearing the characters M \u0026amp; M. You could pop them into your mouth one by one and suck them gently until the smooth surface became crumbling to reveal the smooth milk chocolate beneath; alternatively you cold cram your mouth with as many as you could and crunch them greedily to cause an explosion of sound, texture and flavour in your head. A secret pleasure that was hard to beat. I was reminded of all this when a colleague of mine who was having a lab clear out, knocked on my door and asked me knowing full well what my answer would be, \u0027Hi Andrea, would you like a lump of Gallium?\u0027, \u0027of course I would love some Gallium\u0027, I gurgled. The M \u0026amp; M of the elements; the one which reputedly melts in your mouth but not in your hand, he handed me a small plastic bag badly stained with black smudges. I undid the knot eagerly and there it was, a gleaming silvery lump bearing all the hallmarks of a metal that had been repeatedly melted and then refrozen.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGallium, you see, melts at 30\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC, which means that on a hot day, you hold it in your pocket at your peril. Surprisingly however it\u0027s not very volatile. In fact Gallium has the largest liquid range of any material known to man. Its boiling point is just over 2400\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC. So unlike other liquid metals, there is no toxic vapour to worry about. Bizarrely as well, the metal contracts as it melts, rather like water. So solid Gallium floats on its liquid, a property shared only by a couple of other elements, Bismuth and Antimony. The reason for this weird melting behaviour has been a matter of argument and speculation for about 50 years. It\u0027s now fairly well established that Gallium surrounds itself with more of its neighbours when in the liquid than in the solid, although the reasons for this still remains obscure.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYet for all its strangeness the discovery of this odd element was no accident. Dmitri Mendeleev, the bearded Russian chemist who constructed the periodic table as we know it today, spotted a number of gaps and discrepancies in his arrangement. One of these was the absence of an element which he expected to fit below Aluminum. So confident was he in the correctness of his framework that he named the as yet undiscovered element ekaaluminium. Six years later in 1875, an ambitious French element hunter François Lecoq de Boisbaudran one of the earliest proponents of the new-fangled technique of spectroscopy spotted a line in the violet part of the visible spectrum at 417nm in a sample of zinc sulphide, he realized that this must come from a new element. Working in his home laboratory in spite of starting from some 52 kilos of an ore from the Pyrenees, it took three weeks for him to accumulate a couple of milligrams of the mysterious material. He then scaled up his extraction and took the product of his labours to Paris where he studied it further in Adolphe Wurtz\u0027s lab. Just before Christmas in 1875, Lecoq presented his results to the French academy proudly displaying a sample of almost 600mg, less than a gram of material harvested from 450 kilos of ore. And the name Lecoq patriotically chose to base it on the Latin name for France, \u003cem\u003eGallia\u003c/em\u003e; \u003cem\u003eGaul\u003c/em\u003e in English. But it was immediately pointed out that there might be something more to the name than met the eye. The Latin word for a rooster is \u003cem\u003eGallus\u003c/em\u003e, Lecoq, rooster, Gallium, get it. It seems he may have been a rather cunning linguist as well as a chemist. Either way, Lecoq could look back with some satisfaction at having helped to cement Mendeleev\u0027s table, was the foundation stone of chemistry. He then moved on to the intriguing mystery of the \u0027rare earths\u0027, ultimately isolating two more elements and conforming the existence of several more.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGallium soon moved into the main stream of chemistry. Nowadays the metal itself finds few uses, but its compound with arsenic, gallium arsenide has for several years been touted as a possible replacement for Silicon. Since not only is it a semiconductor but it is one with a direct band gap, in other words it can be made to emit light, a property which is particularly useful for infrared but also visible LEDs. Gallium arsenide solar cells are also much more efficient than those made of conventional Silicon and are being used in solar powered cars and in space probes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut I\u0027m sure you really want to know is, if this really is the M \u0026amp; M element, what does it taste like? I knew you would ask. So I had a quick lick a couple of days back and the answer is it doesn\u0027t actually taste very much to be honest. There\u0027s a faintly astringent, metallic taste which lingers on your tongue for few hours. And when it is molten, sorry I\u0027ll leave that experiment for someone more intrepid than I.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUCL chemist Andrea Sella with the story of gallium, the element that Lecoq allegedly named after himself. Next week we are meeting the metal that powers nuclear rectors but can also be lethal for another reason. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePolly Arnold \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause it is so dense DU is also used in shielding in the keels of boats and more controversially in the noses of armour piercing weapons. The metal has the desirable ability to self sharpen as it pierces a target rather than mushrooming upon impact, the way conventional tungsten carbide tipped weapons do.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDU being Depleted Uranium of course and Edinburgh chemist Polly Arnold will be here to tell us its story as well as revealing why it actually makes very beautiful glass on next week\u0027s \u003cem\u003eChemistry in its element\u003c/em\u003e. I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and good bye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Gallium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ga","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"China; Germany; Kazakhstan","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eGallium was discovered in Paris by Paul-\u0026Eacute;mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875. He observed a new violet line in the atomic spectrum of some zinc he had extracted from a sample of zinc blende ore (ZnS) from the Pyrenees. He knew it meant that an unknown element was present.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat Boisbaudran didn’t realise was that its existence, and properties, had been predicted by Mendeleev whose periodic table showed there was a gap below aluminium which was yet to be occupied. He forecast that the missing element’s atomic weight would be around 68 and its density would be 5.9 g/cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBy November of 1875, Boisbaudran had isolated and purified the new metal and shown that it was like aluminium. In December 1875 he announced it to the French Academy of Sciences.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514603,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514603.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"Medium","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":32,"Symbol":"Ge","Name":"Germanium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Germanium was used in early transistors similar to the one featured here.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eGermanium ores are very rare. They are found in small quantities as the minerals germanite and argyrodite. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGermanium minerals are also present in zinc ores, and commercial production of germanium is carried out by processing zinc smelter flue dust. It can also be recovered from the by-products of combustion of certain coals. \u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Germanium has no known biological role. The element is non-toxic. Certain germanium compounds have low toxicity in mammals, while being effective against some bacteria. This has led some scientists to study their potential use in pharmaceuticals.","Appearance":"A silvery-white semi-metal. It is brittle.","CASnumber":"7440-56-4","GroupID":14,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e4p\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":32,"RelativeAtomicMass":"72.630","AtomicRadius":"2.11","CovalentRadii":"1.200","ElectronAffinity":"118.939","ElectroNegativity":"2.01","CovalentRadius":"1.20","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"938.25","MeltingPointK":"1211.4","MeltingPointF":"1720.85","BoilingPointC":"2833","BoilingPointK":"3106","BoilingPointF":"5131","MolarHeatCapacity":"320","Density":"5.3234","DensityValue":"5.3234","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1886","Discovery":"1886","DiscoveredBy":"Clemens Winkler","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin name for Germany, \u0027Germania\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"1.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":67,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":8.1,"Allotropes":"α-Ge, ß-Ge","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eGermanium is a semiconductor. The pure element was commonly doped with arsenic, gallium or other elements and used as a transistor in thousands of electronic applications. Today, however, other semiconductors have replaced it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGermanium oxide has a high index of refraction and dispersion. This makes it suitable for use in wide-angle camera lenses and objective lenses for microscopes. This is now the major use for this element.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGermanium is also used as an alloying agent (adding 1% germanium to silver stops it from tarnishing), in fluorescent lamps and as a catalyst. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBoth germanium and germanium oxide are transparent to infrared radiation and so are used in infrared spectroscopes. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Germanium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: germanium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, flowers, fibre optics and the element that can\u0027t quite make up its mind whether it\u0027s a metal or not. Taking us back to school, here\u0027s Brian Clegg.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf there were a competition for the chemical element mostly likely to generate schoolboy howlers, the winner should be germanium. It\u0027s inevitable that the substance with atomic number 32 is quite often described as a flowering plant with the common name cranesbill. Just one letter differentiates the flower geranium from the element germanium - an easy enough mistake.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe know germanium isn\u0027t a flower, but it\u0027s slightly harder to say just what it \u003cem\u003eis\u003c/em\u003e. Most elements are either metals or nonmetals. Germanium falls in the same group as carbon and silicon, but also as tin and lead. Germanium itself is classified as a metalloid. It\u0027s hard at room temperature and looks metallic with a shiny silvery grey finish, but it\u0027s a semiconductor, without some of the key properties of a metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGermanium\u0027s existence was predicted before anyone isolated it. This was a triumph for Dmitri Mendeleev in his construction of the periodic table. By 1869, Mendeleev had assembled a crude table of the known elements, arranging them according to their chemical properties and atomic weights. But his table had a number of prominent gaps. Mendeleev predicted that these represented unknown elements. He named them using the substance in the table sitting above the gap with the prefix eka, which is Sanskrit for the number \u0027one\u0027. So, Mendeleev said, we should also have ekaboron, eka-aluminium, ekamanganese and ekasilicon.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOf these, by far the most accurate prediction was for ekasilicon, occupying the slot we now give to germanium. Mendeleev came up with an atomic weight of 72, compared to an actual value of 72.6 from its four stable isotopes 70, 72 73 and 74. He was also pretty well spot on with its density and in predicting that it would have a high melting point - he even said it would be gray in colour.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was seventeen years later, in 1886, that German chemist Clemens Winkler isolated the element from a newly discovered mineral called argyrodite, found in a mine near his home town of Freiburg in Saxony. Winkler first toyed with the name neptunium, after the recently discovered planet. But in 1877, a fellow chemist called Hermann had found a substance in the mineral tantalite which he believed was a new metallic element. Hermann had already taken the name neptunium for what later proved to be a mistaken finding. There was no new element in the tantalite.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUnaware of this mistake, Winkler decided to name \u003cem\u003ehis\u003c/em\u003e new element after his country. At the time, Germany was still relatively new, unified in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871. It might seem strange that he called his find germanium when Winkler knew his country as Deutschland, but the tradition was to use Latin names where possible, and the Romans had known much of the area as Germania, so this is where the element truly took its name from.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor a good fifty years, germanium was little more than a box on the periodic table. It really wasn\u0027t good for anything. It was only with the development of electronics that germanium\u0027s value as a very effective semiconductor came to light. A semiconductor is a material with conductivity between a conductor and an insulator, whose conductivity can be altered by an outside influence like an electric field or the impact of light.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first use of germanium on a large scale was to replace the most basic electronic component, the diode. In the original valve or vacuum tube form, this had a heater that gave off electrons and an anode to which the electrons were attracted across a vacuum. It\u0027s like a one way flow valve in a water pipe - electrons can flow from the heater to the anode, but not the other way round. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs a semiconductor, germanium allowed the production of a solid state equivalent to the diode. Like most semiconductors, germanium can have impurities added to make it an electron donor - a so-called n-type material - or an electron acceptor, called p-type. By marrying p and n type strips of germanium, the element provided the same diode effect.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGermanium really took off with the development of the transistor, a solid state version of the triode valve. Here a small current can be used to control a larger one, amplifying a signal or acting as a switch. Germanium transistors were very common, but now have been replaced by silicon.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is partly a matter of availability - as silicon in the primary constituent of sand, there\u0027s plenty out there, where germanium has to be mined at considerable expense. And silicon is a more effective semiconductor for making electronic components. But to have the effective silicon electronics we now depend on for everything from computers to mobile phones, requires extreme precision in purifying the element, which meant that silicon electronics weren\u0027t feasible on a large scale until the 1970s.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOnce silicon took over, it might seem that germanium would be relegated to the backwaters of chemical obscurity as an also-ran that was no longer worth using. This has not happened because there are still applications where germanium is valuable, particularly in the specialist electronics of night vision equipment and as a component with silica in the fibre of the fibre optic cables used in communications.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUnlike many of the basic elements, there aren\u0027t many germanium compounds that have found a use. Germanium dioxide can be used as a catalyst in the production of the PET plastic used in many bottles, though it is rarely employed for this in Europe and the US. It is still primarily the pure element that has a role, if rather more specialized than it first was, in our electronics and communications. You may like to say it with flowers and give someone a gift of a geranium - but you\u0027re more likely to communicate down a modern fibre optic phone line, and then its germanium all the way.\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBrian Clegg with the story of germanium, which was named after the country it first came from. And speaking of elements named after countries, here\u0027s another one, although you\u0027ll have to look very hard to find it. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhilst it is naturally occurring, or to be more precise, naturally formed - albeit briefly - during radioactive decay of other elements, the amount of francium on earth is tiny. It has been estimated that at any one time there is less than a kilogram of the element in the entire earth\u0027s crust. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd bizarrely, despite being at the bottom of group one of the Periodic Table, Francium isn\u0027t actually as reactive as Cesium. And we\u0027ll hear why with Peter Wothers on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Germanium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ge","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Germany (likely)","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eGermanium was discovered by Clemens A. Winkler at Freiberg, Germany, in 1886. Its existence had been predicted by Mendeleev who predicted its atomic weight would be about 71 and that its density around 5.5 g/cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn September 1885 a miner working in the Himmelsfürst silver mine near Freiberg, came across an unusual ore. It was passed to Albin Weisbach at the nearby Mining Academy who certified it was a new mineral, and asked his colleague Winkler to analyse it. He found its composition to be 75% silver, 18% sulfur, and 7% he could not explain. By February 1886, he realised it was a new metal-like element and as its properties were revealed, it became clear that it was the missing element below silicon as Mendeleev had predicted. The mineral from which it came we know as argyrodite, Ag\u003csub\u003e8\u003c/sub\u003eGeS\u003csub\u003e6\u003c/sub\u003e.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4885606,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4885606.html","PropertyID":3,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"Medium","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":33,"Symbol":"As","Name":"Arsenic","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Prawns contain quite high levels of arsenic, in an organoarsenic form which is not harmful to health.","NaturalAbundance":"A small amount of arsenic is found in its native state. It is mainly found in minerals. The most common arsenic-containing mineral is arsenopyrite. Others include realgar, orpiment and enargite. Most arsenic is produced as a by-product of copper and lead refining. It can be obtained from arsenopyrite by heating, causing the arsenic to sublime and leave behind iron(II) sulfide. ","BiologicalRoles":"Some scientists think that arsenic may be an essential element in our diet in very, very low doses. In small doses it is toxic and a suspected carcinogen. Once inside the body it bonds to atoms in the hair, so analysing hair samples can show whether someone has been exposed to arsenic. Some foods, such as prawns, contain a surprising amount of arsenic in a less harmful, organic form.","Appearance":" Arsenic is a semi-metal. In its metallic form it is bright, silver-grey and brittle.","CASnumber":"7440-38-2","GroupID":15,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e4p\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":33,"RelativeAtomicMass":"74.922","AtomicRadius":"1.85","CovalentRadii":"1.200","ElectronAffinity":"77.574","ElectroNegativity":"2.18","CovalentRadius":"1.20","CommonOxidationStates":"5, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, -3","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"616","MeltingPointK":"889","MeltingPointF":"1141","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"329","Density":"5.75","DensityValue":"5.75","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"22","DiscoveryYear":"1250","Discovery":" approx 1250","DiscoveredBy":"Albertus Magnus","OriginOfName":"The name is thought to come from \u0027arsenikon\u0027, the Greek name for the yellow pigment orpiment.","CrustalAbundance":"2.5","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":64,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"Yellow As, Grey As, Black As","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eArsenic is a well-known poison. Arsenic compounds are sometimes used as rat poisons and insecticides but their use is strictly controlled. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSurprisingly, arsenic can also have medicinal applications. In Victorian times, Dr Fowler’s Solution (potassium arsenate dissolved in water) was a popular cure-all tonic that was even used by Charles Dickens. Today, organoarsenic compounds are added to poultry feed to prevent disease and improve weight gain.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArsenic is used as a doping agent in semiconductors (gallium arsenide) for solid-state devices. It is also used in bronzing, pyrotechnics and for hardening shot. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArsenic compounds can be used to make special glass and preserve wood. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Arsenic.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: arsenic\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, poisons in paint, fireworks and aphrodisiacs, Napoleon\u0027s wallpaper and the whiff of garlic, what\u0027s the link? Here is Bea Perks.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBea Perks\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMention arsenic to anyone even a chemist, the first word that is likely to come to mind is poison, it is of course a deadly poison, but its compounds also found or have been found in insecticides, colouring agents, wood preservatives, in animal feed, as a treatment for syphilis, and treatments for cancer, as a treatment for psoriasis, in fireworks and as a semiconductor. Oh! Just may be as an aphrodisiac.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArsenic, atomic number 33 lies in between phosphorus and antimony in group 15, the so called Nitrogen group of the periodic table. Members of the group including of course nitrogen, along with arsenic, phosphorous, antimony and bismuth are particularly stable in compounds because they tend to form double or triple covalent bonds. The property also leads to toxicity particularly evident in phosphorus, antimony and most notoriously, arsenic. When they react with certain chemicals in the body they create strong free radicals that are not easily processed by the liver where they accumulate. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArsenic is neither a metal nor a non-metal but instead joins a select but rather ill defined group of elements called the metalloids. These are found in the periodic table along a diagonal line from Boron at the top left to round about polonium at the bottom right. Everything to the right of the line in the periodic table is a non-metal and everything to the left is a metal. The exact members of the group are open to debate but arsenic is always a member. Most metalloids occur in several forms or allotropes where one might seem metallic while another one seems non-metallic. Carbon isn\u0027t a metalloid because despite the semiconductor properties of graphite all of its allotropes from graphite to diamond are non-metallic in character.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArsenic gets its name from a Persian word for the yellow pigment now known as orpiment. For keen lexicographers apparently the Persian word in question Zarnikh was subsequently borrowed by the Greeks for their word arsenikon which means masculine or potent. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOrpiment or yellow arsenic trisulphide is a historical pigment identified in ancient Egyptian artefacts. On the pigment front they were hardly dare mentioned it, such a well worn tale, Napoleon\u0027s wallpaper just before his death is reported to have incorporated a so called Scheele\u0027s green which exuded an arsenic vapour when it got damp. All well and good except that Napoleon also suffered from stomach ulcers, gastric cancer, tuberculosis, etc etc, so make of it what you will!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eArsenic doesn\u0027t seem much like a metal in its so called yellow form, but it also has a grey form known tellingly as metallic arsenic. Yellow arsenic has a specific gravity of 1.97 while grey arsenic has a specific gravity of 5.73. Grey arsenic is the usual stable form with a melting point of 817 degree Celsius. It is a very brittle semi-metallic solid, steel grey in colour that tarnishes readily in air. It\u0027s rapidly oxidized to arsenous oxide which smells of garlic if you are brave enough to smell it when you heat it. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the days when deliberate arsenic poisoning remained a real threat and before the arrival of tests that could alert the authorities to its presence. Poisoning was some times diagnosed on the basis of a victim\u0027s garlic breath. In a curious twist far more recently, researchers in India showed that eating 1 to 3 cloves of garlic a day could protect people from the arsenic poisoning associated with contaminated drinking water. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe reappearance of garlic is coincidental and the type of poisoning, acute deliberate poisoning versus unintentional long term poisoning by drinking water is very different. Arsenic levels in ground water are sometimes elevated as a result of erosion from local rocks. There\u0027s a particular problem in Bangladesh, rising arsenic levels there followed what was supposed to be an improvement to the water supply. Local populations used to get their drinking water from open sources like ponds. But about 30 years ago they started getting water from wells. Well digging saw a marked decrease in water borne infections. By 1993 it was discovered that arsenic was present in these wells. The first symptoms found in people drinking arsenic contaminated water include pigmentation changes in the skin and skin thickening or hyperkeratosis. After about 10 years drinking that water symptoms extend to skin and internal cancers. The World Health Organization report that arsenic in drinking water could end up causing between 200,000 to 270,000 deaths in Bangladesh from cancer. Arsenic levels appear to be lower in shallower, ground water or in much deeper aquifers and this knowledge should hopefully contribute to reducing the risks in future.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOn a lighter note, I\u0027m afraid there isn\u0027t much evidence despite its link with the Greek word for potent that arsenic is an aphrodisiac. It\u0027s a shame because it might have been rather useful if it was. An arsenic-based drug called Salvarsan was developed in 1910 by Nobel laureate Paul Ehrlich to treat the sexually transmitted disease syphilis. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry world\u0027s Bea perks on the science of element number 33, arsenic. And if you think arsenic is nasty, wait till you meet next week\u0027s element \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt sounds like a Doctor Who monster and in a number of ways this element does have a few properties that would make it suitable for any good, outer space sci-fi horror movie. For a start, like many space monsters it comes from slime. Every good monster must have a secret weapon and tellurium is no exception. It gives its enemies garlic breath. Really bad garlic breath. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNice! That was Peter Wothers who will be here to tell the tale of the smelly element tellurium on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Arsenic","IsSublime":true,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"As","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"China; Chile; Kazakhstan","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eArsenic was known to the ancient Egyptian, and is mentioned in one papyrus as a ways of gilding metals. The Greek philosopher Theophrastus knew of two arsenic sulfide minerals: orpiment (As\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eS\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) and realgar (As\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003eS\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e). The Chinese also knew about arsenic as the writings of Pen Ts’ao Kan-Mu. He compiled his great work on the natural world in the 1500s, during the Ming dynasty. He noted the toxicity associated with arsenic compounds and mentioned their use as pesticides in rice fields.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA more dangerous form of arsenic, called white arsenic, has also been long known. This was the trioxide, As\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, and was a by-product of copper refining. When this was mixed with olive oil and heated it yielded arsenic metal itself. The discovery of the element arsenic is attributed to Albertus Magnus in the 1200s.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514330,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514330.html","PropertyID":3,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":34,"Symbol":"Se","Name":"Selenium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The element is named after Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon. The image is of a crescent moon against a cratered surface.","NaturalAbundance":"Selenium is found in a few rare minerals. Most of the world’s selenium is obtained from the anode muds produced during the electrolytic refining of copper. These muds are either roasted with sodium carbonate or sulfuric acid, or smelted with sodium carbonate to release the selenium.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eSelenium is an essential trace element for some species, including humans. Our bodies contain about 14 milligrams, and every cell in a human body contains more than a million selenium atoms. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToo little selenium can cause health problems, but too much is also dangerous. In excess it is carcinogenic and teratogenic (disturbs the development of an embryo or foetus).\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A semi-metal that can exist in two forms: as a silvery metal or as a red powder.","CASnumber":"7782-49-2","GroupID":16,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e4p\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":34,"RelativeAtomicMass":"78.971","AtomicRadius":"1.90","CovalentRadii":"1.180","ElectronAffinity":"194.965","ElectroNegativity":"2.55","CovalentRadius":"1.18","CommonOxidationStates":"6, \u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e, -2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"220.8","MeltingPointK":"494","MeltingPointF":"429.4","BoilingPointC":"685","BoilingPointK":"958","BoilingPointF":"1265","MolarHeatCapacity":"321","Density":"4.809","DensityValue":"4.809","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"8.3","DiscoveryYear":"1817","Discovery":"1817","DiscoveredBy":"Jöns Jacob Berzelius","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from \u0027selene\u0027, the Greek name for the Moon.","CrustalAbundance":"0.13","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":22,"ProductionConcentrations":35,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":76.9,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.1,"Allotropes":"Red Se, Grey Se, Black Se","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe biggest use of selenium is as an additive to glass. Some selenium compounds decolourise glass, while others give a deep red colour. Selenium can also be used to reduce the transmission of sunlight in architectural glass, giving it a bronze tint. Selenium is used to make pigments for ceramics, paint and plastics.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSelenium has both a photovoltaic action (converts light to electricity) and a photoconductive action (electrical resistance decreases with increased illumination). It is therefore useful in photocells, solar cells and photocopiers. It can also convert AC electricity to DC electricity, so is extensively used in rectifiers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSelenium is toxic to the scalp fungus that causes dandruff so it is used in some anti-dandruff shampoos. Selenium is also used as an additive to make stainless steel. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Selenium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: selenium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week flaky scalps, skunks, dead polo ponies and an element that makes you stink of garlic. Yum! But it\u0027s not all bad news. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBernie Bulkin\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe know selenium is there, right under sulfur, in the periodic table, but it doesn\u0027t get much attention. The inorganic chemistry textbooks that I studied from talk extensively about sulphur and, where appropriate, say things like \u0027selenium also forms similar acids\u0027, or \u0027selenium also has many allotropic forms\u0027. How slighted is this important element! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen I was in my early 20s I developed a dry scalp condition for a few years, probably a result of anxiety over research grants I was trying to obtain. The treatment for this was a shampoo containing selenium sulphide, surprising to me because I thought that selenium was highly toxic. In fact a little investigation showed me that it was perfectly safe in small amounts. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSelenium is one of those all too common elements that is essential to life in small quantities, and very toxic in larger quantities. 400 micrograms per day is set as the safe upper intake level in humans. But we require it as part of various enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase, as well as in the thyroid. It is widespread, and accumulated in various foods, such as nuts, tuna, and lobster, so it is rare for humans to have a selenium deficiency. But for horses, with their more limited diet, selenium deficiency is common and often corrected with dietary supplements. Again, this requires great care. Recently 21 polo horses died from selenium overdose in Florida, the result of a veterinary pharmacist overdoing it in mixing the drugs. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was Berzelius who discovered selenium in 1817, as an impurity in sulphuric acid. Tellurium had already been discovered, and named after the Greek word for earth, so he named selenium using the Greek word for moon, \u003cem\u003eselene\u003c/em\u003e. It occurs in various minerals, together with sulphur as you would expect. We know its evolution in plants goes back a long ways, because we find selenium compounds in coals, and much of what is released into the atmosphere today comes from coal burning. Indeed, the toxicity level of selenium to humans was established only 20 years ago by studies of Chinese victims of selenium poisoning, s\u003cem\u003eelenosis\u003c/em\u003e, who grew corn on selenium rich coal rocks. Selenosis has some lovely symptoms: a garlic odor on the breath, hair loss, sloughing of nails, fatigue, irritability, and eventually cirrhosis of the liver and death. It is the selenates and selenites that are the most toxic, since the elemental selenium is not readily incorporated into biological processes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhile some of the allotropic forms of selenium resemble those that we know well from study of sulphur, there are others that are different. Most important, so called gray selenium consists of long chains of atoms forming extended helical structures. While selenium is not a metallic element, gray selenium is a good photoconductor, and was used in early photocells. Subsequently, selenium and various selenium compounds have been used in a variety of photoconductor and photovoltaic applications. Indeed, the newest and most promising class of mass produced solar cells are copper indium gallium selenide. At one time virtually all copying machines used selenium ; this has now been largely replaced by organic photoconductors. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut the diversity of uses of selenium does not stop with shampoo and horse food supplements and photovoltaics. Selenium is added to synthetic rubber to improve resistance to abrasion, it has been added to brass, along with bismuth, to replace lead in pipes, and it is used, as sodium selenate, as an insecticide to stop attacks on flowering plants such as chrysanthemums and carnations. Selenium in its allotropic red form is added to glass to give it a scarlet color, but it also can be used to remove the greenish tint sometimes found in glass due to iron compounds. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere have been numerous studies, none of them very conclusive, about the possible role of selenium in cancer prevention, and in increasing the efficacy of chemotherapy. Most of these seem to indicate that if it is effective at all, it works somehow in conjunction with vitamin E, which, like selenium, plays an antioxidant role in the body. Also intriguing to me was a recent study indicating that selenium deficient soils may play a role in susceptibility to HIV/AIDS in Africa. The rationale is that low selenium levels are associated with weakened immune systems, since with lack of antioxidant capacity there is stress on the immune system. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut I save the best occurrence of selenium in nature for last. Butyl seleno mercaptan is the essential ingredient of skunk smell, and is certainly a contender for the title of the worst smelling compound. Once you have smelled it you will never forget it, nor underestimate the impact that this interesting element can have. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo it can clear up an itchy scalp but it might make you stink in the process. That was Cambridge University\u0027s Bernie Bulkin with the story of Selenium. Next week we\u0027re visiting the element that Superman made famous. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAngelos Michaelides\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eKrypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman, Supergirl, and Krypto the \"super dog\". Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman\u0027s flight from the planet, with exact details of its destruction varying by time period, writers and franchise. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo much for trying to do a \"wikipedia\" search for this \"hidden\" element!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can catch the facts about Krypton, rather than the fiction with Angleos Michaelides at next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Selenium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Se","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Russia; Chile; Peru","TopProductionCountries":"Japan; Germany; Belgium","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eSelenium was discovered by Jöns Jacob Berzelius at Stockholm in 1817. He had shares in a sulfuric acid works and he was intrigued by a red-brown sediment which collected at the bottom of the chambers in which the acid was made.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAt first he thought it was the element tellurium because it gave off a strong smell of radishes when heated, but he eventually realised that it was in fact a new element. He also noted that it was like sulfur and indeed had properties intermediate between sulfur and tellurium. Berzelius found that selenium was present in samples of tellurium and gave that element its characteristic smell. He also became affected by it personally – it can be absorbed through the skin – and it caused him to experience the bad breath associated with those who work with this element.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4885617,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4885617.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"18.4","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":35,"Symbol":"Br","Name":"Bromine","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image intends to reflect the rich colour, liquidity and aromatic nature of the element.","NaturalAbundance":"Bromine is extracted by electrolysis from natural bromine-rich brine deposits in the USA, Israel and China. It was the first element to be extracted from seawater, but this is now only economically viable at the Dead Sea, Israel, which is particularly rich in bromide (up to 0.5%). ","BiologicalRoles":"Bromine is present in small amounts, as bromide, in all living things. However, it has no known biological role in humans. Bromine has an irritating effect on the eyes and throat, and produces painful sores when in contact with the skin.","Appearance":"Bromine is a deep-red, oily liquid with a sharp smell. It is toxic.","CASnumber":"7726-95-6","GroupID":17,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e4p\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":35,"RelativeAtomicMass":"79.904","AtomicRadius":"1.85","CovalentRadii":"1.170","ElectronAffinity":"324.537","ElectroNegativity":"2.96","CovalentRadius":"1.17","CommonOxidationStates":"7, 5, 3, 1, \u003cstrong\u003e-1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-7.2","MeltingPointK":"266","MeltingPointF":"19","BoilingPointC":"58.8","BoilingPointK":"332","BoilingPointF":"137.8","MolarHeatCapacity":"474","Density":"3.1028","DensityValue":"3.1028","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"1.9","DiscoveryYear":"1826","Discovery":"1826","DiscoveredBy":"Antoine-Jérôme Balard\u0026nbsp;in Montpellier, France and Carl Löwig in Heidelberg, Germany","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Greek \u0027bromos\u0027 meaning stench.","CrustalAbundance":"0.88","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":63.6,"ProductionConcentrations":44.2,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":56.6,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eBromine is used in many areas such as agricultural chemicals, dyestuffs, insecticides, pharmaceuticals and chemical intermediates. Some uses are being phased out for environmental reasons, but new uses continue to be found. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBromine compounds can be used as flame retardants. They are added to furniture foam, plastic casings for electronics and textiles to make them less flammable. However, the use of bromine as a flame retardant has been phased out in the USA because of toxicity concerns.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOrganobromides are used in halon fire extinguishers that are used to fight fires in places like museums, aeroplanes and tanks. Silver bromide is a chemical used in film photography.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBefore leaded fuels were phased out, bromine was used to prepare 1,2-di-bromoethane, which was an anti-knock agent. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Bromine.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: bromine\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, welcome to Chemistry in its element where this week we\u0027re sniffing out the chemical that is named after the Greek word for stench and this substance has certainly kicked up a stink in its own right in its time because it makes holes in the ozone layer. But it\u0027s not all bad as it\u0027s also given us drugs, insecticides and fire extinguishers and to tell the story of element number 35, here\u0027s chemist and author John Emsley.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Emsley\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFifty years ago bromine was produced on a massive scale and turned into lots of useful compounds. Photography relied on the light-sensitivity of silver bromide, doctors prescribed potassium bromide as a tranquiliser, leaded petrol needed dibromomethane to ensure the lead was removed via the exhaust gases, bromomethane was widely used to fumigate soil and storage facilities, and fire extinguishers contained volatile organobromine compounds. Today these uses have all but disappeared.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWorld production of liquid bromine once exceeded 300,000 tonnes per year, of which a significant part was produced by a plant on the coast of Anglesey in Wales, which closed in 2004. This extracted the element from sea water, which contains 65 p.p.m. of bromide, and was done by using chlorine gas to convert the bromide to bromine which was then removed by blowing air through the water. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe bromine story began with 24-year-old student Antoine-Jérôme Balard. He found that the salt residues left by evaporating brine from Montpellier, France, gave an oily red liquid when treated with acid. He realised this was a new element and reported it to the French Academy, who confirmed his discovery. When they realised it was chemically similar to chlorine and iodine they proposed the name bromine, based on the Greek word \u003cem\u003ebromos \u003c/em\u003e meaning stench.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhile some uses of bromine have declined because the products made from it are no longer needed, others have been discouraged because of the damage this element could cause to the ozone layer. Volatile organobromine compounds are capable of surviving in the atmosphere long enough to reach the upper ozone layer where their bromine atoms are 50 times more damaging than the chlorine atoms - which are the main threat, coming as they did from the widely used chlorofluorocarbons, the CFCs. The Montreal Protocol which outlawed the CFCs sought also to ban the use of all volatile organobromines by 2010, and this restriction especially applied to the fumigant bromomethane and compounds such as CBrClF\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e which were in fire extinguishers for electrical fires or those in confined spaces.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBromomethane was a particular cause for concern but banning it has proved impossible because it has some uses for which alternatives have not been found. Often referred to as methyl bromide, CH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eBr (boiling point 3.5\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC), this has been widely employed to kill pests in the soil, in storage facilities, and to treat wood before it is exported. In the soil it kills nematodes, insects, bacteria, mites and fungi which threaten crops such as seed crops, lettuce, strawberries, grapes, and flowers such as carnations and chrysanthemums. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn fact bromomethane is not quite so threatening as it first appears. Environmental research uncovered the unexpected result that half the bromomethane sprayed on soil never evaporates into the air because it is consumed by bacteria. Nor are man-made organobromines the main source of these compounds in the atmosphere. Marine plankton and algae release around half a million tonnes of various bromomethanes a year and in particularly tribromomethane (aka bromoform, CHBr\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e). \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEven more surprising has been the discovery that something in the oceans is making pentabromodiphenyl ether. This has been used as a fire-retardant, and when in 2005 it was found to be present in whale blubber it was at first thought to be the man-made variety. However, the carbon atoms it contained had detectable amounts of \u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003eC meaning that they were of recent origin, whereas the fire retardant is made entirely from fossil resources and contains no \u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003eC. Another complex bromine compound from the sea is the purple dye once used for clothes worn by the Roman Emperors. Tyrian purple as it was called was extracted from the Mediterranean mollusc \u003cem\u003eMurex brandaris \u003c/em\u003eand this molecule contains two bromine atoms and is 6,6\u0027-dibromoindigo.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEven when it appears benign as bromide ions in water, this element can still pose a threat to health. Ozonising drinking water in order to sterilise it converts any bromide to bromate (BrO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003csup\u003e-\u003c/sup\u003e) which is a suspected carcinogen and so must not exceed 10 p.p.b. And some reservoirs in California where this has been exceeded have had to be drained because of it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOnce so beneficial, bromine now appears to cause nothing but trouble. Yet in ways unseen, such as in the pharmaceutical industries, it still continues to be used to provide intermediates in the manufacture of live-saving drugs. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eJohn Emsley unlocking the secrets of the brown element Bromine. You can find out more about some of John\u0027s other favourite elements in a series he has written for the RSC\u0027s Education in Chemistry and that\u0027s online at \u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/eic/elements\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ersc.org/education\u003c/a\u003e. Next time on Chemistry in its element Nobel prize winning chemist Kary Mullis explains why a soul of iron is essential.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKary Mullis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor the human brain, iron is essential yet deadly. Carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, sodium, maybe ten other elements are also involved in life, but none of them have the power of iron to move electrons around, and none of them have the power to totally destroy the whole system. Iron does. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can catch Kary Mullis ironing out the wrinkles in metabolism\u0027s most important element on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening, see you next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Bromine","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Br","StateAtRT":"Liquid","TopReserveHolders":"USA; China; Spain","TopProductionCountries":"USA; China; Israel","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eAntoine-Jérôme Balard discovered bromine while investigating some salty water from Montpellier, France. He took the concentrated residue which remained after most of the brine had evaporated and passed chlorine gas into it. In so doing he liberated an orange-red liquid which he deduced was a new element. He sent an account of his findings to the French Academy’s journal in 1826.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA year earlier, a student at Heidelberg, Carl Löwig, had brought his professor a sample of bromine which he had produced from the waters of a natural spring near his home at Keruznach. He was asked to produce more of it, and while he was doing so Balard published his results and so became known at its discoverer.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514586,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514586.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"56.6","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":36,"Symbol":"Kr","Name":"Krypton","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"There are many different isotopes of krypton. This symbol represents the isotope krypton-86.","NaturalAbundance":"Krypton is one of the rarest gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. It makes up just 1 part per million by volume. It is extracted by distillation of air that has been cooled until it is a liquid.","BiologicalRoles":"Krypton has no known biological role.","Appearance":"Krypton is a gas with no colour or smell. It does not react with anything except fluorine gas.","CASnumber":"7439-90-9","GroupID":18,"PeriodID":4,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Ar] 3d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e4s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e4p\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":36,"RelativeAtomicMass":"83.798","AtomicRadius":"2.02","CovalentRadii":"1.160","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.16","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-157.37","MeltingPointK":"115.78","MeltingPointF":"-251.27","BoilingPointC":"-153.415","BoilingPointK":"119.735","BoilingPointF":"-244.147","MolarHeatCapacity":"248","Density":"0.003425","DensityValue":"0.003425","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1898","Discovery":"1898","DiscoveredBy":"Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027kryptos\u0027, meaning hidden.","CrustalAbundance":"0.0001","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eKrypton is used commercially as a filling gas for energy-saving fluorescent lights. It is also used in some flash lamps used for high-speed photography. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUnlike the lighter gases in its group, it is reactive enough to form some chemical compounds. For example, krypton will react with fluorine to form krypton fluoride. Krypton fluoride is used in some lasers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadioactive krypton was used during the Cold War to estimate Soviet nuclear production. The gas is a product of all nuclear reactors, so the Russian share was found by subtracting the amount that came from Western reactors from the total in the air. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFrom 1960 to 1983 the isotope krypton-86 was used to define the standard measure of length. One metre was defined as exactly 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of a line in the atomic spectrum of the isotope.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Krypton.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: krypton\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week Superman makes an appearance and we\u0027re not talking about the rather tacky 1980s dance either, we\u0027re talking Krypton. Here\u0027s UCL\u0027s Angelos Michaelides.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAngelos Michaelides\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eKrypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl, and Krypto the \"super dog\". Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman\u0027s flight from the planet, with exact details of its destruction varying by time period, writers and franchise.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo much for trying to do a \"wikipedia\" search for this \"hidden\" element!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe story of its discovery, however, reveals a Victorian man of Science who, in his own way, qualifies as a superhero. Born in Glasgow in 1852, William Ramsay was already established as one of the foremost chemists of his day when he took up his appointment at University College London in 1887. The chair to which he succeeded had been occupied by leaders of scientific progress and, almost immediately after entering on his new duties, he was elected as a Fellow of The Royal Society. Great things were therefore believed of him, but nobody could have foreseen the discoveries which came so rapidly.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRamsay\u0027s colleagues of this period describe him as \"charming, witty, and generous\" - traits which no doubt made him an easy man with whom to collaborate. Lord Rayleigh, himself an eminent physicist, was therefore lucky in more ways than one that Ramsay responded to his letter to \u003cem\u003eNature\u003c/em\u003e in September 1892. In it, Lord Rayleigh had expressed puzzlement as to why atmospheric nitrogen was of greater density than nitrogen derived from chemical sources, and wondered if any chemist would like to turn his mind to this anomaly. It does not appear that anyone except Professor Ramsay attempted to attack the question experimentally.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCorrespondence between the two men reveals the enthusiasm with which Ramsay set to the task and details painstaking and meticulous work first to isolate sufficient atmospheric nitrogen and then to test it, using fractional distillation, for impurities, - anything, basically, that wasn\u0027t nitrogen. In this way, Ramsay wrote to Rayleigh : \"We may discover a new element\". In fact, they discovered Argon, and Ramsay went on to discover an entirely new class of gases. In 1904, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of argon, neon, xenon and, of course, krypton.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLike its fellows, krypton is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere. Like the other noble gases, it too is useful in lighting and photography, and its high light output in plasmas allows it to play an important role in many high-powered lasers. Unlike its lighter fellows it is reactive enough to form chemical compounds: krypton fluoride being the main example, which has led to the development of the krypton flouride laser. A laser of invisible light developed in the 1980\u0027s by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which has found uses in fusion research and lithography. The heaviest stable krypton isotope, krypton 86, rose to prominence in the second half of the last century with a tad over one and a half million wavelengths of its orange-red spectral line being used as the official distance of a metre. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut the potential applications and practical uses of krypton are perhaps irrelevant in the story of its discovery. The point of Ramsay\u0027s work was not to put his knowledge to some utilitarian purpose - the point was to discover. Scientific endeavour is perhaps too often judged by whether or not its results are \"useful\". But discovery and knowledge are sometimes an end in themselves. The purist knows the joy of discovering that which was hitherto unknown.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSir William Ramsay was a purist - a man with an insatiable appetite to better understand the world. He travelled to Canada, the United States, Finland, India, and Turkey with his wife, Lady Ramsay. He was a man open to new ideas, always endeavouring on his travels to learn local languages and customs and always alive to new experiences. One anecdote, related by a travelling companion to Iceland, describes him standing on the site of a geyser with a small glass jar, capturing gases as they erupt from underfoot. The image is unmistakably one of a childlike fascination with nature, in a man whose dedication to research knew no limits.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn his 1918 biography of Ramsay, Sir William Tilden describes him as a man \"ever filled with that divine curiosity which impels the discoverer forward\" who enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing that he was achieving something. Indeed, in a memorial lecture, for his late friend Henri Moissan in 1912, Ramsay quoted the following words:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"But what I cannot convey in the following pages is the keen pleasure I have experienced in the pursuit of these discoveries. To plough a new furrow; to have full scope to follow my own inclination; to see on all sides new subjects of study bursting upon me, that awakens a true joy which only those can experience who have themselves tasted the delights of research\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat\u0027s left, then, is the joy of finding what is hidden, a fact reflected in the very name of this element, Krypton, taken from \"krypto\", Greek for hidden. And nothing to do with a SuperDog.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe hidden element that Lord Raleigh suspected might be there and William Ramsay actually uncovered. Thank you very much to Angelos Michaelides. He\u0027s based at University College London. Next week to one of those elements, the chemical symbol of which appears to bear absolutely no relationship to the name of the substance itself. Why? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Holt\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMany centuries ago mid-European tin smelters observed that when a certain mineral was present in the tin ore, their yield of tin was much reduced. They called this mineral \u0027wolfs foam\u0027 because, they said, it devoured the tin much like a wolf would devour a sheep! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Katherine Holt will be telling us the tale behind tungsten\u0027s letter W on the periodic table in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Krypton","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Kr","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"Having discovered the noble gas argon, extracted from air, William Ramsay and Morris William Travers of University College, London, were convinced this must be one of a new group of elements of the periodic table. They decided others were likely to be hidden in the argon and by a process of liquefaction and evaporation they hoped it might leave behind a heavier component, and it did. It yielded krypton in the afternoon of 30\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e May 1898, and they were able to isolate about 25 cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e of the new gas. This they immediately tested in a spectrometer, and saw from its atomic spectrum that it was a new element.","CSID":5223,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.5223.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":37,"Symbol":"Rb","Name":"Rubidium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image of an ‘electric eye’ is inspired by the use of rubidium in photocells (sensors that detect light).","NaturalAbundance":"Rubidium occurs in the minerals pollucite, carnallite, leucite and lepidolite. It is recovered commercially from lepidolite as a by-product of lithium extraction. Potassium minerals and brines also contain rubidium and are another commercial source.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eRubidium has no known biological role and is non-toxic. However, because of its chemical similarity to potassium we absorb it from our food, and the average person has stores of about half a gram. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is slightly radioactive and so has been used to locate brain tumours, as it collects in tumours but not in normal tissue.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A soft metal that ignites in the air and reacts violently with water.","CASnumber":"7440-17-7","GroupID":1,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 5s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":37,"RelativeAtomicMass":"85.468","AtomicRadius":"3.03","CovalentRadii":"2.150","ElectronAffinity":"46.884","ElectroNegativity":"0.82","CovalentRadius":"2.15","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"39.30","MeltingPointK":"312.45","MeltingPointF":"102.74","BoilingPointC":"688","BoilingPointK":"961","BoilingPointF":"1270","MolarHeatCapacity":"363","Density":"1.53","DensityValue":"1.53","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"2.5","DiscoveryYear":"1861","Discovery":"1861","DiscoveredBy":"Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen","OriginOfName":"The name is derived form the Latin \u0027rubidius\u0027, meaning deepest red.","CrustalAbundance":"90","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eRubidium is little used outside research. It has been used as a component of photocells, to remove traces of oxygen from vacuum tubes and to make special types of glass. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is easily ionised so was considered for use in ion engines, but was found to be less effective than caesium. It has also been proposed for use as a working fluid for vapour turbines and in thermoelectric generators.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRubidium nitrate is sometimes used in fireworks to give them a purple colour.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Rubidium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: rubidium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, we\u0027ve got a radio active element that\u0027s good at keeping time but also has some fire in its belly. With more on the chemistry of rubidium, here\u0027s Tom Bond. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTom Bond\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn a way, the story of rubidium starts in 1859 when the German chemists Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchoff invented the spectroscope and in turn opened the door to a new age of chemical analysis. Before that the Bunsen burner had been developed to investigate the coloured flames they saw when combusting various metals and salts. Bunsen and Kirchoff were able to work out that, by using an external light source and a prism, they could separate the wavelengths of emission spectra in these flames, and so the spectroscope was born. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCaesium was their first major discovery using the spectroscope, followed quickly in 1861 by rubidium, which was detected by the red flame produced when they burnt the mineral lepidolite, which contains small amounts of rubidium. Bunsen and Kirchoff realised this colour came from an unknown substance and were then able to purify a small amount of rubidium. Its name is derived from the Latin \u003cem\u003erubidus\u003c/em\u003e, meaning deepest red, which relates to the colour seen after excitation of the single electron in its outer shell. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRubidium is actually one of our commoner elements and depending on which information source you look at, it is about the 16\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e most abundant element in the earth\u0027s crust, with a concentration somewhere around 90 parts per million. Although it is relatively abundant compared with other elements such as copper, it is not found in a pure state but as a minor fraction in various minerals. Most rubidium is derived as a by product of lepidolite extraction which has the primary goal of producing lithium. Pure rubidium is often obtained by reduction of rubidium chloride using metallic calcium at around 750 ºC and low pressures. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRubidium is one of the alkaline metals, as group one of the periodic table are otherwise known. The alkali metals have a single electron in their outer shell, which makes them highly reactive with oxygen, water and halogens, and also means that their oxidation state never exceeds +1. As you move down Group 1 of the periodic table the reactivity of the elements increases which is in line with the increasing energy of the outer electron.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhile lithium and sodium added to water form part of school chemistry experiments, the extra reactivity of rubidium means the equivalent reaction requires caution and is not for the faint hearted. When a small amount of rubidium is chucked into water, the effect is pretty impressive, and in fact is so violent that the liberated hydrogen can ignite. Rubidium is so reactive that it can catch fire spontaneously in air, meaning it has to be stored under inert conditions. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn terms of their physical properties, the elements of Group 1 are soft metals with low-melting points. Rubidium is no exception to this rule, being silvery-white and melting at 39 ºC. The element has two naturally occurring isotopes. Rubidium-85 is the dominant form, accounting for 72 per cent of the total, while most of the remainder is the radioactive rubidium-87, which has a half-life of 50 billion years. The radioactive isotope decays to form strontium-87. This process gives a way to age rocks, by measuring the isotopes of rubidium and strontium with mass spectrometry, then calculating the ratios of the radioactive forms to their decay products.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough it is chemically interesting, the element has relatively few commercial applications at present, but the amount of research activity suggests many possibilities exist. One current use is in atomic clocks, though rubidium is considered less accurate than caesium. The rubidium version of the atomic clock employs the transition between two hyperfine energy states of the rubidium-87 isotope. These clocks use microwave radiation which is tuned until it matches the hyperfine transition, at which point the interval between wave crests of the radiation can be used to calibrate time itself.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRubidium was chosen to investigate the unusual properties of extremely low-temperature fluids, known as Bose-Einstein condensates which have zero viscosity and the ability to spontaneously flow out of their containers. Their existence was predicted in 1925 by Einstein himself, who extended the work of Indian physicist S. N. Bose to suggest bosonic atoms at temperatures close to absolute zero would form their lowest possible energy state, which might allow quantum behaviour to be studied. By the way, bosons are defined as atoms with integer spin, while multiple bosons can occupy the same energy state. It was not until the end of the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century that technology advances made cooling elements close to absolute zero feasible. The first pure Bose-Einstein condensate was created using rubidium-87 by a group from the University of Colorado in the US, and for this achievement they earned the 2001 Nobel Prize for physics. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRubidium is not particularly harmful to humans, and once in the body its ions are rapidly excreted in sweat and urine. Rubidium chloride has been used to study the transport of potassium ions in humans, since rubidium ions are not naturally found in the body and when present they are treated as if they were potassium. In a similar way, because it tends to collect inside cells, especially tumours, the radioactive isotope Rb-82 can be used to locate brain tumours. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe low toxicity of rubidium is confirmed by a study from 1971 which aimed to assess the feasibility of using rubidium chloride as an anti-depressant, since similar effects had been observed in monkeys. After being given 23 grams of rubidium over 75 days, a volunteer showed no harmful side effects. It does though make you wonder whether equivalent clinical studies could take place now. Meanwhile, clinical applications of rubidium in psychiatry have yet to come to fruition. So there we have rubidium, the explosive red element number 37 in the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo this explosive element may have minimal commercial applications but can be used in atomic clocks and has isotopes that can locate brain tumours. Not bad considering it was stumbled upon when analysing the mineral lepidolite. That was Tom Bond with the story of rubidium. Now next week we meet the element that\u0027s made our modern lifestyles possible. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Whitfield\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA mixture of powdered tantalum and tantalum oxide is used in mobile phone capacitors, components that store electrical charge and control the flow of current. What makes the element ideal for phones, and for other dinky electronic gadgets, such as handheld game consoles, laptops and digital cameras, is that the metal is extremely good at conducting both heat and electricity, meaning that it can be used in small components that don\u0027t crack up under pressure. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd John Whitfield will be explaining why we have tantalum to thank the next time we play the latest computer games, take hundreds of photos on holiday or when we\u0027re downloading this podcast on our laptops. So join John on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Rubidium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Rb","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe lithium potassium mineral lepidolite was discovered in the 1760s and it behaved oddly. When thrown on to glowing coals it frothed and then hardened like glass. Analysis showed it to contain lithium and potassium, but it held a secret: rubidium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1861, Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff, of the University of Heidelberg, dissolved the ore in acid and then precipitated the potassium it contained which carried down another heavier alkali metal. By carefully washing this precipitate with boiling water they removed the more soluble potassium component and then confirmed that they really had a new element by examining the atomic spectrum of what remained. This showed two intense ruby red lines never seen before, indicating a new element, which they named after this colour.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA sample of pure rubidium metal was eventually produced in 1928.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4512975,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4512975.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":38,"Symbol":"Sr","Name":"Strontium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of a highly abstracted metallic ‘mushroom cloud’. It alludes to the presence of strontium in nuclear fallout.","NaturalAbundance":"Strontium is found mainly in the minerals celestite and strontianite. China is now the leading producer of strontium. Strontium metal can be prepared by electrolysis of the molten strontium chloride and potassium chloride, or by reducing strontium oxide with aluminium in a vacuum.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eStrontium is incorporated into the shells of some deep-sea creatures and is essential to some stony corals. It has no biological role in humans and is non-toxic. Because it is similar to calcium, it can mimic its way into our bodies, ending up in our bones. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadioactive strontium\u003csup\u003e-90\u003c/sup\u003e, which is produced in nuclear explosions and released during nuclear plant accidents, is particularly dangerous because it can be absorbed into the bones of young children.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal that burns in air and reacts with water.","CASnumber":"7440-24-6","GroupID":2,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":38,"RelativeAtomicMass":"87.62","AtomicRadius":"2.49","CovalentRadii":"1.900","ElectronAffinity":"4.631","ElectroNegativity":"0.95","CovalentRadius":"1.90","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"777","MeltingPointK":"1050","MeltingPointF":"1431","BoilingPointC":"1377","BoilingPointK":"1650","BoilingPointF":"2511","MolarHeatCapacity":"306","Density":"2.64","DensityValue":"2.64","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1790","Discovery":"1790","DiscoveredBy":"Adair Crawford","OriginOfName":"Strontium is named after Strontian, a small town in Scotland.","CrustalAbundance":"320","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":100,"ProductionConcentrations":83,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":8.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eStrontium is best known for the brilliant reds its salts give to fireworks and flares. It is also used in producing ferrite magnets and refining zinc. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eModern ‘glow-in-the-dark’ paints and plastics contain strontium aluminate. They absorb light during the day and release it slowly for hours afterwards.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStrontium-90, a radioactive isotope, is a by-product of nuclear reactors and present in nuclear fallout. It has a half-life of 28 years. It is absorbed by bone tissue instead of calcium and can destroy bone marrow and cause cancer. However, it is also useful as it is one of the best high-energy beta-emitters known. It can be used to generate electricity for space vehicles, remote weather stations and navigation buoys. It can also be used for thickness gauges and to remove static charges from machinery handling paper or plastic.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStrontium chloride hexahydrate is an ingredient in toothpaste for sensitive teeth.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Strontium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: strontium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! This week, vegetarian gladiators, red fireworks and a mineral mistaken for barium; they are all under strontium\u0027s spotlight. Here\u0027s Richard Van Noorden.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Van Noorden\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1787, an intriguing mineral came to Edinburgh from a Lead mine in a small village on the shores of Loch Sunart, Argyll, in the western highlands of Scotland. At that time, the stuff was thought to be some sort of Barium compound. It was three year\u0027s later that Scott\u0027s Irish chemist, Adair Crawford, published a paper claiming that the mineral held a new species including a new chemical element. Other chemists, such as Edinburgh\u0027s Thomas Hope later prepared a number of compounds with the element, noting that it caused the candle\u0027s flame to burn red, while Barium compounds gave a green colour. And in 1808, Humphry Davy in London isolated the soft, silvery metal of the new element using electrolysis. The Scottish village was called Strontian, the mineral found there, strontianite and the new element strontium. So, it seems there never was an eminent professor, Stront, commemorated by element number 38. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToday, whenever you see a firework light up in brilliant crimson or a red flare smoking its way around a football stadium, you\u0027re looking at the light emitted from electrons transiting between energy levels in nitrate or carbonate salts as strontium. Strontium is most famous for that red glow in a flame, but as a metal it behaves like its reactive group II neighbours, beryllium, magnesium, calcium and barium. It\u0027s soft and silvery when freshly cut, but this sheen quickly turns yellow when exposed to air, as the metal readily reacts to form oxides; unlike other reactive alkaline earth metals, natural strontium is always found locked away in mineral compounds. Apart from the previously mentioned strontianite, which we know as strontium carbonate, there is also the beautiful sky blue celestite, strontium sulphate, which was discovered in Gloucestershire in 1799, where the locals were using it as gravel for paths in ornamental gardens.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eApart from colouring fireworks, we don\u0027t have much call nowadays for strontium compounds. Strontium carbonate notably is found in cathode ray tubes in old television sets. One of strontium\u0027s isotopes Strontium-90 has a more sinister reputation. It\u0027s a radioactive beta emitter, produced by nuclear fission with a half-life of 29 years. Created by nuclear tests from 1945 to the early 1970s, strontium-90 made its way from the air to grassland, cow stomachs, dairy products and as 1950\u0027s studies showed into children\u0027s milk teeth. It collects in bones too, being of a similar size to its group II neighbour, calcium ions. The nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl in 1986 also threw strontium-90 into the air. Nowadays, it\u0027s used as a radioactive tracer in cancer therapy. Still strontium\u0027s close relation to calcium has made it a modern treatment for treating osteoporosis as the salt strontium ranelate, using non-radioactive isotopes, of course. Because strontium ions are roughly the same size as calcium ions, they bind tightly to calcium sensing receptors. It seems that this stimulates the formation of new bones and prevents old bone from being broken down. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd tracing strontium isotope levels in bone has allowed analytical chemists to come up with all sorts of conclusions about our past ancestor\u0027s diets, knowing that plants tend to be higher in natural strontium than meat. In 2007, for instance, Austrian researchers hit headlines by comparing strontium and zinc levels to support the hypothesis that Roman gladiators were vegetarians who ate mainly barley, beans and dried fruits.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e\u0027s Richard Van Noorden wrestling gladiator style with the story of strontium. Next time, we\u0027ve heard of running through treacle, but what about this proposition.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFred Campbell\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCould a man walk across a swimming pool filled with Mercury? Don\u0027t ask me how the conversation had reached this point, but being surrounded by friends, who would, it is fair to say, describe themselves as science illiterate, I knew it was up to me, the token scientist around the table, to give the definitive answer. \"No.\" I confidently said, adding rather smugly, \"it is nowhere near dense enough.\" The next morning I was rudely awakened by my ringing mobile; not for the first time, I was wrong!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can find out exactly how wrong Fred Campbell was at his dinner party when he unlocks the chemical secrets of quick silver, otherwise known as mercury on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thanks for listening. Goodbye!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Strontium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Sr","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China","TopProductionCountries":"China; Spain; Mexico","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1787, an unusual rock which had been found in a lead mine at Strontian, Scotland, was investigated by Adair Crawford, an Edinburgh doctor. He realised it was a new mineral containing an unknown ‘earth’ which he named strontia. In 1791, another Edinburgh man, Thomas Charles Hope, made a fuller investigation of it and proved it was a new element. He also noted that it caused the flame of a candle to burn red.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeanwhile Martin Heinrich Klaproth in Germany was working with the same mineral and he produced both strontium oxide and strontium hydroxide.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStrontium metal itself was isolated in 1808 at the Royal Institution in London by Humphry Davy by means of electrolysis, using the method with which he had already isolated sodium and potassium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514263,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514263.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":39,"Symbol":"Y","Name":"Yttrium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The radar reflects the use of yttrium in radar technology. The element also used to provide the red colour for early colour television screens, and this is the reason for the background which echoes the Warner Bros. ‘That’s all Folks!’ cartoon splash screen.","NaturalAbundance":"Xenotime can contain up to 50% yttrium phosphate. It is mined in China and Malaysia. Yttrium also occurs in the other ‘rare earth’ minerals, monazite and bastnaesite. Yttrium metal is produced by reducing yttrium fluoride with calcium metal.","BiologicalRoles":"Yttrium has no known biological role. Its soluble salts are mildly toxic.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-65-5","GroupID":3,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":39,"RelativeAtomicMass":"88.906","AtomicRadius":"2.32","CovalentRadii":"1.760","ElectronAffinity":"29.621","ElectroNegativity":"1.22","CovalentRadius":"1.76","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1522","MeltingPointK":"1795","MeltingPointF":"2772","BoilingPointC":"3345","BoilingPointK":"3618","BoilingPointF":"6053","MolarHeatCapacity":"298","Density":"4.47","DensityValue":"4.47","YoungsModulus":"63.5","ShearModulus":"25.6","BulkModulus":"41.2","DiscoveryYear":"1794","Discovery":"1794","DiscoveredBy":"Johan Gadolin","OriginOfName":"Yttrium is named after Ytterby, Sweden.","CrustalAbundance":"33","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eYttrium is often used as an additive in alloys. It increases the strength of aluminium and magnesium alloys. It is also used in the making of microwave filters for radar and has been used as a catalyst in ethene polymerisation.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYttrium-aluminium garnet (YAG) is used in lasers that can cut through metals. It is also used in white LED lights.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYttrium oxide is added to the glass used to make camera lenses to make them heat and shock resistant. It is also used to make superconductors. Yttrium oxysulfide used to be widely used to produce red phosphors for old-style colour television tubes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe radioactive isotope yttrium-90 has medical uses. It can be used to treat some cancers, such as liver cancer.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Yttrium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: yttrium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, the last of the elements discovered in the small town of Ytterby and its compounds appear to have a multitude of uses. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eY. This is not a question. Y is the symbol for the element yttrium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUntil about 20 years ago, most scientists had not heard of it, other than vaguely noting where it was in the periodic table, under scandium and above lanthanum. Some people might just have known that it was one of 4 chemical elements named after the small Swedish town of Ytterby, along with ytterbium, erbium and terbium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThen in 1986 two scientists working at IBM in Zurich, Georg Bednorz and Karl Müller, found that lanthanum barium copper oxide became superconducting at what was then almost a record high temperature, 35 degrees above absolute zero. In other words, below minus 238°C the compound\u0027s electrical resistance disappeared. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBednorz and Müller won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1987 for this discovery. Prompting other scientists to dust off their Periodic Tables, and try switching the lanthanum portion for other similar metals. Two American professors, Maw-Kuen Wu and Paul Chu, together with their research groups at the University\u0027s of Alabama and Houston, studied yttrium barium copper oxide. It has the formulaYBa\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eCu\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e7\u003c/sub\u003e and is often called YBCO for short. They found that it became superconducting 95 degrees below absolute zero (-178 ºC).\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e This may not seem much of a temperature difference, but it meant that YBCO could be kept in the superconducting state using liquid nitrogen, rather than the much more expensive liquid helium. This has inspired lots more studies over the past 20 years. The ultimate objective, the Holy Grail, is to find a material that would superconduct at room temperature, but no one has got there yet. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere are many possible applications for YBCO; for example MRI scanners could be made to operate more cheaply at a higher temperature using liquid nitrogen coolant. At present, though, there are technical problems preventing these commercial applications. One is that in order to superconduct at 95K, the YBCO has to be slightly oxygen-deficient, to have just a bit less than the seven oxygen atoms per yttrium atom. The exact amount is crucial, and tricky to achieve. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOther problems include making the YBCO in the right state; a lot of research is going into making thin films of it and finding a way of making it into a continuous wire, rather than just an assembly of crystals packed together that are unable to conduct decent currents. Investigators are looking into depositing YBCO on top of flexible metal wires, and research into this continues. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eApart from this, there are lots of everyday applications for yttrium compounds In its compounds yttrium is always present as the yttrium three plus ion, which means that it is colourless and has no unpaired electrons; therefore it does not have any interesting magnetic or spectroscopic properties of its own. The up side of this is that yttrium compounds make very good host materials for other lanthanides. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe most familiar application lies in the red phosphor in cathode ray tubes, as used in traditional colour TV sets. This is made of yttrium oxysulphide, Y2O2S containing a small amount of trivalent europium ions. Similarly, yttrium hosts are often used to accommodate terbium ions, which are green phosphors. Such materials are used in the \"cool white\" fluorescent lamps. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYttrium aluminium garnet, also known as YAG, is a very important synthetic mineral. It is used to make hard, artificial diamonds, which sparkle just like the real ones. What is more, by introducing small quantities of lanthanide ions, materials with a range of useful properties can be made. Introduce a small amount of cerium for example, and you have a good yellow phosphor. Or add 1 % of neodymium to YAG and you get the most widely used solid-state laser material. And erbium gives you an infrared laser. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYttrium also finds use in fuel cells for powering cars and buses, computers and digital phones and, potentially, buildings. A small amount of yttrium oxide is added to zirconium oxide to make what is known as yttria-stabilized zirconia (also called YSZ). That has the unusual property of conducting oxide ions, making it very useful in these fuel cells. YSZ is also used to make the lambda sensors fitted to the exhaust sytem of your car. These monitor the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gases and sends feedback to give the best air-fuel mixture into the engine. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, that is yttrium for you. Colourless, unspectacular, but undoubtedly fulfilling a lot of important supporting roles. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd so the Oscar for best supporting role goes to, you guessed it, Yttrium. That was Uppingham School\u0027s Simon Cotton with the multiple roles and uses of Yttrium. Now next week we\u0027ve got an element that could take us into another dimension. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHayley Birch\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1949, Milton Smith published a short work of fiction that he entitled The Mystery of Element 117. The real element 117 is yet to be discovered - it\u0027s a blank space in the Periodic Table just below the halogens. Smith\u0027s 117, however, was a strange material that could be used to open a window to another dimension. He called it a magnetic monopole substance - one that instead of having poles, plural, like an ordinary magnet, had a pole. Singular. Now, whilst no reputable scientist would argue that a magnetic monopole could open an inter-dimensional portal, its existence isn\u0027t outside the realms of possibility and if recent reports are anything to go by, it could depend on an otherwise mundane metallic element that you can find skulking around near the bottom of the Periodic Table - holmium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Hayley Birch will be revealing the truth about such mythical monopoles in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Yttrium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Y","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1787, Karl Arrhenius came across an unusual black rock in an old quarry at Ytterby, near Stockholm. He thought he had found a new tungsten mineral, and passed the specimen over to Johan Gadolin based in Finland. In 1794, Gadolin announced that it contained a new \u0027earth\u0027 which made up 38 per cent of its weight. It was called an’ earth’ because it was yttrium oxide, Y\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, which could not be reduced further by heating with charcoal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe metal itself was first isolated in 1828 by Friedrich Wöhler and made by reacting yttrium chloride with potassium. Yet, yttrium was still hiding other elements.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1843, Carl Mosander investigated yttrium oxide more thoroughly and found that it consisted of three oxides: yttrium oxide, which was white; terbium oxide, which was yellow; and erbium oxide, which was rose-coloured.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22429,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22429.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":40,"Symbol":"Zr","Name":"Zirconium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The Ancient Egyptians used zircon gemstones in jewellery. For the Ancient Egyptians the scarab beetle (represented here) was a symbol of regeneration and creation, conveying ideas of transformation, renewal and resurrection.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium occurs in about 30 mineral species, the major ones being zircon and baddeleyite. More than 1.5 million tonnes of zircon are mined each year, mainly in Australia and South Africa. Most baddeleyite is mined in Brazil. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium metal is produced commercially by first converting zircon to zirconium chloride, and then reducing the chloride with magnesium.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Zirconium has no known biological role. It has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A hard, silvery metal that is very resistant to corrosion.","CASnumber":"7440-67-7","GroupID":4,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":40,"RelativeAtomicMass":"91.224","AtomicRadius":"2.23","CovalentRadii":"1.640","ElectronAffinity":"41.103","ElectroNegativity":"1.33","CovalentRadius":"1.64","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1854","MeltingPointK":"2127","MeltingPointF":"3369","BoilingPointC":"4406","BoilingPointK":"4679","BoilingPointF":"7963","MolarHeatCapacity":"278","Density":"6.52","DensityValue":"6.52","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1789","Discovery":"1789","DiscoveredBy":"Martin Heinrich Klaproth","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Persian, \u0027zargun\u0027, meaning gold coloured.","CrustalAbundance":"132","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":40,"ProductionConcentrations":39,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":74.5,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":5.7,"Allotropes":"","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium does not absorb neutrons, making it an ideal material for use in nuclear power stations. More than 90% of zirconium is used in this way. Nuclear reactors can have more than 100,000 metres of zirconium alloy tubing. With niobium, zirconium is superconductive at low temperatures and is used to make superconducting magnets. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium metal is protected by a thin oxide layer making it exceptionally resistant to corrosion by acids, alkalis and seawater. For this reason it is extensively used by the chemical industry. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium(IV) oxide is used in ultra-strong ceramics. It is used to make crucibles that will withstand heat-shock, furnace linings, foundry bricks, abrasives and by the glass and ceramics industries. It is so strong that even scissors and knives can be made from it. It is also used in cosmetics, antiperspirants, food packaging and to make microwave filters. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZircon is a natural semi-precious gemstone found in a variety of colours. The most desirable have a golden hue. The element was first discovered in this form, resulting in its name. Cubic zirconia (zirconium oxide) is a synthetic gemstone. The colourless stones, when cut, resemble diamonds.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZircon mixed with vanadium or praseodymium makes blue and yellow pigments for glazing pottery.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Zirconium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: zirconium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello and welcome to our tour of the unusual, exciting and deadly aspects of the elements that make up the world around us. We\u0027re kicking off our journey through the Periodic Table with a chemical that sometimes masquerades as diamond but is equally at home in the core of a nuclear reactor or even in an ironworks. To tell the story of this mysterious entity which is otherwise known as zirconium, here\u0027s chemist and award winning author John Emsley. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Emsley\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium. Wear it flashing on your finger, or unseen within your frame, it holds the key to nuclear energy, and it\u0027s got a gem-like name. It\u0027s zirconium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe name zirconium comes from the Arabic word \u003cem\u003ezargun\u003c/em\u003e which refers to a golden-hued gemstone known since Biblical times called zircon. Today artificial gems are made from Zirconium oxide known as cubic zirconia and they sparkle with more brilliance than diamond although they are not as hard. What distinguishes them from real diamond is their higher density of 6.0 g cm\u003csup\u003e-3\u003c/sup\u003e compared to diamond\u0027s 3.52.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium is abundant in S-type stars in which heavier elements are formed by neutron capture. Traces are also present in the Sun. Rock brought back from the moon was found to have a surprisingly high zirconium content. Down here on Earth zircons has shown that life might have started much earlier than once thought. These were found in Australia in the year 2000 were 4.4 billion years old, and their oxygen isotope ratio of O\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e/O\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e showed they could only have been formed when there was liquid water on the surface of the Earth, and this was nearly 500 million years earlier than previously assumed.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the Middle Ages colourless gemstones of zircon were thought to be an inferior kind of diamond, but that was shown to be wrong when a German chemist, Martin Klaproth (1743-1817), analysed one in 1789 and discovered zirconium. Klaproth was unable to isolate the metal itself. That was achieved in 1824 by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius but there was little use for it or its chemical compounds, and so it languished for a century or more.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToday this element is widely used, as zircon, as Zirconium oxide and as the metal itself. Zirconium is to be found in ceramics, foundry equipment, glass, chemicals, and metal alloys.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZircon sand is used for heat-resistant linings for furnaces, for giant ladles for molten metal, and to make foundry moulds. Mixed with vanadium or praseodymium zircon makes blue and yellow pigments for glazing pottery and tiles.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium oxide is used to make heat resistant crucibles, ceramics and abrasives. A red-hot crucible made from it can be plunged into cold water without cracking. Zirconium oxide is to be found in ultra-strong ceramics that are stronger and sharper even than toughened steel and are used for knives, scissors and golf irons. Production of pure zirconium oxide is almost 25 000 tons per year, and it also goes into various chemicals that end up as cosmetics, antiperspirants, food packaging, and even fake gems. The paper and packaging industry is finding zirconium compounds make good surface coatings because they have excellent water resistance and strength. Equally important is their low toxicity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium metal has an oxidised surface which is both hard and impervious to chemical attack making it ideal not only for chemical plants but for body implants such as hip replacement joints. Zirconium-aluminium alloy is used for top of the range bicycle frames because it combines strength and lightness.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eZirconium metal had some hidden assets which suddenly brought it to prominence in the late 1940s; it was found to be the ideal metal for inside nuclear reactors and nuclear submarines. It does not corrode at high temperatures, nor absorb neutrons to form radioactive isotopes. Even today the nuclear industry buys almost all of the metal that is produced and some nuclear reactors have more than 100 kilometres of zirconium tubing. Zirconium is used to make the cladding for uranium oxide fuel elements. As mined, zirconium contains 1-3% per cent of hafnium, which is chemically very similar, and although it is difficult to separate the two elements this has to be done for the metal used in the nuclear industry because hafnium absorbs neutrons very strongly.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFinally, we have two zirconium materials with extreme properties, one which it displays when very cold, the other when it is heated to high temperatures. The first is a zirconium-niobium alloy which becomes superconducting below 35 Kelvin (- 238\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC) in other words it will conduct electricity with no loss of energy. The second is zirconium tungstate (ZrW\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e8\u003c/sub\u003e) which actually shrinks as you heat it up, at least until it reaches 700\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC when it decomposes into the two metal oxides.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eJohn Emsley unlocking the secrets of element number 40, zirconium. And you can find out some more about John\u0027s favourite elements in a series he has written for the RSC\u0027s Education in Chemistry which is online at \u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/eic/elements\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ersc.org/education\u003c/a\u003e. Next time on Chemistry in its Element, life\u0027s a gas with Mark Peplow.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Peplow\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLittle did those humble cyanobacteria realize what they were doing when two and a half billion years ago, they started to build up their own reserves of energy-rich chemicals, by combining water and carbon dioxide. Powered by sunlight, they spent the next two billion years terraforming our entire planet with the waste product of their photosynthesis, a rather toxic gas called oxygen. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo join us next week for a breath of fresh air and the story of oxygen. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thanks for listening, see you next time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Zirconium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Zr","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Australia; South Africa; Ukraine","TopProductionCountries":"Australia; South Africa; China","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eGems that contain zirconium were known in ancient times as zircon. In 1789, the German chemist, Martin Klaproth analysed a zircon and separated zirconium in the form of its ‘earth’ zirconia, which is the oxide ZrO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eKlaproth failed to isolate the pure metal itself, and Humphry Davy also failed when he tried electrolysis in 1808. It was not until 1824 that the element was isolated, when the Swedish chemist Jöns Berzelius heated potassium hexafluorozirconate (K\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eZrF\u003csub\u003e6\u003c/sub\u003e) with potassium metal and obtained some zirconium as a black powder.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTotally pure zirconium was only produced in 1925 by the Dutch chemists Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer by the decomposition of zirconium tetraiodide (ZrI\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e). These days the metal is produced in bulk by heating zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e) with magnesium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22431,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22431.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"74.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":41,"Symbol":"Nb","Name":"Niobium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The propeller blades in the icon reflect the use of niobium and its alloys in the aviation industry.","NaturalAbundance":"The main source of this element is the mineral columbite. This mineral also contains tantalum and the two elements are mined together. Columbite is found in Canada, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria and elsewhere. Some niobium is also produced as a by-product of tin extraction.","BiologicalRoles":"Niobium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A silvery metal that is very resistant to corrosion due to a layer of oxide on its surface.","CASnumber":"7440-03-1","GroupID":5,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":41,"RelativeAtomicMass":"92.906","AtomicRadius":"2.18","CovalentRadii":"1.560","ElectronAffinity":"88.381","ElectroNegativity":"1.6","CovalentRadius":"1.56","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e5\u003c/strong\u003e, 3","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"2477","MeltingPointK":"2750","MeltingPointF":"4491","BoilingPointC":"4741","BoilingPointK":"5014","BoilingPointF":"8566","MolarHeatCapacity":"265","Density":"8.57","DensityValue":"8.57","YoungsModulus":"104.9","ShearModulus":"37.5","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1801","Discovery":"1801","DiscoveredBy":"Charles Hatchett\u003cbr\u003e","OriginOfName":"The name comes from Niobe from Greek mythology, who was the daughter of king Tantalus. This was chosen because of niobium\u0027s chemical similarity to tantalum","CrustalAbundance":"8","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":97,"ProductionConcentrations":98,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":48.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eNiobium is used in alloys including stainless steel. It improves the strength of the alloys, particularly at low temperatures. Alloys containing niobium are used in jet engines and rockets, beams and girders for buildings and oil rigs, and oil and gas pipelines. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis element also has superconducting properties. It is used in superconducting magnets for particle accelerators, MRI scanners and NMR equipment. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNiobium oxide compounds are added to glass to increase the refractive index, which allows corrective glasses to be made with thinner lenses. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Niobium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: niobium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, an element with some contradiction, as its namesake weeps, yet its chemistry is impassive. Here\u0027s Jon Steed:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJon Steed\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNiobium. What an evocative name! The element was christened after Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus in Greek mythology. Tantalus has an element named after him as well; tantalum which falls directly below niobium in the periodic table. Niobe had a fairly hard time of it. She was foolish enough to suggest that rather than worshipping invisible gods, it might be a nice idea to appreciate real people for a change. The Greek gods weren\u0027t very forgiving of this kind of hubris and as punishment killed all, or at least most, of her twelve children; the niobids. As a result Niobe fled to Mount Sipylus and was turned into stone. There is to this day a rock formation in the Aegean region of Turkey termed the \u0027weeping rock\u0027 that resembles a woman\u0027s face, purportedly Niobe\u0027s. Water seeps through the porous limestone of the weeping rock and is said to resemble Niobe\u0027s unceasing tears at the fate of the niobids. Niobe\u0027s apparent petrification and the subsequent seeping of mineral-laden water through the rock calls to mind the real chemical phenomenon of petrifying wells such as the one at Mother Shipton\u0027s Cave in Knaresborough in North Yorkshire. The evaporation of the salt-saturated water and subsequent mineral deposition means that these wells really can apparently turn common objects to stone. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlacing Niobe and her father Tantalus next to one another in the periodic table is no accident. Both niobium and tantalum are found together in the mineral columbite, a mixed oxide that also contains iron and manganese, and they have similar chemical and physical properties. In fact Niobium was originally named columbium after Columbia, because of its discovery in a mineral sent from America in 1801. The following half-century saw a great deal of confusion about exactly which possible new tantalum-like elements were present in these kinds of minerals and initially a number of Tantalus\u0027s children became immortalised as elements, with names such as pelopium, ilmenium and dianium. In the end only niobium survived. In the US niobium was called columbium, symbol Cb, all the way up until its official christening by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in 1950. The last paper published by the American Chemical Society that mentions columbium dates from 1953, with the rather unexciting title \"Photometric Determination of Columbium, Tungsten, and Tantalum in Stainless Steels\". This paper does hint at one of niobium\u0027s major uses though, as we will see. The 2010 Aldrich Catalogue of Fine Chemicals still has Columbium as an explanatory subheading for any confused Americans out there.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn fact, in contrast to the plucky Niobe, niobium is a pretty impassive element. It doesn\u0027t even react with the very oxidising acid \u003cem\u003eaqua\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eregia\u003c/em\u003e and, like tantalum, is inert to bodily fluids. This impassivity, coupled with its tendency to be coloured by anodisation means that it is sometimes used in jewellery and coinage. The anodising process results in a thin oxide layer that creates a range of permanent colours by diffraction of light. Since 2003, Austria has produced a series of silver-niobium euro coins with a niobium centre coloured blue, green, brown, purple, violet or yellow. Like the better known tungsten, niobium also forms a range of colourful oxide \u0027bronzes\u0027 ranging from deep blue to red depending on the degree of reduction.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e Perhaps the most exciting modern day role of niobium, however, is in superconducting niobium-titanium alloy fibres. Niobium-titanium is a superconducting at temperatures below ten Kelvin and is used in a number of large superconducting magnets such as the Tevatron accelerator at Fermilab and most recently the Large Hadron Collider, where the niobium-containing magnets are cooled to 1.9 Kelvin and operate at magnetic fields of up to 8.3 Tesla. You can also find it in the superconducting magnets in hospital MRI scanners.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNiobium is a useful metal in a range of specialist alloys. In amounts as low as 0.1 per cent it has a significant strengthening effect on steel, making it suitable for use in gas pipelines for example. It is also involved in some highly temperature-stable superalloys used for engine parts in the aerospace industry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNiobium very nearly became quite literally a household element because of its early role as the filament in incandescent light bulbs. Its impassivity and high melting point of 2468 centigrade lent themselves to this application but it was swiftly replaced by the even higher melting tungsten. Niobium is also a fairly dense element and it is this density that might account for its apparent rarity. Occurring at only twenty parts per million, it is 33\u003csup\u003erd\u003c/sup\u003e in the hall of fame of most common elements in the Earth\u0027s crust. This surprisingly low value might arise from the \u0027missing\u0027 niobium sinking to the Earth\u0027s core during the planet\u0027s formation.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou don\u0027t tend to see a great many publications in the inorganic chemistry literature on niobium chemistry, although the metal is not particularly expensive so perhaps all that will change in this credit-crunched era. A classic paper is Dick Schrock\u0027s 1979 review of the chemistry of niobium and tantalum alkylidene complexes - compounds with a double bond between the metal and carbon. This paper contains a picture of one of my favourite organometallic compounds - actually a tantalum compound - in which the metal is sandwiched between two organic rings and bound to two delightfully simple carbon fragments; CH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e and CH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e. This structure presages a wide range sandwich-type, metal based catalysts. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn terms of niobium molecular pin-ups, one of the most elegant is the very symmetrical cluster formed from an octahedron of six niobium ions and eighteen chlorides. An ion that highlight\u0027s niobium\u0027s tendency to form large, exotic multi-metallic clusters with halides and oxides.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen you look at the great sprawling mass of the periodic table, it\u0027s easy for your eye to get lost in the swathe of exotically and confusingly named transition metals somewhere around the dip in the middle. I hope that you will let the example of niobium remind you that there\u0027s nothing to weep about. The subtleties of these elements aren\u0027t too petrifying, and with a little creativity you may give birth to some chemistry that even the vengeful, ancient gods can be proud of.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eProviding colour, superconducting abilities and molecular pin-ups - certainly something for the gods to be proud of. That was Durham University\u0027s Jon Steed with the tantalising chemistry of the element niobium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow next week, an element whose founder clearly didn\u0027t believe in risk assessments.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLars Öhrström\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFrequently after more spectacular chemistry demonstrations, the scientist on stage will warn the audience \u0027not to try this at home\u0027. One person who certainly did not listen to such warnings was Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius. Instead, he and his co-workers performed many groundbreaking experiments in the kitchen of his flat in the corner of Nybrogatan and Riddargatan in Stockholm. In 1815, for example, Berzelius isolated a new element from a mineral sent to him from the Swedish mining town of Falun and named it thorium after the Scandinavian god of thunder, Thor. Only to realise a few years later that he was wrong and what he though was a new element was in fact yttrium phosphate.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, in 1828, by then long since world famous and credited with discovering three other elements, he received a strange mineral sample from the reverend Hans Esmark in Norway. In his new laboratory at the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, Berzelius isolated yet another element, this element is what we now call thorium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd now you know its discovery, join Lars Öhrström from the Chalmers tekniska högskola in Sweden to find out the chemistry and applications of thorium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilinghma and thankyou for listening.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Niobium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Nb","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Brazil; Canada","TopProductionCountries":"Brazil; Canada","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eWhen examining minerals in the British Museum in 1801, Charles Hatchett was intrigued by a specimen labelled columbite. He suspected it contained a new metal, and he was right. He heated a sample with potassium carbonate, dissolved the product in water, added acid and got a precipitate. However, further treatment did not produce the element itself, although he named it columbium, and so it was known for many years.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOthers doubted columbium, especially after the discovery of tantalum which happened the following year. These metals occur together in nature, and are difficult to separate. In 1844 the German chemist Heinrich Rose proved that columbite contained both elements and he renamed columbium niobium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA sample of the pure metal was produced in 1864 by Christian Blomstrand who reduced niobium chloride by heating it with hydrogen gas.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22378,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22378.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"Medium","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"48.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":42,"Symbol":"Mo","Name":"Molybdenum","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of a valve wheel, reflecting the use of molybdenum alloys in valves and boilers.","NaturalAbundance":"The main molybdenum ore is molybdenite (molybdenum disulfide). It is processed by roasting to form molybdenum oxide, and then reducing to the metal. The main mining areas are in the USA, China, Chile and Peru. Some molybdenum is obtained as a by-product of tungsten and copper production. World production is around 200,000 tonnes per year.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough it is toxic in anything other than small quantities, molybdenum is an essential element for animals and plants. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere are about 50 different enzymes used by plants and animals that contain molybdenum. One of these is nitrogenase, found in nitrogen-fixing bacteria that make nitrogen from the air available to plants. Leguminous plants have root nodules that contain these nitrogen-fixing bacteria.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A shiny, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7439-98-7","GroupID":6,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":42,"RelativeAtomicMass":"95.95","AtomicRadius":"2.17","CovalentRadii":"1.460","ElectronAffinity":"72.171","ElectroNegativity":"2.16","CovalentRadius":"1.46","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e6\u003c/strong\u003e, 5, 4, 3, 2, 0","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"2622","MeltingPointK":"2895","MeltingPointF":"4752","BoilingPointC":"4639","BoilingPointK":"4912","BoilingPointF":"8382","MolarHeatCapacity":"251","Density":"10.2","DensityValue":"10.2","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"231","DiscoveryYear":"1781","Discovery":"1781","DiscoveredBy":"Peter Jacob Hjelm","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027molybdos\u0027 meaning lead.","CrustalAbundance":"0.8","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":43,"ProductionConcentrations":40,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":8.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eMolybdenum has a very high melting point so it is produced and sold as a grey powder. Many molybdenum items are formed by compressing the powder at a very high pressure. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost molybdenum is used to make alloys. It is used in steel alloys to increase strength, hardness, electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion and wear. These ‘moly steel’ alloys are used in parts of engines. Other alloys are used in heating elements, drills and saw blades. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMolybdenum disulfide is used as a lubricant additive. Other uses for molybdenum include catalysts for the petroleum industry, inks for circuit boards, pigments and electrodes.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Molybdenum.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: molybdenum\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePromo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, we clarify the importance of the often misunderstood molybdenum. Here\u0027s Quentin Cooper: \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eQuentin Cooper\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe answer to the ultimate question - of life, the Universe and Everything - is, as every Douglas Adams fan knows, 42. And 42, as every Mendeleev fan knows, is the atomic number of molybdenum. And for many that - plus the indisputable fact that molybdenum is a funny word - is often about as far as their knowledge goes of this silvery metal - not that they\u0027d have known it was a silvery metal - which is wedged between its better known brethren chromium and tungsten in group six of the periodic table. That odd-sounding name comes in a convoluted way from the Greek for lead, as ores of the two were often mixed up by early mineralogists - it was also frequently mistaken for graphite - and it wasn\u0027t until 1778 that molybdenum was recognised as a distinct entity deserving its own place in the periodic table, and a few years later still that it was finally isolated. The key breakthrough came from the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhlelm Scheele, better known as \u0027Hard luck Scheele\u0027 because he made a whole series of chemical discoveries, including oxygen, only for others to go and get the credit. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo its mistaken-identity history, its miscredited discoverer, its misleading and often mis-spelled name, all add to the aura of comedy and confusion around molybdenum.....and yet it\u0027s an element that\u0027s right at the root of life - not just human life, but pretty much all life on the planet: yes you\u0027ll find tiny amounts of it in everything from the filaments of electric heaters to missiles to protective coatings in boilers, and its high performance at high temperatures mean it has a range of commercial applications: it\u0027s useful in toughening up steel and giving it more corrosion resistance, as a catalyst in processes such as refining petroleum, and above all it\u0027s turned to when you need things to get hot but stay slippy - where WD40 and other petroleum derived oils are at risk of igniting, molybdenum sulfides are the basis of a range of lubricants which can cope with the heat and keep things moving smoothly. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut for all the ways we\u0027ve discovered to use it, of far greater significance - although involving far smaller quantities of molybdenum - is the way we\u0027ve evolved to make use of it within us. It\u0027s found in dozens of enzymes... including all important nitrogenase, which allows the most abundant element in the atmosphere, nitrogen, to be taken up and turned into compounds that enable bacteria, plants, us and everything between to synthesise and utilise proteins. Without proteins there wouldn\u0027t be much at all in the way of life....and without molybdenum there wouldn\u0027t be much at all in the way of proteins. And it turns up in other key human enzymes too such as xanthine oxidase in the liver, which is vital to our waste processing. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut just in case anyone\u0027s thinking of rushing off to buy one of the many commercially available trace mineral supplements with molybdenum it\u0027s worth adding that although like much of life on Earth we definitely need it.... we don\u0027t need that much of it: about a third of a gram is all you\u0027ll get through in an entire lifetime. That\u0027s next to nothing...but without it we\u0027d be next to nothingness. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, time to stop laughing at the funny name... molybdenum really is one of life\u0027s few true essentials. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo time to give some much-owed respect, it seems, to the element molybdenum. That was science broadcaster Quentin Cooper with the widely applied chemistry of molybdenum. Now, next week, blink and you may miss it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf elements were insects, darmstadtium would be the mayfly of the chemical world. It exists for the most fleeting time before it transforms to something else. Darmstadium is never going to have a practical use - but its sheer brevity of existence gives it a wistful fascination.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out what does happen in darmstadtium\u0027s brief existence on earth, in next week\u0027s \u003cem\u003eChemistry in its element\u003c/em\u003e. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Molybdenum","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Mo","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; USA; Chile","TopProductionCountries":"China; USA; Chile","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe soft black mineral molybdenite (molybdenum sulfide, MoS\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e), looks very like graphite and was assumed to be a lead ore until 1778 when Carl Scheele analysed it and showed it was neither lead nor graphite, although he didn’t identify it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOthers speculated that it contained a new element but it proved difficult to reduce it to a metal. It could be converted to an oxide which, when added to water, formed an acid we now know as molybdic acid, H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eMoO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e, but the metal itself remained elusive.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eScheele passed the problem over to Peter Jacob Hjelm. He ground molybdic acid and carbon together in linseed oil to form a paste, heated this to red heat in and produced molybdenum metal. The new element was announced in the autumn of 1781.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22374,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22374.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"10–30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":43,"Symbol":"Tc","Name":"Technetium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol of a human hand reflects the fact that the element is created artificially, and its name means ‘artificial’.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe metal is produced in tonne quantities from the fission products of uranium nuclear fuel. It is obtained as a grey powder.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEarly chemists puzzled over why they could not discover element number 43, but now we know why – its isotopes are relatively short-lived compared to the age of the Earth, so any technetium present when the Earth formed has long since decayed.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Technetium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A radioactive, silvery metal that does not occur naturally.","CASnumber":"7440-26-8","GroupID":7,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":43,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[98]","AtomicRadius":"2.16","CovalentRadii":"1.380","ElectronAffinity":"53.07","ElectroNegativity":"2.10","CovalentRadius":"1.38","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e7\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"2157","MeltingPointK":"2430","MeltingPointF":"3915","BoilingPointC":"4262","BoilingPointK":"4535","BoilingPointF":"7704","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"11","DensityValue":"11","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1937","Discovery":"1937","DiscoveredBy":"Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segrè","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027tekhnetos\u0027 meaning artificial.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe gamma-ray emitting technetium-99m (metastable) is widely used for medical diagnostic studies. Several chemical forms are used to image different parts of the body. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTechnetium is a remarkable corrosion inhibitor for steel, and adding very small amounts can provide excellent protection. This use is limited to closed systems as technetium is radioactive.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Technetium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: technetium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! For Chemistry in its element this week, we are meeting the man who made the periodic table and also hearing the story of the element that he predicted would exist, but never lived to see it discovered. That man was Mendeleev and with the tale of technetium, the element he foresaw, here\u0027s Mark Peplow.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Peplow\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Once there lived and existed a great learned man, with a beard almost as long as God\u0027s\"\u003c/em\u003e, so wrote Daniel Posin in his biography of Dmitri Mendeleev, the 19\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e Century Russian scientist credited with creating the periodic table of elements. There\u0027s a sculpture outside the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, which portrays Mendeleev in all his hirsute glory right at the centre of a sunburst of elements. The sculpture makes it clear that Mendeleev is no mere bookkeeper of elements; instead he was the creative spark behind their existence.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor a while other scientists had tried to create ways of ordering the known elements. Mendeleev created a system that could predict the existence of elements, not yet discovered. That\u0027s what made the idea so revolutionary. When he presented the table to the world in 1869, it contained four prominent gaps, one of these was just below manganese and Mendeleev predicted an element with atomic weight 43 and properties similar to its neighbours would be found to fill that gap. He named the missing element ekamanganese.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAfter the other absentees were found and subsequently named Scandium, Gallium and Germanium, the search for ekamanganese intensified. There were unconfirmed reports of its discovery from Russia, Japan and most convincingly in Germany, but it was not until 1937 that a group of Italian scientists led by Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segrè at the University of Palermo in Sicily finally found the missing element. The previous year, Segrè had visited Ernest Lawrence\u0027s cyclotron in Berkley in America, a particle accelerator that was being used to smash atoms apart. And in early 1937, Lawrence sent Segrè a piece of deflector foil from the cyclotron, made from molybdenum, element number 42, just one proton shy of ekamanganese. Now Segrè was a particle physicist. He actually went on to share the Nobel Prize in physics for discovering the antiproton. So he didn\u0027t have much experience of chemistry, but the mineralogist, Carlo Perrier did and together they eventually managed to isolate two radioactive isotopes of the new element, which they named technetium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe name is from the Greek word for artificial, since technetium was the very first man-made element, yet despite the name, technetium is found naturally albeit in tiny traces. It\u0027s a product of spontaneous uranium fission and although there are no stable isotopes of technetium, you can usually find about a nanogram of technetium in every 5 kilos of the uranium ore, pitchblende. That\u0027s not to say that the stuff is scarce, it\u0027s actually a common waste product from nuclear power stations and it\u0027s estimated that several tons of technetium have been released into the environment as low level waste over the past half century.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut technetium is also used in about 20 million medical imaging procedures every year. This relies on a form of technetium, which has a half life of about 6 hours. It decays by emitting a gamma ray, which can be detected by what is effectively a special form of camera. The short half life allows doctors to inject the technetium into a patient in order to light up particular organs in the body and assess how well they work. Hooking the technetium atoms up with certain organic molecules or pharmaceuticals can even allow you to target specific types of tissue. Because technetium doesn\u0027t occur naturally, it doesn\u0027t interfere with any of the body\u0027s biochemistry, so it\u0027s safely excreted after the procedure and since you need so little of the isotope, it keeps the radiation dose really low. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMendeleev could surely have had no idea that 140 years after he predicted the existence of ekamanganese, about 50,000 people in North America alone would be injected with the stuff every single day.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMark Peplow telling the tale of technetium. Next time on Chemistry in its element we\u0027re sinking to new depths.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Ball \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEven the spark of glamour the metal gets from its association with the world\u0027s greatest rock band stems from the eeyorish prediction that they would sink like a lead balloon or zeppelin.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear science writer Phil Ball swinging the lead in next week\u0027s edition of Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening. See you next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Technetium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Tc","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eTechnetium long tantalised chemists because it could not be found. We now know that all its isotopes are radioactive and any mineral deposits of the element had long disappeared from the Earth’s crust. (The longest lived isotope has a half life of 4 million years.) Even so, some technetium atoms are produced as uranium undergoes nuclear fission and there is about 1 milligram of technetium in a tonne of uranium. Claims in the 1920s to have found this element, or at least to have observed its spectrum, cannot be entirely discounted.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTechnetium was discovered by Emilio Segrè in 1937 in Italy. He investigated molybdenum from California which had been exposed to high energy radiation and he found technetium to be present and separated it. Today, this element is extracted from spent nuclear fuel rods in tonne quantities.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22396,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22396.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":44,"Symbol":"Ru","Name":"Ruthenium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The element’s name is derived from the Latin name for Russia. The stylised Cyrillic text is based on a Soviet Russian flag from around 1921.","NaturalAbundance":"Ruthenium is one of the rarest metals on Earth. It is found uncombined in nature; however, it is more commonly found associated with other platinum metals in the minerals pentlandite and pyroxinite. It is obtained commercially from the wastes of nickel refining.","BiologicalRoles":"Ruthenium has no known biological role. Ruthenium(IV) oxide is highly toxic.","Appearance":"A shiny, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-18-8","GroupID":8,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":44,"RelativeAtomicMass":"101.07","AtomicRadius":"2.13","CovalentRadii":"1.360","ElectronAffinity":"101.31","ElectroNegativity":"2.2","CovalentRadius":"1.36","CommonOxidationStates":"8, 6, \u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e, 3, 2, 0, -2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"2333","MeltingPointK":"2606","MeltingPointF":"4231","BoilingPointC":"4147","BoilingPointK":"4420","BoilingPointF":"7497","MolarHeatCapacity":"238","Density":"12.1","DensityValue":"12.1","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1844","Discovery":"1844","DiscoveredBy":"Karl Karlovich Klaus","OriginOfName":"\u003cfont face=\"Arial, sans-serif\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 13.3333px;\"\u003eDerived from ‘Ruthenia’, the Latin name for a historical region whose people originally called themselves the Rus’.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/font\u003e","CrustalAbundance":"0.000037","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":95,"ProductionConcentrations":60,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":44.3,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eMany new uses are emerging for ruthenium. Most is used in the electronics industry for chip resistors and electrical contacts. Ruthenium oxide is used in the chemical industry to coat the anodes of electrochemical cells for chlorine production. Ruthenium is also used in catalysts for ammonia and acetic acid production. Ruthenium compounds can be used in solar cells, which turn light energy into electrical energy.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRuthenium is one of the most effective hardeners for platinum and palladium, and is alloyed with these metals to make electrical contacts for severe wear resistance. It is used in some jewellery as an alloy with platinum.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Ruthenium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: ruthenium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, welcome to this week\u0027s Chemistry in its element, I\u0027m Chris Smith. In this episode we come face to face with the chemical dubbed the connoisseur\u0027s element. It\u0027s won a nobel prize as a catalyst, it\u0027s the muscle behind wear resistant electrical contacts and it might even help you to write nicely, unless you\u0027re a doctor, in which case you\u0027re probably beyond redemption. Here\u0027s Jonathan Steed.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJonathan Steed\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStop the proverbial \"man in the street\" and ask him what ruthenium is and the chances are he won\u0027t be able to tell you. Compared to the \"sexier elements\" that are household names like carbon and oxygen, ruthenium is, frankly, a bit obscure. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn fact even if your man in the street was wearing a lab coat and walking on a street very close to a university chemistry department he might still be a bit ignorant about this mysterious metal. It wasn\u0027t always that way, though. Twenty or thirty years ago whole generations of chemists did entire Ph.D.s on the chemistry of the metals of the so-called \"platinum group\" of which ruthenium is one. As one of that cohort of ruthenium chemists it is my duty to spread the word about the element once described by one of the fathers of modern inorganic chemistry, Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson as \"an element for the connoisseur\". \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs I rustily recalled in response to the first question I was asked in my Ph.D. exam, the name \"ruthenium\" derives from Ruthenia, the Latin word for Rus\u0027, a historical area which includes present-day western Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and parts of Slovakia and Poland. The name was first proposed by Gottfried Osann in 1828, who believed he had identified the metal, and the name was retained by Osann\u0027s countryman (and in 1844 ruthenium\u0027s official discoverer) Karl Klaus in honour of his birthplace in Tartu, Estonia; at the time a part of the Russian Empire.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRuthenium\u0027s popularity in university chemistry departments in the latter half of the twentieth century was in no small part due to the fact that it is relatively cheap. The rarity of the platinum group metals (which are often found together) makes them all expensive but unlike platinum, rhodium and palladium which have use in automobile catalytic converters, for example, ruthenium was historically not so much in demand. Indeed for many years the metals company Johnson Matthey operated a loan scheme where they would give aspiring researchers 100 g or so of ruthenium trichloride to experiment with in the hope the chemists would find new uses for the material. The loans scheme operated for the pricier metals like rhodium as well, but only in little 5 g pots. A nice feature of the loans scheme was that chemists collected the metal-containing residues of their experiments and returned the resulting black, smelly sludge to the company for metals recovery. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, from the 1960s onwards when the field of organometallic chemistry burst onto chemists\u0027 consciousness, a lot of people were doing a lot of research with the connoisseur\u0027s element. While it was a rhodium reaction that led the ever colourful Wilkinson to rush around his lab brandishing a foaming test tube and shouting \"who wants a Ph.D.?\", it certainly seemed true that Ph.Ds. were to be had for nothing more than boiling up any of the platinum group metals with as many organic materials as possible and analyzing the fascinating cornucopia of compounds that resulted. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt turns out that ruthenium does indeed deserve Wilkinson\u0027s elegant description. While the element itself is an unremarkable looking, rather hard, white metal it forms a vast range of interesting compounds that seem to have that perfect balance between reactivity and stability to make them generally useful but easy to handle. Like all of the platinum group metals, ruthenium complexes are good catalysts. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWind the clock forward to 2005, when Yves Chauvin, Bob Grubbs and Dick Schrock were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry \"for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis\"; this synthetic chemistry award was a real boost for the \"pot boilers\". And which of the platinum group metals is it that lies at the heart of Grubbs\u0027 elegant catalyst system for this fantastically useful, modern carbon-carbon bond forming reaction? It turns out that it is a cool carbene complex of the humble ruthenium that gets it just right. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is this kind of niche application - just a little in the just the right place that I think Wilkinson was talking about. In fact, the harder you look the more you find just little bits of ruthenium stiffening the backbone of technology. Due to its hardness ruthenium is used in alloys with other platinum group metals to make wear-resistant electrical contacts, and there is a vast amount of interest in ruthenium-based thin film microelectronics because the metal can be easily patterned. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf you are fan of fountain pens then the chances are you have written with a ruthenium alloy. The famous Parker 51 fountain pen has been fitted with an Ru nib since 1944; a 14K gold nib tipped with 96.2% ruthenium and 3.8% iridium. Ruthenium compounds also have some nice optical and electronic properties. Like its lighter close relative, iron, ruthenium readily forms a number of oxides including some exotic oxygen bridged multi metallic compounds. One such material, ruthenium red, is a dye used to stain negatively charged biomolecules such as nucleic acids in microscopy. Ruthenium complexes also have significant potential as anti-cancer treatments. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne of my personal favourites in the zoo of exotic ruthenium complexes is the Creutz-Taube ion - two ruthenium atoms surrounded by ammonia molecules and joined by a molecule of pyrazene (imagine benzene but with a couple of nitrogen atoms). This was the first genuinely delocalized mixed valence complex. From the overall charge you know that one of the ruthenium ions has to have a +3 charge and one has to have +2 but there\u0027s just no way to work out which is which. It behaves for all the world as if the two metals have plus two and a half charges each even though charges only come in units of one! This compound gave rise to a whole field of \"mixed valence\" chemistry and is part of the tremendously exciting field of molecular electronics today. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, when you think about chemistry and are watching yet another documentary on the vital importance of carbon, or the hydrogen economy, spare a thought for the rare, refined elements like ruthenium that are reserved only for the connoisseur. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo that\u0027s why I can\u0027t read my own writing - perhaps Bic need to start incorporating some ruthenium in their roller balls. That was Durham University\u0027s Jonathan Steed. Next time to the stuff that\u0027s the bain of kettles and boilers everywhere - but there are some benefits too. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKaren Faulds\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe calcium usually enters the water as it flows past either calcium carbonate, from limestone and chalk, or calcium sulfate, from other mineral deposits. Whilst some people do not like the taste, hard water is generally not harmful to your health. Although it does make your kettle furry! Interestingly, the taste of beer (something dear to my heart) seems related to the calcium concentration of the water used, and it is claimed that good beer should have a calcium concentration that is higher than that of hard tap water. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd more importantly an alcohol concentration of at least 10%. No southern softies around here, thank you very much. Karen Faulds will be serving up the story of calcium on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you very much for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Ruthenium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ru","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"South Africa; Russia; USA","TopProductionCountries":"South Africa; Russia; Zimbabwe","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe Polish chemist Jedrzej Sniadecki was investigating platinum ores from South America and, in May 1808, when he discovered a new metal which he called it vestium. However, when French chemists tried to repeat his work they were unable to find it in the platinum ore they had. When Sniadecki learned of this he believed he had been mistaken and withdrew his claim.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThen, in 1825, Gottfried Osann of the University of Dorpat (now Tartu) on the Baltic, investigated some platinum from the Ural mountains, and reported finding \u003cem\u003ethree\u003c/em\u003e new elements which he named pluranium, polinium, and ruthenium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhile the first two of these were never to be verified, the third was genuine and in 1840 Karl Karlovich Klaus at the University of Kazan extracted, purified, and confirmed it was a new metal. He kept Osann’s name of ruthenium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22390,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22390.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"44.3","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":45,"Symbol":"Rh","Name":"Rhodium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"This symbol of a rose is usually found with the motto ‘Dat Rosa Mel Apibus’ (The rose gives the bees honey). It was used by the Rosicrucians, a 17th-century secret society.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eRhodium is the rarest of all non-radioactive metals. It occurs uncombined in nature, along with other platinum metals, in river sands in North and South America. It is also found in the copper-nickel sulfide ores of Ontario, Canada. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRhodium is obtained commercially as a by-product of copper and nickel refining. World production is about 30 tonnes per year.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Rhodium has no known biological role. It is a suspected carcinogen.","Appearance":"A hard, shiny, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-16-6","GroupID":9,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e8\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":45,"RelativeAtomicMass":"102.906","AtomicRadius":"2.10","CovalentRadii":"1.340","ElectronAffinity":"109.704","ElectroNegativity":"2.28","CovalentRadius":"1.34","CommonOxidationStates":"5, 4, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, 2, 1, 0","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1963","MeltingPointK":"2236","MeltingPointF":"3565","BoilingPointC":"3695","BoilingPointK":"3968","BoilingPointF":"6683","MolarHeatCapacity":"243","Density":"12.4","DensityValue":"12.4","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1803","Discovery":"1803","DiscoveredBy":"William Hyde Wollaston","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027rhodon\u0027, meaning rose coloured.","CrustalAbundance":"0.000037","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":95,"ProductionConcentrations":60,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":44.3,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe major use of rhodium is in catalytic converters for cars (80%). It reduces nitrogen oxides in exhaust gases. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRhodium is also used as catalysts in the chemical industry, for making nitric acid, acetic acid and hydrogenation reactions. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is used to coat optic fibres and optical mirrors, and for crucibles, thermocouple elements and headlight reflectors. It is used as an electrical contact material as it has a low electrical resistance and is highly resistant to corrosion.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Rhodium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: rhodium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, an element whose rarity and reluctance to react make it oh so special. Here\u0027s Lars Öhrström.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLars Öhrström\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOn an early spring day 21 years ago I walked excitedly down to the campus post office at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm to fetch a small parcel, containing an even smaller plastic bottle, half filled with a purple powder. I respectfully signed for the package and solemnly carried it back with me to the laboratory, as the 50g of rhodium chloride it contained represented more than half a years earnings for a PhD student like me. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThus started my love story with rhodium, and although I have frequently been unfaithful since, to my disgrace with such prosaic metals as zinc and calcium, this transition metal, with atomic number 45, still has a special place in my heart. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRhodium chloride, that sounds much like sodium chloride, but the resemblance is only superficial. First of all, my rhodium atoms were in oxidation state three, thus requiring three chloride ions for every metal ion, and then, of course, there is the royal colour. However, the differences are much more profound as the chemistry of rhodium is much more diverse than that of sodium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOur rhodium chloride was to be used as starting material for new rhodium compounds that we planned to make and study as catalysts - species that make a reaction go faster without being consumed in the process. In these catalysts, rhodium is often in the oxidation state plus one or plus three. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt would have been cheaper to buy silver-shiny rhodium metal instead. However, this would have been impractical as this noble platinum-group element is one of the least reactive metals of the periodic table. It reacts only reluctantly with the alchemist\u0027s famous aqua regia, the potent mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids that easily dissolves gold. This was however the procedure used by English scientist William Hyde Wollaston when he first isolated rhodium from a sample of platinum ore, smuggled into Britain from present day Colombia, and purchased by Wollaston and his friend and colleague Smithson Tennant on Christmas Eve in the year 1800. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis sample yielded not only rose coloured solutions of rhodium chloride, prompting Wollaston to give the new element the name rhodium - from the Greek word for rose - but he could also isolate palladium for the first time. Tennant also discovered the transition metals osmium and iridium in the same sample. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhile in my research group we were interested in building up organic molecules using rhodium compounds as catalysts, most people come in contact with this metal due to its ability to catalyse the breakdown of molecules in car exhaust fumes. Although \u0027come into contact\u0027 is a bit of an overstatement as the parts of a car that contain rhodium, the catalytic converter, is normally not accessed by the amateur mechanic. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, it is accessible enough on certain car models that theft of these noble metal containing devices, there is also palladium and platinum present, is becoming a problem. This is a reflection of the extreme rareness of these elements, explaining the very high price of the rhodium chloride I bought as a graduate student. They are in fact so rare that annual production is counted in kilos, not tonnes. And yes, the metals from the catalytic converters are recycled, accounting in these days for around 10 per cent of the yearly supply of rhodium, the lion\u0027s share of the rest, around 20,000 kilos, coming from mines in South Africa. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe specific role of rhodium in catalytic converters is to break down nitrogen oxides, the so-called NOX emissions, to give oxygen and nitrogen gas, the main components of the air we breathe. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemical industry is, just as my old research group, interested in using rhodium to build molecules. Rhodium was, for example, until recently the prime choice as catalysts in making one of mankind\u0027s oldest chemicals, acetic acid. It supplanted its periodic table upstairs neighbour cobalt in this process in the late 1960s in a prime example of what is now know as green chemistry making the process more energy efficient and generating less by-products. This is important as chemical plants worldwide produced some 5 million tonnes per year of acetic acid. Today, however, rhodium\u0027s downstairs neighbour iridium has largely taken over this role. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd, if you chew gum you will most likely encounter another result of rhodium catalysis: menthol. Originally extracted from different species of mint plants, the demand for this substance with its characteristic minty scent far exceeds the natural sources, and it is now produced in several thousands tonnes a year in a process devised by Japanese Nobel prize winner Ryoji Noyori. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, instead of associating this metal with immense wealth, such as when the \u003cem\u003eGuinness Book of Records\u003c/em\u003e awarded Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc for being history\u0027s all-time best-selling songwriter and recording artist in 1979, chewing gum may be what pops up in your mind the next time someone mentions rhodium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo we have rhodium to thank when our breath is minty fresh. That was Lars Öhrström from the Chalmers tekniska högskola in Sweden, with the rare precious chemistry of rhodium. Now next week an element with a grand position in the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe number 100 is a very significant one for human beings. It\u0027s partly because our number system is based on ten - so ten tens seems to have a special significance. In years, it\u0027s around the maximum lifetime of a human being, making a century more than just a useful division in the historical timeline. But in the natural world, 100 isn\u0027t quite so important. There\u0027s nothing about being element 100 that makes fermium stand out - the periodic table doesn\u0027t attach any significance to base 10. But it\u0027s hard not to think that fermium must be special in some way. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out if fermium really does have any special qualities, join Brian Clegg in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Rhodium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Rh","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"South Africa; Russia; USA","TopProductionCountries":"South Africa; Russia; Zimbabwe","History":"Rhodium was discovered in 1803 by William Wollaston. He collaborated with Smithson Tennant in a commercial venture, part of which was to produce pure platinum for sale. The first step in the process was to dissolve ordinary platinum in aqua regia (nitric acid + hydrochloric acid). Not all of it went into solution and it left behind a black residue. (Tennant investigated this residue and from it he eventually isolated osmium and iridium.) Wollaston concentrated on the solution of dissolved platinum which also contained palladium. He removed these metals by precipitation and was left with a beautiful red solution from which he obtained rose red crystals. These were sodium rhodium chloride, Na\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eRhCl\u003csub\u003e6\u003c/sub\u003e. From them he eventually produced a sample of the metal itself.","CSID":22389,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22389.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"44.3","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":46,"Symbol":"Pd","Name":"Palladium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image represents the asteroid Pallas, after which the element is named. In the background are 20th-century star charts.","NaturalAbundance":"Palladium has been found uncombined in nature, in Brazil, but most is found in sulfide minerals such as braggite. It is extracted commercially as a by-product of nickel refining. It is also extracted as a by-product of copper and zinc refining.","BiologicalRoles":"Palladium has no known biological role. It is non-toxic.","Appearance":"A shiny, silvery-white metal that resists corrosion.","CASnumber":"7440-05-3","GroupID":10,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":46,"RelativeAtomicMass":"106.42","AtomicRadius":"2.10","CovalentRadii":"1.300","ElectronAffinity":"54.225","ElectroNegativity":"2.20","CovalentRadius":"1.30","CommonOxidationStates":"4, \u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e, 0","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1554.8","MeltingPointK":"1828","MeltingPointF":"2830.6","BoilingPointC":"2963","BoilingPointK":"3236","BoilingPointF":"5365","MolarHeatCapacity":"244","Density":"12.0","DensityValue":"12.0","YoungsModulus":"46","ShearModulus":"18","BulkModulus":"33","DiscoveryYear":"1803","Discovery":"1803","DiscoveredBy":"William Hyde Wollaston","OriginOfName":"Palladium is named after the asteroid Pallas, in turn named after the Greek goddess of wisdom, Pallas.","CrustalAbundance":"0.000037","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":95,"ProductionConcentrations":60,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":44.3,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eMost palladium is used in catalytic converters for cars. It is also used in jewellery and some dental fillings and crowns. White gold is an alloy of gold that has been decolourised by alloying with another metal, sometimes palladium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is used in the electronics industry in ceramic capacitors, found in laptop computers and mobile phones. These consist of layers of palladium sandwiched between layers of ceramic.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFinely divided palladium is a good catalyst and is used for hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions. Hydrogen easily diffuses through heated palladium and this provides a way of separating and purifying the gas.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Palladium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: palladium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, an element whose discovery was announced in a very unique way. So to explain more above the discovery and chemistry of palladium, here\u0027s Simon Cotton.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor the first 5 years of my life, I lived in the Norfolk market town that was the birthplace of the discoverer of palladium, William Hyde Wollaston.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen he isolated this metal in 1802, he did something quite unique. Instead of announcing it in a reputable scientific journal, he described its properties in an anonymous leaflet, displayed in the window of a shop in Gerrard Street, Soho, in April 1803.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEntitled \u0027PALLADIUM; OR, NEW SILVER\u0027, this handbill described properties of the new element, giving its density and several of its chemical properties, concluding with the announcement that it was sold only at that shop \u0027In Samples of Five Shillings, Half a Guinea \u0026amp; One Guinea each.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNo one was able to refute Wollaston\u0027s claim for a new element, but it was not until 1805 that he published his discovery in a scientific journal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePalladium is a remarkable metal, not least because it will absorb over 900 times its volume of hydrogen gas. The hydrogen is released again when the metal is heated, so this can be a rather cunning way of weighing hydrogen. And because palladium won\u0027t absorb any other gas, you can use this property to purify hydrogen.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAt the bottom of our hearts, we know that the age of cheap energy is over. Quite apart from worries about the greenhouse effect and global warming, oil is running out, and the search is on for green alternatives, and palladium is concerned in the most controversial claim that has been made in this area.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLife on Earth relies on the sun. The sun produces energy by fusing hydrogen atoms together to produce helium, a process that requires extremely high temperatures. On March 23 1989, two scientists working in the USA, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, reported results of room-temperature electrolysis of heavy water using a platinum anode and a palladium cathode. They claimed to have produced excess energy, and suggested that it arose from nuclear fusion reactions. This was seen as a source of cheap energy, possibly solving the world\u0027s energy problems.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen hydrogen molecules first come into contact with palladium, they are adsorbed on the surface, but then they diffuse throughout the metal. In palladium saturated with hydrogen, the molecules are extremely close together. Fleischmann and Pons believed that this closeness had led to the energy-producing nuclear fusion reactions happening. Over the last twenty years, no one has been able to reproduce this, and the reaction has passed into the realms of Voodoo Science.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePalladium does however have a genuine use in \u0027green\u0027 energy, as a catalyst in hydrogen fuel cells. Palladium is one of a number of metals starting to be used in the fuel cells to power a host of things including cars and buses.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePalladium is also widely used in catalytic reactions in industry, such as in hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons, as well as in jewellery and in dental fillings and crowns.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut the main use of palladium, along with rhodium and platinum, is in the three-way catalytic converters in car exhaust systems. Untreated, car exhaust fumes contain several undesirable gases, and the purpose of the catalytic converters is to eliminate them. They are called three-way converters as they reduce three types of harmful emissions. Converting toxic carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide; the hydrocarbons in unburned fuel into carbon dioxide and water; and toxic oxides of nitrogen (which can contribute to smog and acid rain) into harmless nitrogen gas.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, that\u0027s palladium - a metal with humble beginnings that now plays a major role in industrial catalysis, powering and cleaning up after our vehicles and even makes the occasional appearance in our jewellery boxes, and even in our mouths. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eQuite the catalyst that palladium! Providing energy in fuel cells, protecting our environment through catalytic converters, and providing aesthetic pleasure in jewellery and even dentistry. That was Simon Cotton, from Uppingham School in the UK, with the chemistry of palladium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNext week, an element that certainly doesn\u0027t deserve to be called boring.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLouise Natrajan\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere is a famous quote about the lanthanides by Pimentel and Sprately from their book, Understanding Chemistry published in 1971:\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u0027Lanthanum has only one important oxidation state in aqueous solution, the +3 state. With few exceptions, this tells the whole boring story about the other 14 elements.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf you\u0027ve listened to any other of the podcasts in the lanthanide series, I hope you\u0027ll agree that this is far from true. While, the most common oxidation state of the lanthanides is indeed the +3 valence state, ytterbium, the last and smallest of the lanthanides or rare earths in the series is one of the exceptions Pimentel and Sprately were talking about.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Louise Natrajan will be revealing the true - exciting - nature of ytterbium that makes it one of the exceptions, in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham, and thank you for listening.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Palladium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Pd","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"South Africa; Russia; USA","TopProductionCountries":"South Africa; Russia; Zimbabwe","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eAs early as 1700, miners in Brazil were aware of a metal they called \u003cem\u003eouro podre\u003c/em\u003e, ‘worthless gold,’ which is a native alloy of palladium and gold. However, it was not from this that palladium was first extracted, but from platinum, and this was achieved in 1803 by William Wollaston. He noted that when he dissolved ordinary platinum in aqua regia (nitric acid + hydrochloric acid) not all of it went into solution.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt left a residue from which he eventually extracted palladium. He did not announce his discovery but put the new metal on sale as a ‘new silver’. Richard Chenevix purchased some, investigated it, and declared it to be an alloy of mercury and platinum. In February 1805 Wollaston revealed himself as its discoverer and gave a full and convincing account of the metal and its properties.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22380,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22380.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"44.3","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":47,"Symbol":"Ag","Name":"Silver","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol is based on the widely used alchemical symbol for silver. In the background is a detail from the ‘Gundestrup Cauldron’, the largest known example of European Iron Age silver work.","NaturalAbundance":"Silver occurs uncombined, and in ores such as argentite and chlorargyrite (horn silver). However, it is mostly extracted from lead-zinc, copper, gold and copper-nickel ores as a by-product of mining for these metals. The metal is recovered either from the ore, or during the electrolytic refining of copper. World production is about 20,000 tonnes per year.","BiologicalRoles":"Silver has no known biological role. Chronic ingestion or inhalation of silver compounds can lead to a condition known as argyria, which results in a greyish pigmentation of the skin and mucous membranes. Silver has antibacterial properties and can kill lower organisms quite effectively.","Appearance":"Silver is a relatively soft, shiny metal. It tarnishes slowly in air as sulfur compounds react with the surface forming black silver sulfide.","CASnumber":"7440-22-4","GroupID":11,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":47,"RelativeAtomicMass":"107.868","AtomicRadius":"2.11","CovalentRadii":"1.360","ElectronAffinity":"125.624","ElectroNegativity":"1.93","CovalentRadius":"1.36","CommonOxidationStates":"2, \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"961.78","MeltingPointK":"1234.93","MeltingPointF":"1763.2","BoilingPointC":"2162","BoilingPointK":"2435","BoilingPointF":"3924","MolarHeatCapacity":"235","Density":"10.5","DensityValue":"10.5","YoungsModulus":"82.7","ShearModulus":"30.3","BulkModulus":"103.6","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"approx 3000BC","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name, \u0027siolfur\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"0.055","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":23,"ProductionConcentrations":19,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":22.6,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.2,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eSterling silver contains 92.5% silver. The rest is copper or some other metal. It is used for jewellery and silver tableware, where appearance is important. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSilver is used to make mirrors, as it is the best reflector of visible light known, although it does tarnish with time. It is also used in dental alloys, solder and brazing alloys, electrical contacts and batteries. Silver paints are used for making printed circuits. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSilver bromide and iodide were important in the history of photography, because of their sensitivity to light. Even with the rise of digital photography, silver salts are still important in producing high-quality images and protecting against illegal copying. Light-sensitive glass (such as photochromic lenses) works on similar principles. It darkens in bright sunlight and becomes transparent in low sunlight.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSilver has antibacterial properties and silver nanoparticles are used in clothing to prevent bacteria from digesting sweat and forming unpleasant odours. Silver threads are woven into the fingertips of gloves so that they can be used with touchscreen phones.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Silver.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: silver\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! Welcome to Chemistry in its element. This week, we\u0027re demystifying the element behind the photograph and to cross your cognitive palm with silver, here\u0027s Victoria Gill.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVictoria Gill\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIts lustre shine has been coveted since ancient times. It\u0027s not just rare or precious, as its more expensive cousin, gold, but there is evidence from as early as 3000 BC that humans extracted silver from naturally occurring silver sulphide deposits in rocks to make coins and jewellery. These coins actually form the basis for the economies of some ancient Mediterranean civilizations. It\u0027s a soft and pliable metal with a relatively low melting point and that means it can be hammered and moulded into shape, so the same metal that was used to make money that was gradually outdated could also be transformed into vases, platters, cutlery and goblets; tableware that has created displays of household wealth through the centuries. But a gleaming collection of silverware isn\u0027t easy to maintain. The metal reacts with sulphur in the air, rapidly forming a dull, dark silver sulphide tarnish that has to be polished off. So it\u0027s a high maintenance element; another reason why it has always been outshone by gold. But the same chemical properties that tarnished its image let it to make another mark in history, by allowing history itself to be recorded in the photograph. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1727, a German physicist called Johann Heinrich Schulze found that a paste of chalk and silver nitrate salt was blackened by light. He used stencils to produce black images with the paste. This reaction, the dawn of photography, was all thanks to the fact that silver salts are sensitive to light. A photon of light hitting the negative nitrate anion frees an electron, which ultimately combines with the positive silver ions to make neutral silver metal, darkening the surface of the material. When in 1840, Henry Talbot discovered an additional chemical twist, that is so called latent silver image, that had been briefly exposed onto a layer of silver iodide could be revealed using gallic acid, the effect was seen as magical, a devilish art. But this mystical development of an invisible picture was a simple reduction reaction; the gallic acid helping to reduce photosensitized silver ions into silver metal. Hollywood could never have existed without the chemical reaction that gave celluloid film its ability to capture the stars and bring them to the aptly dubbed silver screen. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDigital photography may now have eclipsed the silver image, but the metal\u0027s ability to conduct has given it an important role in the digital age. Silver is used on circuit boards and in batteries, where the conduction speed is needed that copper for example, can\u0027t quite deliver. Even its most outdated properties are making resurgence. With new antibiotics running thin, a few researchers are returning to silver as a coating to keep the bugs at bay. Silver metal is toxic to nasty bacteria, but not to us and there is even a tiny amount of it in our bodies, but that\u0027s yet to give up the secret of why it\u0027s there. For me, rather superficially, it\u0027s always been gold\u0027s subtler, prettier counterpart.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eVictoria Gill uncovering the secrets of the element that gave us the silver screen. Next time on Chemistry in its element, John Emsley introduces a chemical that\u0027s mostly fallen from favour, perhaps with good reason. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Emsley \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis trouble-making element has attacked the ozone layer, and its mere presence has caused entire reservoirs to be drained.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear John Emsley telling the story of the brown element, bromine, on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening. See you next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Silver","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ag","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Peru; Poland: Chile","TopProductionCountries":"Mexico; Peru; China","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eSlag heaps near ancient mine workings in Turkey and Greece prove that silver mining started around 3000 BC. The metal was refined by cupellation, a process invented by the Chaldeans, who lived in what is now southern Iraq. It consisted of heating the molten metal in a shallow cup over which blew a strong draft of air. This oxidised the other metals, such as lead and copper, leaving only silver unaffected.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe rise of Athens was made possible partly through the exploitation of local silver mines at Laurium. These operated from 600 BC and right through the Roman era. In Medieval times, German mines became the main source of silver in Europe.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSilver was also mined by the ancient civilizations of Central and South America there being rich deposits in Peru, Bolivia and Mexico.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22394,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22394.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"Low","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"20.3","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":48,"Symbol":"Cd","Name":"Cadmium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Cadmium is naturally occurring in the Earth’s crust. The image includes an alchemical symbol once used to represent ‘earth’ elements, against a background projection of the Earth.","NaturalAbundance":"The only mineral containing significant quantities of cadmium is greenockite (cadmium sulfide). It is also present in small amounts in sphalerite. Almost all commercially produced cadmium is obtained as a by-product of zinc refining.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eCadmium is toxic, carcinogenic and teratogenic (disturbs the development of an embryo or foetus). On average we take in as little as 0.05 milligrams per day. But it accumulates in the body, and so on average we store about 50 milligrams. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBefore the dangers of cadmium were fully understood, welders and other metal workers were at risk of becoming ill. In 1966 some welders working on the Severn Road Bridge became ill from breathing in cadmium fumes.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"Cadmium is a silvery metal with a bluish tinge to its surface.","CASnumber":"7440-43-9","GroupID":12,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":48,"RelativeAtomicMass":"112.414","AtomicRadius":"2.18","CovalentRadii":"1.400","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"1.69","CovalentRadius":"1.40","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"321.069","MeltingPointK":"594.219","MeltingPointF":"609.924","BoilingPointC":"767","BoilingPointK":"1040","BoilingPointF":"1413","MolarHeatCapacity":"231","Density":"8.69","DensityValue":"8.69","YoungsModulus":"49.9","ShearModulus":"19.2","BulkModulus":"41.6","DiscoveryYear":"1817","Discovery":"1817","DiscoveredBy":"Friedrich Stromeyer","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin \u0027cadmia\u0027, the name for the mineral calamine.","CrustalAbundance":"0.08","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":20,"ProductionConcentrations":32,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.7,"Allotropes":"","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eCadmium is a poison and is known to cause birth defects and cancer. As a result, there are moves to limit its use. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e80% of cadmium currently produced is used in rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. However, they are gradually being phased out and replaced with nickel metal hydride batteries. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCadmium was often used to electroplate steel and protect it from corrosion. It is still used today to protect critical components of aeroplanes and oil platforms.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOther past uses of cadmium included phosphors in cathode ray tube colour TV sets, and yellow, orange and red pigments. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCadmium absorbs neutrons and so is used in rods in nuclear reactors to control atomic fission.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Cadmium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: cadmium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week we\u0027re learning a very painful lesson about a heavy metal\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Mylon\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOuch Ouch ! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI cannot imagine that this is all someone would be saying if they were unfortunate enough to be stricken with the disease of the same name. That\u0027s right, the ouch-ouch disease.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFrom the description, it seems like the pain would be intense enough to make me say a lot more than just ouch-ouch. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eItai-Itai is the original Japanese for ouch ouch. The disease results from excessive cadmium poisoning and was first reported in a small town about 200 miles north west of Tokyo. There, rice grown in cadmium contaminated soils had more than 10 times the cadmium content than normal rice. Excess cadmium began to interfere with calcium deposition in bones. The ouch-ouch-ness of this disease resulted from weak and brittle bones subject to collapse due to high porosity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is amazing to think that cadmium was able to accumulate to such high levels that it could overwhelm the human body\u0027s already intense defenses against it. It\u0027s an insidious little, I mean, heavy metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCadmium sits right below zinc on the periodic table and therefore shares many of its same chemical properties. In the environment it is distributed nearly everywhere we find zinc and therefore when we mine zinc, we consequently mine cadmium. When we galvanize (zinc treat) a nail or some other bit of steel, a little cadmium comes along for the ride. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThink for a minute about how important galvanization is to the industrialized world. If you don\u0027t know, trust me, it\u0027s really important, and as such, this little bit of cadmium that comes along for the ride, becomes a lot of potential cadmium exposure. Add that to other avenues of exposure, like mines and metal processing along with the ease of cadmium uptake by agricultural crops, and we really are lucky our bodies have developed a system to attenuate the cadmium exposure in our diets. If not, a lot more of us might be saying Ouch ouch.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo, how do our bodies do it? We take advantage of cadmium chemistry. The cadmium ion is positively charged and posses a large polarizability. Think of it like a water balloon with many electrons sloshing around from side to side. To a chemist, this is referred to as \"soft (or B-type) lewis acid\u0027 behavior. These soft lewis acids prefer the company of soft lewis bases such as negatively charged (reduced) sulfur - aka sulfide. As cadmium gets absorbed by the human body it stimulates the production of the enzyme metallothionein which has an abundance of sulfide containing amino acids. Each metallothionein enzyme can sequester up to seven cadmium ions providing a fairly nice buffer against high cadmium intake. Those people who suffered from the ouch ouch disease just had too much cadmium in their diets which overwhelmed the sophisticated and elegant defense mechanism. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI certainly don\u0027t want to give you the idea that cadmium has a completely chequered past. One of the things that makes cadmium so interesting is its many useful properties as well.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo give cadmium its fair shake, you should know some of the most brilliant colours and paints result from cadmium salts and artists have taken advantage of these for years. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNickel-cadmium batteries show promise through higher efficiencies which will demonstrate their importance in the next generation of electric vehicles. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCadmium is an essential element in many forms of a new class of semi-conductor known as quantum dots. These advanced materials show promise in the areas of electronics, photo-voltaics and medical imaging. And finally in nature, a group at Princeton University a few years back showed that some marine diatons can substitute cadmium for zinc in the important enzyme carbonic anhydrase. This demonstrated that cadmium can be a nutrient as well. For we humans however, don\u0027t count on any nutritive value in cadmium, leave that to the dietons. Cadmium intake through contaminated foods or even tobacco smoking can lead to all kinds of problems, some even worse than the ouch-ouch disease.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo the take home message is, don\u0027t eat your rechargeables. That was Steve Mylon with the story of cadmium, the chemical that keeps the world looking a nice range of colours. Next week, from colouring the world to changing it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Holt\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003eTin cans, tin foil, tin whistles, tin soldiers.....these are that things that come to mind when we think of tin. Which is unfortunate, as tin cans are actually made from steel; tin foil is made from aluminium and tin whistles....well you get the idea. To be associated with a list of obsolete consumable items is especially unfortunate for tin, when we consider that it was responsible for literally changing civilisation! Have you heard of the Bronze Age? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWell if not, do join Katherine Holt to find out how tin made it all happen on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Cadmium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Cd","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"India; China; Australia","TopProductionCountries":"China; Republic of Korea; Japan","History":"In the early 1800s, the apothecaries of Hanover, Germany, made zinc oxide by heating a naturally occurring form of zinc carbonate called cadmia. Sometimes the product was discoloured instead of being pure white, and when Friedrich Stromeyer of Göttingen University looked into the problem he traced the discoloration to a component he could not identify, and which he deduced must be an unknown element. This he separated as its brown oxide and, by heating it with lampblack (carbon), he produced a sample of a blue-grey metal which he named cadmium after the name for the mineral. That was in 1817. Meanwhile two other Germans, Karl Meissner in Halle, and Karl Karsten in Berlin, were working on the same problem and announced their discovery of cadmium the following year.","CSID":22410,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22410.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"10–30","Substitutability":"Low","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"10.8","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":49,"Symbol":"In","Name":"Indium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol used here is the Japanese kanji character ‘hon’. It means ‘origin’. Indium is named after the bright indigo line in its spectrum. The Japanese discovered that cotton was a difficult fabric to dye, except with indigo. So, indigo dye was widely used to colour cotton throughout the Edo period (1603–1867).","NaturalAbundance":"Indium is one of the least abundant minerals on Earth. It has been found uncombined in nature, but typically it is found associated with zinc minerals and iron, lead and copper ores. It is commercially produced as a by-product of zinc refining.","BiologicalRoles":"Indium has no known biological role. It is toxic if more than a few milligrams are consumed and can affect the development of an embryo or foetus.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal that is stable in air and water.","CASnumber":"7440-74-6","GroupID":13,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e5p\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":49,"RelativeAtomicMass":"114.818","AtomicRadius":"1.93","CovalentRadii":"1.420","ElectronAffinity":"28.9","ElectroNegativity":"1.78","CovalentRadius":"1.42","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"156.60","MeltingPointK":"429.75","MeltingPointF":"313.88","BoilingPointC":"2027","BoilingPointK":"2300","BoilingPointF":"3681","MolarHeatCapacity":"233","Density":"7.31","DensityValue":"7.31","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1863","Discovery":"1863","DiscoveredBy":"Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymous Richter","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Latin \u0027indicium\u0027, meaning violet or indigo.","CrustalAbundance":"0.052","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":53,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eMost indium is used to make indium tin oxide (ITO), which is an important part of touch screens, flatscreen TVs and solar panels. This is because it conducts electricity, bonds strongly to glass and is transparent.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndium nitride, phosphide and antimonide are semiconductors used in transistors and microchips.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndium metal sticks to glass and can be used to give a mirror finish to windows of tall buildings, and as a protective film on welders’ goggles. It has also been used to coat ball bearings in Formula 1 racing cars because of its low friction. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAn indium alloy has been used for fire-sprinkler systems in shops and warehouses because of its low melting point.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Indium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: indium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, the rare, lustrous element that we have to thank for our flat screen TVs and computer monitors. To tell us more about the chemistry of indium here\u0027s Claire Carmalt. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eClaire Carmalt\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUntil 1924 a gram or so constituted the world\u0027s supply of indium in its isolated form. Today around 480 tonnes are produced annually from mining and a further 650 tonnes annually from recycling. So why all the need for indium and what are the unique properties of it that makes it a much sought after element? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndium is relatively rare with its abundance in the Earth\u0027s crust estimated to be around 0.1 parts per million. Hence it is slightly more abundant than silver or mercury. Indium is generally found in ores of zinc and is produced mainly from residues generated during zinc ore processing. Indium is a moderately toxic metal by inhalation and mildly toxic by ingestion. However, the exact nature of its human toxicity is not clearly understood. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndium is a soft, malleable metal with a brilliant lustre. The name indium originates from the indigo blue it shows in a spectroscope. Indium has a low melting point for metals and above its melting point it ignites burning with a violet flame. Bizarrely, the pure metal of indium is described as giving a high-pitched \"cry\" when bent. This is similar to the sound made by tin or the \u0027tin cry\", however, neither of them is really much like a cry! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt has the unusual property of remaining soft and workable at very low temperatures. This property allows it to be used in special equipment needed for temperatures near absolute zero. It is an excellent choice for cryogenic pumps, high vacuum systems and other unique joining and sealing applications. Indium lends itself to this application due to its ability to conform to many irregular surfaces and its characteristic \"stickiness\". Indeed, when pure, it sticks very tightly to itself or to other metals. This property makes it useful as a solder - it reduces the melting point of some solders, strengthens others, and prevents some solders from breaking down too easily. For example, when used as a washer between a silicon diode or other temperature sensors and refrigerator cold stages, indium foil increases the thermal contact area and prevents the sensor from detaching due to vibration. Other uses of indium are in the manufacture of batteries and electronic devices, and in research. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnother important use of indium is in making alloys - used in electronic devices and dental materials. Indium has been called a \"metal vitamin\" in alloys, which means that very small amounts of indium can make big changes in an alloy. For instance, the addition of small amounts of indium to gold and platinum alloys makes them much harder. Some aircraft parts are made of alloys that contain indium and it prevents them from reacting with oxygen in the air or wearing out. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndium metal dissolves in acids, but does not react with oxygen at room temperature. However, at higher temperatures, it combines with oxygen to form indium oxide. It is in this form that indium finds application as a transparent conductive oxide. As the name indicates these materials, when applied as a thin coating onto glass or plastic films, are both transparent to visible light as well as electrically conductive. It is actually Indium Tin Oxide or \"ITO\" which is used and this is one of the most important applications of indium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAbout 45% of all indium is used to make ITO and this finds application in solar cells and flat panel displays (LCDs - liquid crystal displays). For both of these applications the ITO is used to establish an electric current over the device and to pass light through it. When architectural or photovoltaic glass is coated with ITO it keeps the harmful infrared rays of the sun from passing through. If coated onto aircraft or automotive windshields, it allows the glass to be electrically deiced or demisted as well as reducing the air conditioning requirement by reducing heat gain. Other compounds of indium used in solar cells include indium gallium arsenide and copper indium gallium selenide. Many scientists think that solar cells may replace natural gas, coal and oil for many applications in the future. However, the availability of indium has been questioned since the demand has risen rapidly in recent years with the popularity of LCD televisions and computer monitors. On the free indium market, this has lead to considerable price increases and the unavailability of sizeable quantities of indium. Currently, increased recycling and manufacturing efficiency maintain a good balance between demand and supply. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, an element with a multitude of uses, varying from solar cells and windscreen demisters to LCD screens, batteries and even dental materials. No wonder we need to recycle it to meet the element\u0027s demand. That was University College London\u0027s Claire Carmalt with the chemistry and uses of indium. Now next week an element that changed the rules of nature. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUntil the early 1960s it was believed that three bonds between any two atoms was as high as Nature could go, as in the case of the nitrogen-nitrogen triple bond for example. But in 1964 Albert Cotton and co-workers in the USA discovered the existence of a metal-metal quadruple bond. Yes you guessed it, it as rhenium! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eJoin UCLA\u0027s Eric Scerri to find out what other surprises rhenium has in store in next weeks Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam from the Naked Scientists.com and thank for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Indium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"In","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"China; Republic of Korea; Japan","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIndium was discovered in 1863 by Ferdinand Reich at the Freiberg School of Mines in Germany. Reich was investigating a sample of the mineral zinc blende (now known as sphalerite, ZnS) which he believed might contain the recently discovered element thallium. From it he obtained a yellow precipitate which he thought was thallium sulfide, but his atomic spectroscope showed lines that were not those of thallium. However, because he was colour-blind he asked Hieronymous Richter to look at the spectrum, and he noted a brilliant violet line, and this eventually gave rise to the name indium, from the Latin word \u003cem\u003eindicum\u003c/em\u003e meaning violet.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWorking together Reich and Richter isolated a small sample of the new element and announced its discovery. Subsequently the two men fell out when Reich learned that when Richter, on a visit to Paris, claimed he was the discover.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514408,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514408.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"Low","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":50,"Symbol":"Sn","Name":"Tin","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"A common alchemical symbol for tin is shown here embossed on a ‘tin’ can. Tin cans are traditionally made from steel coated with tin.","NaturalAbundance":"Tin is found principally in the ore cassiterite (tin(IV) oxide). It is mainly found in the ‘tin belt’ stretching through China, Thailand and Indonesia. It is also mined in Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. It is obtained commercially by reducing the ore with coal in a furnace.","BiologicalRoles":"Tin has no known biological role in humans, although it may be essential to some species. The metal is non-toxic, but organo-tin compounds can be poisonous and must be handled with care. Plants easily absorb tin.","Appearance":"A soft, pliable metal. Below 13°C it slowly changes to a powder form.","CASnumber":"7440-31-5","GroupID":14,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e5p\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":50,"RelativeAtomicMass":"118.710","AtomicRadius":"2.17","CovalentRadii":"1.400","ElectronAffinity":"107.298","ElectroNegativity":"1.96","CovalentRadius":"1.40","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e4, 2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"231.928","MeltingPointK":"505.078","MeltingPointF":"449.47","BoilingPointC":"2586","BoilingPointK":"2859","BoilingPointF":"4687","MolarHeatCapacity":"227","Density":"7.287","DensityValue":"7.287","YoungsModulus":"49.9","ShearModulus":"18.4","BulkModulus":"58.2","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"approx 2100BC","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon \u0027tin\u0027","CrustalAbundance":"1.7","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":31,"ProductionConcentrations":46,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.7,"Allotropes":"White Sn, Gray Sn, Rhombic Sn","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eTin has many uses. It takes a high polish and is used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion, such as in tin cans, which are made of tin-coated steel. Alloys of tin are important, such as soft solder, pewter, bronze and phosphor bronze. A niobium-tin alloy is used for superconducting magnets. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe most important tin salt used is tin(II) chloride, which is used as a reducing agent and as a mordant for dyeing calico and silk. Tin(IV) oxide is used for ceramics and gas sensors. Zinc stannate (Zn2SnO4) is a fire-retardant used in plastics.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome tin compounds have been used as anti-fouling paint for ships and boats, to prevent barnacles. However, even at low levels these compounds are deadly to marine life, especially oysters. Its use has now been banned in most countries.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Tin.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: tin\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week the element that changed the course of industry and also gave birth to the Bronze Age. We find out why the Romans came to Britain and why your organ can go out of tune in winter perhaps irreversibly. But tin fans should watch out because much of what we call tin isn\u0027t.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Holt\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTin cans, tin foil, tin whistles, tin soldiers.....these are that things that come to mind when we think of tin. Which is unfortunate, as tin cans are actually made from steel; tin foil is made from aluminium and tin whistles....well you get the idea. To be associated with a list of obsolete consumable items is especially unfortunate for tin, when we consider that it was responsible for literally changing civilisation! Have you heard of the Bronze Age? Well, some enterprising metal workers at the end of the Stone Age discovered that the addition of a small amount of tin into molten copper resulted in a new alloy. It was harder than copper but also much easier to shape, mould and sharpen. This discovery was so revolutionary that that Bronze Age was born - a name given to any civilisation which made tools and weapons from this alloy of copper and tin. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo important was tin that the secrets of its trade were closely guarded. The ancient Greeks spoke of the \u0027Cassiterides \u0027 or \u0027Tin Islands\u0027 which were believed to lie off the north west coast of Europe. These mysterious islands have never been identified and probably never existed. All the Greeks knew was that tin came to them by sea and from the north-west and so the story arose of the tin islands. It is likely the tin came from northern Spain and from Cornwall. In fact, the strategic importance of the Cornish tin mines is considered one of the reasons why the Roman Empire invaded Britain. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTin may have played another historical role - this time in the defeat of Napolean\u0027s army in the Russian campaign of 1812. It has been claimed that in the severe cold the tin buttons on the soldier\u0027s uniforms disintegrated into powder, leading to severe loss of life from hypothermia. The accuracy of this story is debatable, but the transformation of tin from a shiny metal into a grey powder at low temperatures is chemical fact. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the cold winters of Northern Europe the loss of tin organ pipes as they began to disintegrate into dust has been known for centuries as \u0027tin pest\u0027, \u0027tin disease\u0027 or \u0027tin leprosy\u0027. This process is actually a very simple chemical transformation of one structural form of tin - silvery, metallic \u0027white tin\u0027 or \u0027beta tin\u0027 - into another - brittle, non-metallic \u0027grey tin\u0027 or \u0027alpha tin\u0027. For pure tin the transition occurs at 13.2 oC but the transition temperature is lower, or does not occur at all, if there are enough impurities present, for example if tin is alloyed with another metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA modern day problem with \u0027tin pest\u0027 has thus arisen, as the tin-lead alloys used to coat leads in electrical equipment have sometimes been replaced with pure tin due to new environmental legislation. In cold temperatures the metallic beta tin coating transforms into non-conducting, brittle alpha tin and falls off the leads. The loose alpha tin powder then moves around inside the equipment, but because it is non-conducting it doesn\u0027t cause a problem. However, in warmer temperatures this alpha tin powder transforms back to conducting beta tin, leading to short circuits and all kinds of problems. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe way to defeat \u0027tin pest\u0027 is to mix tin with other metals, and these days tin is mainly used to form alloys - for example bronze, pewter and solders. Since tin is the most tonally resonant of all metals it is used in bell metals and to make organ pipes, which are generally a mix of 50:50 tin and lead. The proportion of tin generally determines the pipe\u0027s tone. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd so we return to the humble tin can. Although not made from tin, cans are often coated with tin on the inside to prevent corrosion. So while it may now seem that tin plays a small role in our everyday lives, remember that once it figured in the rise and fall of civilisations.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo it was the tin that lured the Romans to Britain - funny that, there was me thinking it was the wonderful weather. Telling Tin\u0027s tale was Katherine Holt from UCL. Next week the substance that makes you see red. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf you are listening to this podcast on a computer with a traditional colour monitor Europium will be enhancing your view of the Chemistry World website. When colour TVs were first developed, the red pixels were relatively weak, which meant the whole colour spectrum had to be kept muted. But a phosphor doped with europium proved a much better, brighter source of red and is still present in most surviving monitors and TVs that predate the flat screen revolution.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear from Brian Clegg how the power of Europium was harnessed in the first place and how it was discovered on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I hope you can join us. Until then, I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Tin","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Sn","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; Indonesia; Brazil","TopProductionCountries":"China; Indonesia; Peru","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eTin had a direct impact on human history mainly on account of bronze, although it could be used in its own right, witness a tin ring and pilgrim bottle found in an Egyptian tomb of the eighteenth dynasty (1580–1350 BC). The Chinese were mining tin around 700 BC in the province of Yunnan. Pure tin has also been found at Machu Picchu, the mountain citadel of the Incas.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen copper was alloyed with around 5 per cent of tin it produced bronze, which not only melted at a lower temperature, so making it easier to work, but produced a metal that was much harder, and ideal for tools and weapons. The Bronze Age is now a recognised stage in the development of civilisation. How bronze was discovered we do not know, but the peoples of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus valley started using it around 3000 BC.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4509318,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4509318.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":51,"Symbol":"Sb","Name":"Antimony","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol is the Eye of Horus, an Ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health. The Ancient Egyptians used antimony sulfide as a mascara.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eAntimony is not an abundant element but is found in small quantities in over 100 mineral species. It is most often found as antimony(III) sulfide. It is extracted by roasting the antimony(III) sulfide to the oxide, and then reducing with carbon. Antimony can also be found as the native metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChina produces 88% of the world’s antimony. Other producers are Bolivia, Russia and Tajikistan.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Antimony and many of its compounds are toxic.","Appearance":"Antimony is a semi-metal. In its metallic form it is silvery, hard and brittle.","CASnumber":"7440-36-0","GroupID":15,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e5p\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":51,"RelativeAtomicMass":"121.760","AtomicRadius":"2.06","CovalentRadii":"1.400","ElectronAffinity":"100.924","ElectroNegativity":"2.05","CovalentRadius":"1.40","CommonOxidationStates":"5, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, -3","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"630.628","MeltingPointK":"903.778","MeltingPointF":"1167.13","BoilingPointC":"1587","BoilingPointK":"1860","BoilingPointF":"2889","MolarHeatCapacity":"207","Density":"6.68","DensityValue":"6.68","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"42","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"approx 1600BC","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name derives from the Greek \u0027anti - monos\u0027, meaning not alone","CrustalAbundance":"0.2","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":53,"ProductionConcentrations":88,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9,"Allotropes":"White Sb, Yellow Sb, Black Sb","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eAntimony is used in the electronics industry to make some semiconductor devices, such as infrared detectors and diodes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is alloyed with lead or other metals to improve their hardness and strength. A lead-antimony alloy is used in batteries. Other uses of antimony alloys include type metal (in printing presses), bullets and cable sheathing. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAntimony compounds are used to make flame-retardant materials, paints, enamels, glass and pottery.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Antimony.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: antimony\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cb\u003eChris Smith\u003c/b\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week we meet the chemical that\u0027s maimed and murdered, but often with the best intentions. To tell the story of the element that can\u0027t quite make up its mind if it\u0027s a metal or not here\u0027s Phil Ball. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhil Ball \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMany wars have been fought over territory, some over pride or love or money. But in the 1600s a long and bitter war was waged over antimony. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat, you might ask, is there to fight about in this apparently unremarkable element, a soft, greyish metal that doesn\u0027t even conduct electricity well enough to qualify as a true metal? It has its uses, but they are mundane: as an alloy component of battery electrodes and of pewter, and as a flame retardant. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut at the heart of the Antimony War, which raged in France and Germany throughout much of the seventeenth century, was a more unlikely use of antimony. Some doctors of that age believed that it was a vital ingredient in medicine. The advocates and opponents of this point of view didn\u0027t actually take up arms: they fought with pen in hand, sometimes denouncing one another in terms far more vitriolic than we\u0027ll find in the academic literature today. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s very curious that the subject of this dispute should be antimony, because this element is actually rather toxic, causing liver damage in large enough doses. But pharmaceutical uses of antimony have a long history. In the ancient world it was known primarily in the form of its black sulphide ore, called stibnite, which the Greek physician Dioscorides recommended for skin complaints in the first century AD. The Egyptians, meanwhile, used stibnite as a cosmetic, applying it as a form of mascara. They called it \u003cem\u003ekuhl\u003c/em\u003e, meaning \u0027eye-paint\u0027, and to the later Islamic alchemical physicians this became \u003cem\u003eal-kohl\u003c/em\u003e. From its original meaning of powdered stibnite, this term came to designate any powder, and then a potent extract of any substance. In the early sixteenth century the Swiss alchemical physician Paracelsus called a distilled extract of wine \u003cem\u003ealcool vini\u003c/em\u003e, from where we get the modern word alcohol: a long and strange road from eye make-up to intoxicating liquor. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eParacelsus was particularly fond of antimony compounds as medicines. After his death, Paracelsus\u0027s chemical medicine was championed by many doctors in Europe, especially in France, and some of these made antimony their most prized remedy. One, a German salt-maker who wrote under the false persona of a fifteenth-century monk called Basil Valentine, published an entire book advertising antimony remedies in 1604 called \u003cem\u003eThe Triumphal Chariot of Antimony\u003c/em\u003e. Valentine admitted that antimony was poisonous - in fact he offered an apocryphal explanation for the name, saying that it derives from \u003cem\u003eanti-monachos\u003c/em\u003e, meaning \u0027anti-monk\u0027 in Latin, because he once unintentionally poisoned several of his fellow monks by adding it secretly to their food in an attempt to improve their health. But he claimed that alchemy could be used to free the metal of its toxic effects and make it \"a most salutary Medicine\". \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe Paracelsian chemical physicians were opposed by traditionalists who preferred the medical theories of the ancient doctors like Hippocrates, based on the idea that our health is controlled by a balance of four humours. This was partly a battle for academic power, but the rival camps were also split along religious and political lines. So there was a lot riding on the struggle, and for a time it crystallized around the medical value of antimony. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe toxicity of antimony can cause vomiting - but to its supporters, this was seen as a good thing. They would administer the salt antimony tartrate as a so-called emetic, a vomit-inducer that was believed to purge the body of other bad substances. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome doctors continued to prescribe antimony freely after the inconclusive Antimony War, and it has been suggested that a fondness for antimony remedies was what actually killed Mozart in 1791. By the nineteenth century it had become a favourite slow poison for murderers eager to conceal their crimes - a chemical villain almost as notorious as lead. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Chris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut would Mozart have been the maestro that he was without the help of antimony? Well I guess we will never know. Thank you very much to science writer and author Phil Ball. Next week we\u0027ll be telling the tale of the element that at one time quite literally kept the world going, but not quite in the way you might think. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Emsley \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe summer of 1618 saw England gripped by drought, but as Henry Wicker walked across Epsom Common he came across a pool of water from which thirsty cattle refused to drink. He found that the water tasted bitter and on evaporation it yielded a salt which had remarkable effects: it acted as a laxative. This became the famous Epsom\u0027s salt (magnesium sulfate, MgSO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e) and became a treatment for constipation for the next 350 years. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e350 years, certainly sounds like a bad case of constipation. Thankfully John Emsley will be running smoothly through the element with atomic number 12 and that\u0027s magnesium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening, see you next time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Antimony","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Sb","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; Russia; Bolivia","TopProductionCountries":"China; Bolivia; Tajikistan","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eAntimony and its compounds were known to the ancients and there is a 5,000-year old antimony vase in the Louvre in Paris. Antimony sulfide (Sb\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eS\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) is mentioned in an Egyptian papyrus of the 16\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century BC. The black form of this pigment, which occurs naturally as the mineral stibnite, was used as mascara and known as \u003cem\u003ekhol\u003c/em\u003e. The most famous user was the temptress Jezebel whose exploits are recorded in the\u003cem\u003e Bible\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnother pigment known to the Chaldean civilization, which flourished in what is now southern Iraq in the 6\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e and 7\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e centuries BC, was yellow lead antimonite. This was found in the glaze of ornamental bricks at Babylon and date from the time of Nebuchadnezzar (604–561 BC).\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAntimony became widely used in Medieval times, mainly to harden lead for type, although some was taken medicinally as a laxative pill which could be reclaimed and re-used!\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4510681,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4510681.html","PropertyID":3,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"Medium","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":52,"Symbol":"Te","Name":"Tellurium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The Earth-like sphere in the image reflects the origin of the element’s name, after ‘tellus’, the Latin word for Earth.","NaturalAbundance":"Tellurium is present in the Earth’s crust only in about 0.001 parts per million. Tellurium minerals include calaverite, sylvanite and tellurite. It is also found uncombined in nature, but only very rarely. It is obtained commercially from the anode muds produced during the electrolytic refining of copper. These contain up to about 8% tellurium.","BiologicalRoles":"Tellurium has no known biological role. It is very toxic and teratogenic (disturbs the development of an embryo or foetus). Workers exposed to very small quantities of tellurium in the air develop ‘tellurium breath’, which has a garlic-like odour.","Appearance":"A semi-metal usually obtained as a grey powder.","CASnumber":"13494-80-9","GroupID":16,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e5p\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":52,"RelativeAtomicMass":"127.60","AtomicRadius":"2.06","CovalentRadii":"1.370","ElectronAffinity":"190.161","ElectroNegativity":"2.1","CovalentRadius":"1.37","CommonOxidationStates":"6, \u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e, -2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"449.51","MeltingPointK":"722.66","MeltingPointF":"841.12","BoilingPointC":"988","BoilingPointK":"1261","BoilingPointF":"1810","MolarHeatCapacity":"202","Density":"6.232","DensityValue":"6.232","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1783","Discovery":"1783","DiscoveredBy":"Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin \u0027tellus\u0027, meaning Earth.","CrustalAbundance":"0.001","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eTellurium is used in alloys, mostly with copper and stainless steel, to improve their machinability. When added to lead it makes it more resistant to acids and improves its strength and hardness. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTellurium has been used to vulcanise rubber, to tint glass and ceramics, in solar cells, in rewritable CDs and DVDs and as a catalyst in oil refining. It can be doped with silver, gold, copper or tin in semiconductor applications.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Tellurium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: tellurium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! This week Dr. Who gets to mention, as we unlock the story of a slimy element, that makes people stink of garlic and turns their fingers black. With the tale of tellurium, here\u0027s Peter Wothers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTellurium, it sounds like a Dr. Who monster and in a number of ways this element does have a few properties that would make it suitable for any good outer space, sci-fi horror movie. For a start, like many space monsters, it comes from slime; to be precise it is extracted from anode slime, a waste product formed during the electrolytic refining of copper. Its special power, well in the form of cadmium telluride, it can capture solar energy. Far from being used for evil though, this compound has been used in some of the most efficient solar cells for the generation of electrical power. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEvery good monster must have a secret weapon and tellurium is no exception. It gives its enemies garlic breath, really bad garlic breath. A dose of half a microgram, hardly even visible would give you garlic breath for 30 hours, Oh! And it also gives its victim black patches on the webbing in between the fingers, but few people would get close enough to notice this. Like a certain well-known vampire, tellurium was first discovered in Transylvania. This was in 1783 by Franz \u003cem\u003eJoseph\u003c/em\u003e Muller von Reichenstein, the chief inspector of the mines there. He was having particular problems with the analysis of an unusual gold containing ore. Eventually, he managed to isolate a new metal from the ore and he called it aurum problematicum. He sent a sample to the German chemist Martin Klaproth, who confirmed it was a new element and gave it the name tellurium. But to properly understand why he called it this, we need to go way back in time and look into space. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen early man looked up at the stars at night, he noticed certain heavenly bodies that moved through the fixed pattern of the stars. These were the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Two other great bodies also seemed to circle the earth, namely the Sun and the Moon. Altogether then there were seven such heavenly bodies and seven was a magical number. Early man also knew of just seven metals, gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead and mercury; surely this could be no coincidence. In the same ways that rays from the sun nourish plants and are essential for their growth, it was thought that the invisible rays from the planets helped nourish metallic ores in the ground. Each planet was thought to have a particular influence on one metal or its ores. Chaucer described this connection in the 14\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e Century. The Sun is associated with gold, the Moon with silver, Mars with iron, Saturn with lead, Jupiter with tin and Venus with copper and even today, we still keep the same name for both the planet and the element, Mercury. The association between gold and the Sun seems fairly obvious from their colours, similarly the connection between silver and the Moon. The other connections are little more vague. A 17\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e Century text quotes, \"\u003cem\u003eIron is called by the name of Mars whether employed for the making of weapons of war, of which Mars was said to be the God or because of the influences from which iron receives from this planet.\" \u003c/em\u003e It is interesting that we now know that the colour of this red planet is due to the oxides of iron. The chemists called copper, Venus both by reason of the influences, which possibly it receives from that planet and of the virtue it had in diseases seated in the purpose of generation. This is referring to early treatments of venereal diseases, the diseases of Venus. Being the planet closest to the Sun, Mercury moves through space faster than any other. It takes Mercury just 88 days to orbit the Sun, compared to our 365 days. Perhaps, this speedy motion was one of the reasons for the lasting association between the metal and the planet or perhaps it is as described in one book \u003cem\u003e\"due to the fact that the element has an aptness to change its figure, a property attributed by the heathens to mercury, one of their false Gods.\" \u003c/em\u003e The connection between the elements tin and lead with Jupiter and Saturn were even more dubious. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUnfortunately, the magic number of 7 metals didn\u0027t last. For a while, early chemists, just conveniently passed over antimony, arsenic, bismuth, zinc and cobalt. After all they weren\u0027t real metals, but with the discovery of platinum, they could ignore it no more. For a while, platinum was even known as the eighth metal. Still more metals were discovered, but then in 1781, a new planet was discovered, Uranus. Just as the ancient God, Saturn or Cronus was the father of Jupiter or Zeus, the new planet should be named after the father of Saturn, hence Uranus, after the Greek God of the sky. In recognition of this discovery in 1789, Klaproth named a new metal he had discovered after this element, uranium. So in 1798, when Klaproth had the chance to name another element, he named it after the only then known planet in the Solar System that did not have an element named after it, the Earth. In ancient mythology, Tellus or Terra or Gaea was the goddess of the Earth and the wife of Uranus, the God of the Skies. Thus was born tellurium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA chemist, who takes his inspiration from the heavens, that was Peter Wothers from Cambridge University, telling the story of tellurium. Next time, the illuminating tale of a gas that everyone thought wasn\u0027t worth the time of day.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVictoria Gill\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd initially its lack of reactivity meant there were no obvious uses for Neon. It took a bit of imagination from the French engineer, chemist and inventor, Georges Claude, who early in the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e Century first applied an electric discharge to a sealed tube of neon gas. The red glow it produced, gave Claude the idea of manufacturing a source of light in an entirely new way. He made glass tubes which could be used just like light bulbs. Claude displayed the first neon lamp to the public on December 11, 1910 at an exhibition in Paris. His striking display turned heads but unfortunately sold no Neon tubes. People simply didn\u0027t want to illuminate their homes with red light.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut they did want to see their names written in lights and that\u0027s exactly what Georges Claude did next as Victoria Gill will be telling us next time. I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening. And Goodbye!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Tellurium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Te","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eTellurium was discovered in 1783 by Franz Joseph Müller von Reichenstein at Sibiu, Romania. He became intrigued by ore from a mine near Zalatna which had a metallic sheen and which he suspected was native antimony or bismuth. (It was actually gold telluride, AuTe\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e.) Preliminary investigation showed neither antimony nor bismuth to be present. For three years Müller researched the ore and proved it contained a new element. He published his findings in an obscure journal and it went largely unnoticed.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1796, he sent a sample to Martin Klaproth in Berlin who confirmed him findings. Klaproth produced a pure sample and decided to call it tellurium. Rather strangely, this was not the first sample of tellurium to pass through his hands. In 1789, he had been sent some by a Hungarian scientist, Paul Kitaibel who had independently discovered it.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4885717,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4885717.html","PropertyID":3,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":53,"Symbol":"I","Name":"Iodine","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of seaweed. Many species of seaweed contain iodine.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eIodine is found in seawater, as iodide. It is only present in trace amounts (0.05 parts per million); however, it is assimilated by seaweeds. In the past iodine was obtained from seaweed.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow the main sources of iodine are iodate minerals, natural brine deposits left by the evaporation of ancient seas and brackish (briny) waters from oil and salt wells. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIodine is obtained commercially by releasing iodine from the iodate obtained from nitrate ores or extracting iodine vapour from the processed brine.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eIodine is an essential element for humans, who need a daily intake of about 0.1 milligrams of iodide. Our bodies contain up to 20 milligrams, mainly in the thyroid gland. This gland helps to regulate growth and body temperature.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNormally we get enough iodine from the food we eat. A deficiency of iodine can cause the thyroid gland to swell up (known as goitre).\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A black, shiny, crystalline solid. When heated, iodine sublimes to form a purple vapour.","CASnumber":"7553-56-2","GroupID":17,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e5p\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":53,"RelativeAtomicMass":"126.904","AtomicRadius":"1.98","CovalentRadii":"1.360","ElectronAffinity":"295.152","ElectroNegativity":"2.66","CovalentRadius":"1.36","CommonOxidationStates":"7, 5, 1, \u003cstrong\u003e-1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"113.7","MeltingPointK":"386.9","MeltingPointF":"236.7","BoilingPointC":"184.4","BoilingPointK":"457.6","BoilingPointF":"363.9","MolarHeatCapacity":"214","Density":"4.933","DensityValue":"4.933","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"7.7","DiscoveryYear":"1811","Discovery":"1811","DiscoveredBy":"Bernard Courtois","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027iodes\u0027 meaning violet.","CrustalAbundance":"0.71","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":66.7,"ProductionConcentrations":59.7,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":67.5,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.5,"Allotropes":"I\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003ePhotography was the first commercial use for iodine after Louis Daguerre, in 1839, invented a technique for producing images on a piece of metal. These images were called daguerreotypes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToday, iodine has many commercial uses. Iodide salts are used in pharmaceuticals and disinfectants, printing inks and dyes, catalysts, animal feed supplements and photographic chemicals. Iodine is also used to make polarising filters for LCD displays.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIodide is added in small amounts to table salt, in order to avoid iodine deficiency affecting the thyroid gland. The radioactive isotope iodine-131 is sometimes used to treat cancerous thyroid glands.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Iodine.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: iodine\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week cretins, fire crackers and clean water. The story starts in Italy, and here\u0027s Andrea Sella. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen I was a child, I used spend a couple of weeks each summer high in the Italian Alps in an idyllic little village called Cogne that nestles quietly between high ice-clad peaks. To most Italians the name is associated with a sensational murder. Others know that in winter the valley has some of the finest ice-climbing in the Alps. But to me, Cogne will always be connected with the element iodine. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne afternoon, when I was around 10 years old, returning with my Dad from a long hike, we passed a dull grey building on the edge of the village. It was surrounded by a tall metal fence and had an institutional look about it. Sitting on the bench all on his own was a strange looking old man - he had rather shaggy hair, a vacant look, and a large, distended pouch of skin where his neck should have been. I was utterly shocked by this strange being. I pestered my father with questions. Who was he? What was wrong with him? Why did he look so sad?\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMy father, whose patience in the face of a barrage of questions was almost infinite, explained that the poor man had grown up with insufficient iodine in his diet. Iodine, he went on was essential for the proper development of the thyroid gland in the neck, and that if one didn\u0027t eat the right kind of salt, especially as a child, one might develop goitre and one\u0027s mental development would also be affected. I would later read of English travellers passing through the Alps referring to The Valleys of the Cretins - travel books of the period often include lurid illustrations of these poor unfortunates. The numbers are staggering; the Napoleonic census of the canton of Valais in 1800 found 4000 cretins in a population of 70,000 - well over 50% would have had goiter.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe disease had been known to medical writers for centuries. Galen for example recommended treatment with marine sponges. In 1170 Roger of Salerno recommended seaweed. Similar suggestions were also made in China. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eParacelsus, the great renaissance healer, alchemist, and writer was one of the first to spot the connexion between goiter and cretinism, and first suggested that minerals in drinking water might play a role in causing the condition. But what these mysterious minerals might be was a mystery.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1811 a young French chemist, Bernard Courtois, working in Paris stumbled across a new element. His family\u0027s firm produced the saltpetre needed to make gunpowder for Napoleon\u0027s wars. To do this they used wood ash. Wartime shortages of wood forced them instead to burn seaweed, which was plentiful on the coastlines of northern France. Adding concentrated sulphuric acid to the ash, Courtois, obtained an astonishing purple vapour that crystallized onto the sides of the container. Astonished by this discovery he bottled up the crystals and sent them to one of the foremost chemists of his day Joseph Gay-Lussac who confirmed that this was a new element and named it iode - iodine - after the greek word for purple. Courtois continued to play with the element and was rather shocked to discover that when mixed with ammonia it produced a chocolate-coloured solid that exploded violently at the least provocation. His contemporary, Pierre Dulong, was less fortunate, losing an eye and part of a hand while studying the material, the first in a long list of casualties from this nasty material.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe toxic qualities of iodine were soon realized, and the tincture, a yellowish brown solution began to be widely used as a disinfectant. Even today, the most common water purification tablets one can buy in travel shops are based on iodine.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was only two years after its discovery, that a doctor in Geneva Francois Coindet began to wonder whether it wasn\u0027t the iodine in the seaweed that was the missing mineral responsible for goiter. He therefore began administering tincture of iodine to his patients by mouth, an unpleasant business, but which, he reported, led to the disappearance of swelling in 6 to 10 weeks. His colleagues, however, accused him of poisoning his patients, and at one point he was said to be unable to go into the streets for fear of being attacked. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut, while elemental iodine clearly \u003cem\u003ewas\u003c/em\u003e toxic, Coindet was on the right track, and during the 19\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century by a process of one step forward two steps back the hypothesis gradually gained credence as experiments using the more palatable salt, potassium iodide, showed that goitres could be reversed. By the early 1920\u0027s Swiss cantons began to introduce iodized salt and over the following decades many countries that had been plagued by goitre followed suit, a policy so effective that many of us in the developed world are unaware of how serious a disease this had been and the word cretin has lost much of its meaning. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen I returned to Cogne last summer, I tried to remember where the institute had been. All I could find was a summer holiday camp, with children playing happily behind the gates where I had seen the old man. I phoned my Dad to ask him, and we chatted about the old days - the bad old days of the cretins - and of ghosts banished by that unique purple element, iodine. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGhosts that clearly live on amongst the British aristocracy. That was UCL chemist Andrea Sella telling the tale of iodine, element number 53. Next week we\u0027re shining the spotlight on a substance that needs no illuminating at all and that\u0027s because it makes its own light. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was seen as a source of energy and brightness, it was included in toothpastes and patent medicines - it was even rubbed into the scalp as a hair restorer.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut the application of radium that would bring it notoriety was its use in glow-in-the-dark paint. Frequently used to provide luminous readouts on clocks and watches, aircraft switches and instrument dials, the eerie blue glow of radium was seen as a harmless, practical source of night time illumination. It was only when a number of the workers who painted the luminous dials began to suffer from sores, anaemia and cancers around the mouth that it was realized that something was horribly wrong. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear the story of radium from Brian Clegg on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Iodine","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"I","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Chile; Japan; USA","TopProductionCountries":"Chile; Japan; USA","History":"In the early 1800s, Bernard Courtois of Paris manufactured saltpetre (potassium nitrate, KNO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) and used seaweed ash as his source of potassium. One day in 1811, he added sulfuric acid and saw purple fumes which condensed to form crystals with a metallic lustre. Courtois guessed this was a new element. He gave some to Charles-Bernard Desormes and to Nicolas Clément who carried out a systematic investigation and confirmed that it was. In November 1813, they exhibited iodine at the Imperial Institute in Paris. That it really was new was proved by Joseph Gay-Lussac and confirmed by the Humphry Davy who was visiting Paris. Davy sent a report to the Royal Institution in London where it was mistakenly assumed he was the discoverer, a belief that persisted for more than 50 years.","CSID":4514549,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514549.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"67.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":54,"Symbol":"Xe","Name":"Xenon","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The ‘electro-flash’ icon reflects the use of the gas in camera flash technology. This is usually a tube filled with xenon gas, with electrodes at each end and a metal trigger plate at the middle of the tube.","NaturalAbundance":"Xenon is present in the atmosphere at a concentration of 0.086 parts per million by volume. It can also be found in the gases that evolve from certain mineral springs. It is obtained commercially by extraction from liquid air.","BiologicalRoles":"Xenon has no known biological role. It is not itself toxic, but its compounds are highly toxic because they are strong oxidising agents.","Appearance":"A colourless, odourless gas. It is very unreactive.","CASnumber":"7440-63-3","GroupID":18,"PeriodID":5,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Kr] 4d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e5s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e5p\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":54,"RelativeAtomicMass":"131.293","AtomicRadius":"2.16","CovalentRadii":"1.360","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"2.60","CovalentRadius":"1.36","CommonOxidationStates":"6, 4, 2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-111.75","MeltingPointK":"161.4","MeltingPointF":"-169.15","BoilingPointC":"-108.099","BoilingPointK":"165.051","BoilingPointF":"-162.578","MolarHeatCapacity":"158","Density":"0.005366","DensityValue":"0.005366","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1898","Discovery":"1898","DiscoveredBy":"Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027xenos\u0027 meaning stranger.","CrustalAbundance":"0.00003","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eXenon is used in certain specialised light sources. It produces a beautiful blue glow when excited by an electrical discharge. Xenon lamps have applications as high-speed electronic flash bulbs used by photographers, sunbed lamps and bactericidal lamps used in food preparation and processing. Xenon lamps are also used in ruby lasers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eXenon ion propulsion systems are used by several satellites to keep them in orbit, and in some other spacecraft.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eXenon difluoride is used to etch silicon microprocessors. It is also used in the manufacture of 5-fluorouracil, a drug used to treat certain types of cancer.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Xenon.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: xenon\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we enter the stranger realms of chemistry as we hear the story of xenon. He\u0027s Peter Wothers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen William Ramsay named his newly-discovered element after the Greek Xenon for stranger, I\u0027m sure he had no idea just how strange and important this element would turn out to be. He could never have foreseen that his discovery would one day be used to light our roads at night, image the workings of a living lung, or propel spaceships.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe story of xenon begins in 1894 when Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay were investigating why nitrogen extracted from chemical compounds is about one-half per cent lighter than nitrogen extracted from the air - an observation first made by Henry Cavendish 100 years earlier. Ramsay found that after atmospheric nitrogen has reacted with hot magnesium metal, a tiny proportion of a heavier and even less reactive gas is left over. They named this gas argon from the Greek for lazy or inactive to reflect its extreme inertness. The problem was, where did this new element fit into Mendeleev\u0027s periodic table of the elements? There were no other known elements that it resembled, which led them to suspect that there was a whole family of elements yet to be discovered. Remarkably, this turned out to be the case. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe following year, Ramsay confirmed the presence in certain radioactive rocks of the lightest member of the group, helium, trapped as it was formed during the alpha-particle emission from elements such as uranium. In 1897 Ramsay boldly stated that \u0027there should be an undiscovered element between helium and argon, with an atomic weight of 20. Pushing this analogy further, it is to be expected that this element should be as indifferent to union with other elements, as the two allied elements.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eInitially, Ramsay looked for the new element in rock samples, but around this time, a new breakthrough in science began to emerge - the production and manipulation of liquid air. In May 1898, Ramsay instructed his student Morris Travers to allow a sample of liquid air to evaporate until just a few millilitres remained. This he did, and upon examining the electrical discharge of the residue with a spectroscope, the appearance of a bright yellow line and a brilliant green line confirmed the presence of a new element. But it wasn\u0027t the missing element with mass 20 they had been searching for, it was actually about twice as heavy as argon and is the element beneath argon in the periodic table. They called it krypton, from the Greek for hidden.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRealising that their missing lighter element should actually have a lower boiling point than argon, they looked again at some of the more volatile fractions of gas from liquefied atmospheric residues.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOn Sunday, June 12, 1898 they prepared a sample for examination with the spectroscope, but as they turned on the current through the gas, they had no need for the prism to split the light, for the brilliant red glow of the tube confirmed the presence of the new missing element they named neon.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn an attempt to isolate more of the krypton, Ramsay and Travers repeatedly distilled out the heavier fractions of the liquefied gases. Travers writes: \u0027one evening late, about July 12\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e (1898), we had been working at the fractionation of some argon-krypton residues when, after removing the vacuum vessel from the liquefying apparatus, which had been pumped out, it was noticed that a bubble of gas remained in the pump. It seemed likely that this was only CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, which is quite non-volatile at liquid air temperature. The hour was late enough to have justified neglecting this bubble of gas and going home to bed. However, it was collected as a separate fraction.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe gas bubble was treated with potassium hydroxide to remove any CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e and the remaining gas, about three tenths of a millilitre was introduced into a vacuum tube. Ramsay and Travers recorded in the notebook the appearance of the spectrum from this sample: \u0027krypton yellow appeared very faint, the green almost absent. Several red lines, three brilliant and equidistant, and several blue lines were seen. Is this pure krypton, at a pressure which does not bring out the yellow and green, or a new gas? Probably the latter!\u0027 They noted that the most striking feature of this new gas was the beautiful blue glow from the discharge tube.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRamsay and Travers wanted to name the new gas after its colour, but found that all the Greek and Latin roots indicating blue had long before been appropriated by organic chemists. Instead, they settled on the name xenon, the stranger.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt took Travers and Ramsay many months before they could isolate enough xenon to determine its density. This is not surprising since xenon is by far the least abundant of the noble gases in the atmosphere: by volume, about 1 per cent of the air is argon, 18 parts per million neon, 5 ppm helium, 1 ppm krypton and just 0.09 ppm xenon: just a couple of millilitres in an average room. This means it is pretty expensive - a small balloon full would currently cost around £100.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eXenon currently finds its uses as the free element. The most effective car headlamps currently available contain xenon gas at pressures of a couple of atmospheres. Its role is to immediately provide light on switching on before some of the other components are properly vaporised. Being so heavy, and yet chemically inert, it is used in electrostatic ion thrusters to move satellites in space. Atoms of xenon are ionised, then accelerated to speeds of around 30 kilometres per second before being flung out the back of the engine. These ions are forced backwards, propelling the satellite forward in the opposite direction.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eXenon-129, a stable isotope that makes up about a quarter of naturally occurring xenon, turns out to be ideal for use in magnetic resonance imaging. Usually these instruments only detect hydrogen nuclei in water and fats - ideal for most tissue, but are of no use when looking at air spaces such as the lungs. Not only can xenon-129 be detected when breathed into the lungs, it can also be detected dissolved in the blood allowing the functions of a working-living lung to be studied in real time. But perhaps the strangest property of this supposedly inert gas, is that in higher concentrations it is physiologically active in the body and can act as an anaesthetic. It is usually too expensive to use as such, but this could become more common if it can be recycled. In April 2010, xenon made headline news, as it was first used in the treatment of a baby born with no pulse and not breathing. By cooling the baby and treating with xenon gas to reduce the release of neurotransmitters, brain damage to the baby was avoided. Welcome to the strange world of xenon.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo car headlamps, propelling satellites and saving the lives of babies. That was Cambridge University\u0027s Pete Wothers with the strange and diverse chemistry of xenon. Now next week, chemistry at the post office. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis led to an amusing situation whereby people could try to send letters or postcards to Seaborg by using nothing but a sequence of symbols of various elements in the following order. First of all one could write Sg for element 106 or Seaborg\u0027s name. The second line consisted of Bk for this week\u0027s element 97 or the University at which Seaborg worked. The third line was Cf for element 98, californium, or the state in which the university stands. Finally, if writing from abroad, the correspondent could add Am for element 95, or americium, or the country of America to complete the address. To the credit of several postal systems around the world a handful of people did indeed succeed in getting letters and messages of congratulations to Seaborg in this cryptic fashion.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out how Seaborg and his team set about discovering the element in the middle of that chemical address, berkelium, join Eric Scerri in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then thank you for listening, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Xenon","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Xe","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"Xenon was discovered in July 1898 by William Ramsay and Morris Travers at University College London. They had already extracted neon, argon, and krypton from liquid air, and wondered if it contained other gases. The wealthy industrialist Ludwig Mond gave them a new liquid-air machine and they used it to extract more of the rare gas krypton. By repeatedly distilling this, they eventually isolated a heavier gas, and when they examined this in a vacuum tube it gave a beautiful blue glow. They realised it was yet another member of the ‘inert’ group of gaseous elements as they were then known because of their lack of chemical reactivity. They called the new gas xenon. It was this gas which Neil Bartlett eventually showed was not inert by making a fluorine derivative in 1962. So far more than 100 xenon compounds have been made.","CSID":22427,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22427.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":55,"Symbol":"Cs","Name":"Caesium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol reflects the use of the element in highly accurate atomic clocks.","NaturalAbundance":"Caesium is found in the minerals pollucite and lepidolite. Pollucite is found in great quantities at Bernic Lake,Manitoba, Canada and in the USA, and from this source the element can be prepared. However, most commercialproduction is as a by-product of lithium production.","BiologicalRoles":"Caesium has no known biological role. Caesium compounds, such as caesium chloride, are low hazard.","Appearance":"Caesium is a soft, gold-coloured metal that is quickly attacked by air and reacts explosively in water.","CASnumber":"7440-46-2","GroupID":1,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 6s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":55,"RelativeAtomicMass":"132.905","AtomicRadius":"3.43","CovalentRadii":"2.380","ElectronAffinity":"45.505","ElectroNegativity":"0.79","CovalentRadius":"2.38","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"28.5","MeltingPointK":"301.7","MeltingPointF":"83.3","BoilingPointC":"671","BoilingPointK":"944","BoilingPointF":"1240","MolarHeatCapacity":"242","Density":"1.873","DensityValue":"1.873","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"1.6","DiscoveryYear":"1860","Discovery":"1860","DiscoveredBy":"Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Latin \u0027caesius\u0027, meaning sky blue, and derived from its flame colour.","CrustalAbundance":"3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe most common use for caesium compounds is as a drilling fluid. They are also used to make special optical glass, as a catalyst promoter, in vacuum tubes and in radiation monitoring equipment.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne of its most important uses is in the ‘caesium clock’ (atomic clock). These clocks are a vital part of the internetand mobile phone networks, as well as Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. They give the standard measure of time: the electron resonance frequency of the caesium atom is 9,192,631,770 cycles per second. Some caesium clocks are accurate to 1 second in 15 million years.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Caesium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: caesium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, love at first sight. Peter Wothers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI\u0027ve been asked on a number of occasions what my favourite element is. I used to think either oxygen or hydrogen - both so much fun - but that was until my sample of caesium arrived, when it was love at first sight. Now many people think it\u0027s slightly odd having a favourite element, but when they too see my caesium, they understand why it\u0027s so special. Who wouldn\u0027t be attracted to this beautiful element?\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor starters, there are only three metallic elements that are not silver-coloured. Two are well-known and fairly obvious - gold and copper. The third most people would never guess, it\u0027s caesium. Apparently, the beautiful gold diminishes if the sample is extremely pure since tiny traces of captured oxygen give it the colour. This is a little disappointing - its colour is quite stunning and I would be sad if it really did disappear when purified. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe next exciting thing about caesium is that my love is not unrequited, it responds to my touch. Strictly speaking, it\u0027s the warmth from the hand that melts it, given that its melting point is only 28.4 °C. So just holding its container converts the crystalline solid into liquid gold. Liquid metals are always fascinating - everyone loves mercury; just imagine playing with liquid gold!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut here\u0027s the snag that adds to my fascination with this metal - it has a rather fiery temper. In fact, you can\u0027t actually touch the metal itself since it spontaneously bursts into flames in the presence of air and reacts explosively with water. Awkward indeed. My caesium is sealed inside a glass tube under an atmosphere of the chemically inert gas argon. So to play with it, you have to hold the glass tube, knowing that if you accidentally crushed it, or dropped it, all hell would break loose.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCaesium gets its name from the Greek for heavenly blue. Not for its eyes (it\u0027s only an element!) but less romantically for the appearance of its emission spectrum in the spectroscope. Caesium was discovered in 1860 by Robert Bunsen (he of the burner fame) and physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The previous year they had invented an instrument known as a spectroscope to help in chemical analysis. When atoms are energetically excited, for instance when a compound is introduced into a flame, electrons can temporarily be promoted to higher energy levels. When they return to their lower energy states, energy is released in the form of light. The spectroscope splits up the light with a prism and reveals a spectrum consisting of series of sharp coloured lines. Each element has its own unique spectrum of lines, like a rainbow barcode. When examining the spectrum of the residue from some spa mineral water, Bunsen and Kirchhoff found a series of lines that did not correspond to any known element. They named the new element caesium because of the distinct blue lines in the spectrum.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is another electronic transition in caesium that gives us the most accurate clocks on earth. So called caesium atomic clocks are accurate to one second in more than a million years and are used when precision timing is crucial, for instance in tracking the space shuttle.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is its willingness to lose an electron completely and form a positively charge ion that makes caesium the most reactive metal in the periodic table, and yes I am including its relative francium! All the alkali metals are reactive because they have one outermost electron which is easily removed but on moving down the group, the atoms get larger and larger and this outermost electron gets on average further and further away from the positively charged nucleus. What\u0027s more, on moving across the periodic table, from group one with lithium, sodium, potassium etc to group two with beryllium, magnesium, calcium and so on, it becomes increasingly harder to remove the outermost electrons. This means the element for which it is easiest to remove an electron and form a cation, is in the bottom left-hand corner of the periodic table, where caesium is found.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne pseudo-science programme on TV showed the reaction between water and the different group one alkali metals, namely lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium. At least that\u0027s what they said. Actually, they faked the reaction of rubidium and caesium with water since they thought they were not spectacular enough for TV. They also said that the element beneath caesium in the periodic table, francium, would be even more reactive. They were wrong. It turns out for really heavy elements, the electrons begin to get slightly harder to remove than expected. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn order to understand why, you would need to take into account Einstein\u0027s relativistic effects. Theory predicts that the atoms begin to get slightly smaller and that it is actually harder to remove the outermost electron from francium than it is for caesium. Remarkably, this experiment has been carried out and the prediction has been confirmed. This means that despite what you may hear, or might have expected, caesium is the most reactive metal. This is great since francium can only be made in miniscule proportions and then only lasts for a few minutes so you\u0027ll never see any. Caesium on the other hand, is readily obtainable, and in its protective environment will last forever. This means we can actually see, hold and play with the most reactive metallic element that nature has given us. It\u0027s gorgeous, but watch out, it bites!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd having seen the melting of this element in action, I must admit it is rather beautiful. That was Cambridge University\u0027s Peter Wothers with the chemistry of his favourite element caesium. Is it your favourite yet? Well if not listen next week when we discover an element created by cold fusion. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBohrium is also special in another respect, as the first element to be synthesised by a cold - rather than hot - fusion process between two nuclei. The idea is to make two nuclei collide at low excitation energies and consequently to capitalise on the reduced tendency of such combined atoms to disintegrate. The successful cold fusion synthesis of bohrium was first achieved in 1981 in Darmstadt, Germany, by the fusion of bismuth-209 with chromium-24 to form bohrium-262 with a half-life of about 85 milliseconds. Since then many other isotopes of bohrium have been produced, including the longest lived isotope so far bohrium-270, with a half-life of 61 seconds. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd join UCLA\u0027s Eric Scerri for the chemistry created by this fusion in\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then thank you for listening, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Caesium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Cs","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eCaesium was almost discovered by Carl Plattner in 1846 when he investigated the mineral pollucite (caesium aluminium silicate). He could only account for 93% of the elements it contained, but then ran out of material to analyse. (It was later realised that he mistook the caesium for sodium and potassium.)\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCaesium was eventually discovered by Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen in 1860 at Heidelberg, Germany. They examined mineral water from Durkheim and observed lines in the spectrum which they did not recognise, and that meant a new element was present. They produced around 7 grams of caesium chloride from this source, but were unable to produce a sample of the new metal itself. The credit for that goes to Carl Theodor Setterberg at the University of Bonn who obtained it by the electrolysis of molten caesium cyanide, CsCN.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4510778,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4510778.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":56,"Symbol":"Ba","Name":"Barium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on x-ray radiographs of the human stomach and intestines in patients who have been given a ‘barium meal’.","NaturalAbundance":"Barium occurs only in combination with other elements. The major ores are barite (barium sulfate) and witherite (barium carbonate). Barium metal can be prepared by electrolysis of molten barium chloride, or by heating barium oxide with aluminium powder.","BiologicalRoles":"Barium has no known biological role, although barium sulfate has been found in one particular type of algae. Barium is toxic, as are its water- or acid-soluble compounds.","Appearance":"Barium is a soft, silvery metal that rapidly tarnishes in air and reacts with water.","CASnumber":"7440-39-3","GroupID":2,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":56,"RelativeAtomicMass":"137.327","AtomicRadius":"2.68","CovalentRadii":"2.060","ElectronAffinity":"13.954","ElectroNegativity":"0.89","CovalentRadius":"2.06","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"727","MeltingPointK":"1000","MeltingPointF":"1341","BoilingPointC":"1845","BoilingPointK":"2118","BoilingPointF":"3353","MolarHeatCapacity":"204","Density":"3.62","DensityValue":"3.62","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1808","Discovery":"1808","DiscoveredBy":"Humphry Davy","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Greek \u0027barys\u0027, meaning heavy.","CrustalAbundance":"456","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":42,"ProductionConcentrations":44,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":8.1,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eBarium is not an extensively used element. Most is used in drilling fluids for oil and gas wells. It is also used in paint and in glassmaking.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAll barium compounds are toxic; however, barium sulfate is insoluble and so can be safely swallowed. A suspension of barium sulfate is sometimes given to patients suffering from digestive disorders. This is a ‘barium meal’ or ‘barium enema’. Barium is a heavy element and scatters X-rays, so as it passes through the body the stomach and intestines can be distinguished on an X-ray. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBarium carbonate has been used in the past as a rat poison. Barium nitrate gives fireworks a green colour.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Barium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: barium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week rat poison, fireworks, fine glass, oil exploration and enemas. Spotted the link yet, well the answer is sitting in the apple green element at the bottom of group two.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAdina Payton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor many, barium has an unpleasant association. The first thing most people think about when this element is mentioned is the \"barium enema\" or \"barium swallow\". Sickly memories often surface of the radiology clinic - where they even ask which flavor you would like strawberry or banana... These \"cocktails\" consist of a white fluid of barium sulfate that is either \"squirted\" up one orifice or swallowed down another. It is used to help diagnose diseases and other problems that affect the large intestine or the esophagus. The heavy barium blocks X-rays, causing the filled part of the digestive system to show up clearly on the X-ray picture or CT scan. Barium sulfate can be taken into our body because it is highly insoluble in water, and is eliminated completely from the digestive tract. And if this sounds like an unpleasant experience, it\u0027s lucky that it\u0027s barium sulfate and not just barium that is used for the exam. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBarium is a highly toxic metal. It\u0027s extremely poisonous - no one in their right mind would consider consuming it. At low doses, it acts as a muscle stimulant, while higher doses play havoc with the nervous system, causing an irregular heartbeat, tremor, weakness, anxiety, paralysis, and potentially death as the heart and lungs fail. Acute doses of less than 1 gram can be fatal to humans. Indeed barium carbonate is useful as rat poison. Unlike barium sulfate, barium carbonate dissolves in stomach acid, releasing the poisonous barium to do its rather nasty but efficient work.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eConveniently barium, which is a soft silvery metallic alkaline earth metal, is never found in nature in its pure form, due to its reactivity with air or in water. In fact the metal is a \"getter\" in vacuum tubes, meaning it\u0027s used to remove the last traces of oxygen.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBarium compounds are notable for their high specific gravity - which, in practical terms, means the compounds are extremely heavy. This is true of the most common barium-bearing mineral, its sulfate - barite BaSO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e - is called \u0027heavy spar\u0027 due to the high density (4.5 g/cm³ - the size of a pea). Indeed the name barium comes from the Greek \u003cem\u003ebarys\u003c/em\u003e, meaning \"heavy\". Due to its density barium compounds, and especially barite (BaSO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e), are extremely important to the petroleum industry. Barite is used in drilling mud, a weighting agent in drilling new oil wells.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBarium carbonate also has an application that is more appealing than rat poison - it\u0027s used in glassmaking to enhance the luster of the glass. And barite is used in paints, bricks, tiles, glass and rubber production; barium nitrate and chlorate give green colors to fireworks and barium titanate was proposed in 2007 to be used in next generation battery technology for electric cars. Despite the relative high abundance of barium sulfate in nature - it\u0027s the 14\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e most abundant element in earths crust - due to its multiple uses it has a high value, in the range of $55/100grams. Total annual world production is estimated at around 6,000,000 tons. And the main mining areas are the UK, Italy, the Czech Republic, USA and Germany. Total world reserves are estimated to be around 450,000,000 tons.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd why am I so particularly interested in this heavy, poisonous element? Well, as a scientist I actually study barite - I separate barite from marine sediments - the mud at the bottom of the sea - and analyze its chemistry which tells us fabulous stories about seawater chemistry and productivity in the geological past. Barite forms in proportion to ocean productivity - the activity of marine phytoplankton the floating \"trees\" of the ocean which are the base of the marine food chain - and accumulates in marine sediments. The accumulation of barite in ocean sediments can tell us how productive the ocean was at any given time in Earth\u0027s history. Barite in contrast to many other minerals is not soluble and is preserved over many millions of years recording the chemistry of the ocean and how it changed over time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd therefore it\u0027s a great archive of ocean history.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemist Adina Payton telling the tale of barium. And talking of what sits at the bottom of the oceans\u003cstrong\u003e.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Mylon\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"How did it smell?\" That was the only question I needed to ask a geologist colleague of mine about the sediment she was trying to understand. The smell of the sediment tells a great deal about the underlying chemistry. Thick black anoxic sediments can be accompanied by a putrid smell which is unique to reduced sulfur. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMaybe this is why sulfur has such a bad reputation. My son wouldn\u0027t eat eggs for 6 months when he got a smell of his first rotten one. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat\u0027s the stinky story of sulfur with Steve Mylon on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element, I hope you can join us. \u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Barium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ba","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; India; Algeria","TopProductionCountries":"China; India; USA","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn the early 1600s, Vincenzo Casciarolo, of Bologna, Italy, found some unusual pebbles. If they were heated to redness during the day, they would shine during the night. This was the mineral barite (barium sulfate, BaSO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e).\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen Bologna stone, as it became known, was investigated by Carl Scheele in 1760s he realised it was the sulfate of an unknown element. Meanwhile a mineralogist, Dr William Withering, had found another curiously heavy mineral in a lead mine in Cumberland which clearly was not a lead ore. He named it witherite; it was later shown to be barium carbonate, BaCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNeither the sulfate nor the carbonate yielded up the metal itself using the conventional process of smelting with carbon. However, Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution in London produced it by the electrolysis of barium hydroxide in 1808.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4511436,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4511436.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":57,"Symbol":"La","Name":"Lanthanum","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of a camera lens. Lanthanum is added to glass used in some camera lenses to improve the clarity of the images it can produce. The flames in the background reflect the ease with which the element burns when ignited.","NaturalAbundance":"Lanthanum is found in ‘rare earth’ minerals, principally monazite (25% lanthanum) and bastnaesite (38% lanthanum). Ion-exchange and solvent extraction techniques are used to isolate the ‘rare earth’ elements from the minerals. Lanthanum metal is usually obtained by reducing the anhydrous fluoride with calcium.","BiologicalRoles":"Lanthanum has no known biological role. Both the element and its compounds are moderately toxic.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery-white metal. It rapidly tarnishes in air and burns easily when ignited.","CASnumber":"7439-91-0","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":57,"RelativeAtomicMass":"138.905","AtomicRadius":"2.43","CovalentRadii":"1.940","ElectronAffinity":"45.35","ElectroNegativity":"1.10","CovalentRadius":"1.94","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"920","MeltingPointK":"1193","MeltingPointF":"1688","BoilingPointC":"3464","BoilingPointK":"3737","BoilingPointF":"6267","MolarHeatCapacity":"195","Density":"6.15","DensityValue":"6.15","YoungsModulus":"36.6","ShearModulus":"14.3","BulkModulus":"27.9","DiscoveryYear":"1839","Discovery":"1839","DiscoveredBy":"Carl Gustav Mosander","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027lanthanein\u0027, meaning to lie hidden.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eLanthanum metal has no commercial uses. However, its alloys have a variety of uses. A lanthanum-nickel alloy is used to store hydrogen gas for use in hydrogen-powered vehicles. Lanthanum is also found in the anode of nickel metal hydride batteries used in hybrid cars. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLanthanum is an important component of mischmetal alloy (about 20%). The best-known use for this alloy is in ‘flints’ for cigarette lighters. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e‘Rare earth’ compounds containing lanthanum are used extensively in carbon lighting applications, such as studio lighting and cinema projection. They increase the brightness and give an emission spectrum similar to sunlight.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLanthanum(III) oxide is used in making special optical glasses, as it improves the optical properties and alkali resistance of the glass. Lanthanum salts are used in catalysts for petroleum refining. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe ion La3+ is used as a biological tracer for Ca2+, and radioactive lanthanum has been tested for use in treating cancer.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Lanthanum.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: lanthanum\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello and welcome to Chemistry in its Element, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam. This week the element that resembles a humble, but crucial film star, that appears everywhere but is often forgotten about. Brian Clegg uncovers the secret world of Lanthanum.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe periodic table is a wonderful structure. In its neat, ordered way, it predicts the behaviour of atoms as they follow a step-by-step pattern of increasing atomic number. At first glance, it\u0027s a simple matter of running across row after row. But take a closer look at barium and its obscure neighbour to the right, hafnium. Barium is atomic number 56. hafnium is 72. There are 15 elements missing. On a modern table, these appear at the bottom in a separate, floating row. They are the lanthanides - and we\u0027re taking a look at the element that gave its name to the whole group, lanthanum.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor most of us, giving the name to that group is about all lanthanum is known for - so it comes as quite a surprise to discover just how many ways it is used - we\u0027ll find it everywhere from cameras to swimming pools. But before we uncover the secret world of lanthanum, how did it end up sounding like a Victorian opium drink? It was one of the earlier lanthanides to be discovered, by the Swedish scientist Carl Gustav Mosander, working at the famous Karolinska Institute in 1839, though it was 1923 before the pure metal was produced.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne of the most reactive of the lanthanides, readily oxidising and bubbling away in water, lanthanum turned up unexpectedly in a cerium salt sample Mosander was working on. It was because of its sneakily unexpected appearance in the sample that Mosander called it lanthanum, from the Greek word lanthano, meaning to escape notice - in fact the first recorded reference to it in 1841 calls it \u0027another metallic oxide, which has hitherto lain concealed in oxide of cerium\u0027.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen it comes to using lanthanum, it best resembles a successful movie bit part player. Someone who never gets the lead role, but appears in film after film, solidly portraying different characters. Not a particularly expensive material to produce, lanthanum\u0027s many roles remain of a supporting kind, playing an essential part but avoiding the limelight.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is often added in small quantities to metals like iron and steel to make them less brittle, or to tungsten to improve the quality of electrodes used in arc welding. On a lesser scale of heat it also contributes to the spark produced by cigarette lighters using a material called mischmetal (literally mix metal in German) at least a quarter of which is usually lanthanum, giving the element its one starring role.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMuch of the lanthanum we experience is invisible, incorporated into glass. For many years, lead has been added to glass to give it an increased refractive index, producing an extra-shiny crystal effect. As the refractive index goes up, light travels slower in the material and the light is bent more as it travels from air into the glass. Lanthanum is much better than lead at pushing up the refractive index without dispersing the light too much, this extra clarity means that lanthanum oxide is now used widely in lenses for cameras and telescopes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome of those lenses will be pointed at celebrity swimming pools, where one of the many chemicals likely to be added to the water is a lanthanum salt, aimed at latching onto phosphates that would otherwise act as in-water fertiliser, encouraging green algae to discolour the pool. And I could go on about its use in rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride batteries or gas mantles - but I\u0027m sure you get the point.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLanthanum may be useful for scanning distant views through binoculars, but a final use of the element is in peering into the past. We\u0027re familiar with radiocarbon dating, based on the decay rate of carbon 14, being used to date biological specimens. Such radiometric dating relies on the fact that radioactive materials decay with a known half life. This means that, for instance, with carbon 14, half of the original amount will be left after around 6,000 years. The remainder will half again in the next 6,000 years, and so on. By measuring the amount of the radioactive substance in an object, relative to the product of its decay, we can determine its age.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut to use carbon dating we need something with a reasonable amount of carbon in it - usually something that was originally living - \u003cem\u003eand\u003c/em\u003e for the object to have been formed no more than about 60,000 years ago, after which too little of the carbon 14 is left. This makes it useless when attempting to date rocks that are hundreds of millions of years old. Here, one of the alternative dating approaches is so called La-Ba dating. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLanthanum and the element before it in the periodic table, barium, have an exotic relationship. Barium 139, for example, has a half-life of just 68 minutes before it breaks down to form lanthanum 139 - not suitable for dating anything older than a loaf of bread. But lanthanum 138 has a hefty half-life of around 100 billion years on the way to forming barium 138, making it ideal for dating ancient granites. Working on these timescales makes for a fairly loose idea of accuracy. One paper on the La-Ba technique proudly announces that rocks have been dated \u0027with the high precision of plus or minus 3.7 million years\u0027. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is not the kind of accuracy we hope for in train timetables, but when you\u0027re dealing with something half a billion years old, it makes a pretty good hit for lanthanum, the element that despite its name, shouldn\u0027t escape notice.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo it makes metal stronger, camera lenses better and keeps swimming pools clean. This element really does like to get around. That was Brian Clegg with the hidden depths of lanthanum. Next week an element that may appear just normal or indistinct but is truly adored by the people that know it - a trait it seems to share with a famous mermaid.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOn my recent trip to Copenhagen I spent a long time looking for the famous little mermaid that is symbolic of the city. When I found it I was surprised to see that it is rather insignificant, but this did not seem to lessen the special attention that it held for tourists from all over the world. I think it\u0027s a bit like the metal hafnium, first discovered in the mermaid\u0027s city of Copenhagen. It too seems rather insignificant at first sight and yet it holds the attention of a variety of scientists because of its rather special properties. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can learn the history and uses of Hafnium that make this element so loved by scientists worldwide with Eric Scerri in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam, thank you for listening and see you next week. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Lanthanum","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"La","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eLanthanum was discovered in January 1839 by Carl Gustav Mosander at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm. He extracted it from cerium which had been discovered in 1803. Mosander noticed that while most of his sample of cerium oxide was insoluble, some was soluble and he deduced that this was the oxide of a new element. News of his discovery spread, but Mosander was strangely silent.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat same year, Axel Erdmann, a student also at the Karolinska Institute, discovered lanthanum in a new mineral from Låven island located in a Norwegian fjord.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFinally, Mosander explained his delay, saying that he had extracted a second element from cerium, and this he called didymium. Although he didn’t realise it, didymium too was a mixture, and in 1885 it was separated into praseodymium and neodymium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22369,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22369.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":58,"Symbol":"Ce","Name":"Cerium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on the asteroid Ceres, after which the element is named. The background is based on an early 17th-century astronomical map.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eCerium is the most abundant of the lanthanides. It is more abundant than tin or lead and almost as abundant as zinc. It is found in a various minerals, the most common being bastnaesite and monazite. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCerium oxide is produced by heating bastnaesite ore, and treating with hydrochloric acid. Metallic cerium can be obtained by heating cerium(III) fluoride with calcium, or by the electrolysis of molten cerium oxide.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Cerium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"Cerium is a grey metal. It is little used because it tarnishes easily, reacts with water and burns when heated.","CASnumber":"7440-45-1","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":58,"RelativeAtomicMass":"140.116","AtomicRadius":"2.42","CovalentRadii":"1.840","ElectronAffinity":"62.72","ElectroNegativity":"1.12","CovalentRadius":"1.84","CommonOxidationStates":"4, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"799","MeltingPointK":"1072","MeltingPointF":"1470","BoilingPointC":"3443","BoilingPointK":"3716","BoilingPointF":"6229","MolarHeatCapacity":"192","Density":"6.77","DensityValue":"6.77","YoungsModulus":"33.6","ShearModulus":"13.5","BulkModulus":"21.5","DiscoveryYear":"1803","Discovery":"1803","DiscoveredBy":"Jöns Jacob Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger","OriginOfName":"Cerium is named for the asteroid, Ceres, which in turn was named after the Roman goddess of agriculture. ","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eCerium is the major component of mischmetal alloy (just under 50%). The best-known use for this alloy is in ‘flints’ for cigarette lighters. This is because cerium will make sparks when struck. The only other element that does this is iron.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCerium(Ill) oxide has uses as a catalyst. It is used in the inside walls of self-cleaning ovens to prevent the build-up of cooking residues. It is also used in catalytic converters. Cerium(III) oxide nanoparticles are being studied as an additive for diesel fuel to help it burn more completely and reduce exhaust emissions. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCerium sulfide is a non-toxic compound that is a rich red colour. It is used as a pigment. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCerium is also used in flat-screen TVs, low-energy light bulbs and floodlights.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Cerium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: cerium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week we\u0027re meeting the chemical that behaves badly and won\u0027t obey the rules when it comes to compounds involving oxygen and if that wasn\u0027t inflammatory enough, it is also the source of sparks that brings a lighter to life. But thankfully it\u0027s also got a softer side and that is a soothing remedy for burns, as Andrea Sella knows only too well.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA few weeks ago I had a stupid accident in the lab; I wont go into the details; I am not terribly proud about what happened. But the result is I suffered from some superficial burns on my face and neck. I was seen to by a specialist nurse who nodded at me and then handed me tub of ointment. \u0027Its flammacerium\u0027, she said, \u0027apply it twice a day\u0027. \u0027Flama what\u0027, I replied, \u0027cerium\u0027, she said. I was delighted. \u0027Cerium, it can not be serious, it\u0027s my favorite element\u0027. The nurse laughed. Fortunately she didn\u0027t ask me why, she would have never got me out of the clinic. But perhaps if she listened to this Podcast, she will find out.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCerium is one of the first members of a series of about 14 elements with exotic and evocative names often referred to as the \u0027rare earths\u0027 or \u0027lanthanides\u0027. The most striking thing about these elements is their remarkable chemical similarity. So much so for almost a hundred years, chemists almost went mad trying to separate them. William Crookes, the great Victorian inventor and spectroscopist wrote in 1887, \u0027these elements perplex us in our researches; they baffle us in our speculations and haunt us in our very dreams. They stretch like an unknown sea before us marking mystifying and murmuring strange revelations and possibilities\u0027. Yet Cerium stands out from the crowd with its insoluble ceramic oxide, Ceria which has changed our world. But I\u0027m, getting ahead of myself.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe discovery of cerium was an accident. Around 1800, a young geologist Wilhelm Hisinger was rock hunting on his father\u0027s estate on the island of Västmanland, in Sweden, and found a new mineral that struck him as unusually dense. Hoping that it might be an ore of the recently discovered element Tungsten, Hisinger sent a sample to that element\u0027s discoverer Carl Wilhelm Scheele who took a look and said rather unhelpfully that there was no Tungsten in it. Undeterred Hisinger went to work with the great Swedish analytical chemist theorist Jöns Jakob Berzelius. In 1803, they isolated a new metallic element that they separated, thanks to the insolubility of its oxide. The named the element after the asteroid Ceres, itself named after the Roman goddess of agriculture. At about the same time, the German analyst Martin Klaproth isolated the same element from a different Scandinavian mineral. Both reports appeared in the same journal a few months apart causing something of an academic clash over exactly who got there first. The isolation of the metal however would have to wait another 70 years until the electrolysis of molten cerium chloride.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe metal itself is nothing special to look at; it\u0027s a standard silver grey color and it tarnishes slowly in air as an oxide layer builds up on the surface. But in powdered form it is much more exciting. It is highly reactive particularly when alloyed with iron; it forms a brittle material ferrous cerium which sparks spectacularly when struck and is the basis of the flints of cigarette lighters and those exciting fire steels for chefs. Why does it burn so furiously? Well Cerium is fairly electro positive. So it will give up its outer electrons easily. And the oxide Ceria that I alluded to earlier is almost brick like in its stability. So it gives out huge amount of energies when it combusts. Ceria is also very hard which has made it a useful roche or polish for lens. If you happen to want to grind or polish your own telescope, then cerium dioxide is probably what you will use. But what makes the oxide really interesting is it misbehaves. Although the formula may appear to be CeO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, one cerium 2 oxygens in reality the compound always has slightly less than 2 oxygens; the surface is peppered with defects, gaps where an oxygen atom should be and the degree of imperfection varies; it depends very much on how the oxide is prepared or treated. So one of the headline uses for this apparently flawed oxide is in the catalytic converters of cars and trucks. A honeycomb of cerium dioxide helps to combust un-burnt fuel coming down the exhaust pipe by releasing oxygen during the oxygen lean part of the engine\u0027s cycle while picking the oxygen back up in the rich stage. As a nanopowder, mixed in with diesel fuel, it can clean up the otherwise sooty fumes produced by trucks and buses. So Cerium is critical for reducing the impact of the internal combustion engines that power our vehicles. But if you take an even closer look at Ceria it becomes more confusing. At first sight it looks like a no-brainer. Cerium looses 4 electrons handing them over to the surrounding oxygen leaving aside defects, this means it has a 4+ oxidation state. But on very close inspection with x-ray spectroscopy its clear that the cerium hangs on to at least some of those four electrons and its true oxidation state is in a quantum mechanical limbo some where between 3 and 4. Indeed the great Japanese spectroscopist Akio Kotani once wrote that \u0027there is no genuine example of Cerium 4\u0027. And as always there is mystery concealed just beneath the surface of even the most apparently simple looking chemistry. So why you might ask, is cerium a burn cream; that too is a mystery. The most that the doctors can tell me is that it seems to work. Something to which I can great fully attest.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat\u0027s UCL\u0027s Andrea Sella on cerium the element that sparks up lighters, vanishes burns and also helps us to clean up our act when it comes to pollution. Now next week it\u0027s definitely a case of don\u0027t blink, or you might miss it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhillip Ball\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe nuclear collisions used to make them created only about one atom per hour. Yet 7 fleeting atoms of seaborgium to work with, the researches figured out that it\u0027s a metal comparable to molybdenum and tungsten. In such virtuoso experiments we can see the periodic table continuing to exert its pattern even among the elements that nature never glimpsed. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Phil Ball will be telling us the story of those 7 atoms of seaborgium next time. I do hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thanks for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Cerium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ce","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eCerium was first identified by the Jöns Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger in the winter of 1803/4. Martin Klaproth independently discovered it around the same time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough cerium is one of the 14 lanthanoid (aka rare earth) elements it was discovered independently of them. There are some minerals that are almost exclusively cerium salts such as cerite, which is cerium silicate. A lump of this mineral had been found in 1751 by Axel Cronstedt at a mine in Vestmanland, Sweden. He sent some to Carl Scheele to analyse it but he failed to realise it was new element. In 1803, Berzelius and Hisinger examined it themselves and proved that it contained a new element.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was not until 1875 that William Hillebrand and Thomas Norton obtained a pure specimen of cerium itself, by passing an electric current through the molten cerium chloride.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22411,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22411.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":59,"Symbol":"Pr","Name":"Praseodymium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol is one commonly used for the astrological birth sign of Gemini (‘the twins’). The green colour, together with this symbol, reflects the origin of the element’s name, from the Greek ‘prasinos’, meaning ‘green’, and ‘didymos’, meaning ‘twin’.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003ePraseodymium occurs along with other lanthanide elements in a variety of minerals. The two principal sources are monazite and bastnaesite. It is extracted from these minerals by ion exchange and solvent extraction. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePraseodymium metal is prepared by reducing anhydrous chloride with calcium.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Praseodymium has no known biological role. It has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-10-0","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":59,"RelativeAtomicMass":"140.908","AtomicRadius":"2.40","CovalentRadii":"1.900","ElectronAffinity":"92.819","ElectroNegativity":"1.13","CovalentRadius":"1.90","CommonOxidationStates":"4, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"931","MeltingPointK":"1204","MeltingPointF":"1708","BoilingPointC":"3520","BoilingPointK":"3793","BoilingPointF":"6368","MolarHeatCapacity":"193","Density":"6.77","DensityValue":"6.77","YoungsModulus":"37.3","ShearModulus":"14.8","BulkModulus":"28.8","DiscoveryYear":"1885","Discovery":"1885","DiscoveredBy":"Carl Auer von Welsbach","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027prasios didymos\u0027 meaning green twin.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003ePraseodymium is used in a variety of alloys. The high-strength alloy it forms with magnesium is used in aircraft engines. Mischmetal is an alloy containing about 5% praseodymium and is used to make flints for cigarette lighters. Praseodymium is also used in alloys for permanent magnets.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlong with other lanthanide elements, it is used in carbon arc electrodes for studio lighting and projection. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePraseodymium salts are used to colour glasses, enamel and glazes an intense and unusually clean yellow. Praseodymium oxide is a component of didymium glass (along with neodymium). This glass is used in goggles used by welders and glassmakers, because it filters out the yellow light and infrared (heat) radiation.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Praseodymium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: praseodymium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, two for the price of one this week. Here\u0027s Andrea Sella.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs a graduate student I used to seal off NMR samples under vacuum. As the glass was heated by the torch, the flame would blaze with the fierce orange glow of the sodium lurking in the pyrex. It was all the glassblowing I could do. Anything more serious required a trip down to the ground floor to see our wizard glassblower, Geoffrey Wilkinson, a lovable rogue from the Black Country with an infectious laugh, and wit was as sharp as a razor.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne day, as he stood at his lathe with an orange inferno raging before him I asked him about the glasses he was wearing. \"Didymium\" he answered cryptically, and then noticing my blank look, he added \"Cuts out the light. Try them.\" He passed me his specs, the lenses of a curious greeny-grey colour. I slipped them on and suddenly the flame was gone. All I could see was a red-hot piece of spinning glass unobscured by the glare. I gawped in wonder until Geoff pulled the specs off my face saying \"Give \u0027em back ya fool\" and went back to his work. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDidymium is not a name you will often find in textbooks these days. It is the name of a pair of elements which lie next to each other in the lanthanide or rare earth series - what used to be the Wild West of the periodic table. The fourteen elements that constitute the series are remarkable for their similarity. Nowhere else does one find a group of elements that so resemble each other in their chemical properties. Hence these elements proved incredibly difficult to separate from each other and purify. And to make matters worse, unlike other metals, the colours of rare earth metal compounds were pale changed little from one compound to the next, making it even harder to work out whether your material was pure. Amongst the many claims for the discovery of new elements was a report in 1839 by the Swedish chemist Carl Gustav Mosander of a supposed element he called \"Didymium\" - after the Greek word for twin. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe invention of spectroscopy by Gustov Kirchoff and Robert Bunsen (yup, he of the Bunsen burner) now came into its own. It was soon realized that the spectre of the rare earths were very characteristic, with sharp gas-phase-like lines both in the solid and solution. At last there was a means of establishing purity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBunsen, who, by the 1870s, was the world\u0027s leading authority on the spectroscopy of the rare earths set this element as a problem for one of his students Carl Auer, who began to carry out the hundreds of fractional crystallizations necessary to get it pure. By 1885 it was clear that Auer had not one but two elements on his hands - a bluish lilac one he called \"Neodymium\", the new twin - and a green one he named \"Praseodymium\" - the green twin, each with their own spectra which summed together were the same as those of Mosander\u0027s material. Bunsen was delighted and immediately gave his approval to his student\u0027s work. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut it would not be until the 1940s before fast and effective methods for the separation of the lanthanides would be developed. Rather than the series of excruciatingly tedious crystallizations, the American chemists led by Frank Spedding described ion exchange methods and then within a few years solvent extraction became prevalent and produced kilogram quantities of these elements. Suddenly, commercial applications became a real prospect.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause the ions themselves have unpaired electrons, their magnetic properties have proved fascinating to scientists and lucrative to entrepreneurs. An alloy of neodymium, iron and boron discovered in the 1980s is ferromagnetic, yielding permanent magnets over 1000 times stronger than anything ever seen before. Neodymium ion borade magnets have not only found their way into almost billions of electric motors and electronic devices around the world but also into wonderful toys for children.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOn the other hand, the sharp spectral lines that so fascinated Bunsen and generations of spectroscopists since, imply very precise electronic states. Embedding neodymium into synthetic gemstones such as garnet resulted in the Neodymium:YAG laser, the workhorse of industrial laser cutting tools with its brilliant infrared lines. Your personalised iPod was probably engraved with a YAG. Coupled with a frequency doubling crystal a YAG gives us the bright green laser pointer than some lecturers like to show off with.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut some lateral thinking in the 1940s by chemists at Corning Glassworks in the US gave the invention that changed glassblowing forever. Someone spotted that both praseodymium and neodymium had absorption lines corresponding almost exactly with that annoyingly brilliant orange sodium line. Corning began producing \"Didymium glass\" which acts as an optical notch filter to cut out the glare and effect remains as astonishing to me today as it was the first time I saw it. When, a few years ago, one of our glassblowers here at UCL retired, he phoned me up on his last day. \"I have something for you,\" he said mysteriously. I went down to the basement and shook his hand to wish him well. And then, to my delight, he handed me his specs. \"Didymium,\" he said, \"You\u0027ll need these.\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAndrea Sella with the story of didymium, two elements rolled into one. And Andrea is back next week with a taste of a metal that melts in your mouth and possibly also in your hands. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut I\u0027m sure you really want to know is, if this really is the M \u0026amp; M element, what does it taste like? I knew you would ask. So I had a quick lick a couple of days back and the answer is it doesn\u0027t actually taste of very much to be honest. There\u0027s a faintly astringent and metallic taste which lingers on your tongue for few hours. And when it is molten, sorry I\u0027ll leave that experiment for someone more intrepid than I.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can catch the story of gallium, which is what he was eating, with Andrea Sella on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element, that\u0027s of course assuming that his element eating antics haven\u0027t poisoned him in the meantime. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Praseodymium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Pr","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eDidymium was announced in 1841 by Carl Mosander. He separated if from cerium, along with lanthanum. Didymium was accepted as an element for more than 40 years but it was really a mixture of lanthanoid elements. Some chemists wondered whether didymium too might consist of more than one element, and their suspicions were confirmed when Bohuslav Brauner of Prague in 1882 showed that its atomic spectrum was not that of a pure metal. The Austrian chemist, Carl Auer von Welsbach took up the challenge and in June 1885 he succeeded in splitting didymium into its two components, neodymium and praseodymium, which he obtained as their oxides.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA pure sample of praseodymium metal itself was first produced in 1931.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22384,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22384.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":60,"Symbol":"Nd","Name":"Neodymium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The imagery and symbols used here reflect the use of neodymium in the manufacture of purple glass.","NaturalAbundance":"The main sources of most lanthanide elements are the minerals monazite and bastnaesite. Neodymium can be extracted from these minerals by ion exchange and solvent extraction. The element can also be obtained by reducing anhydrous neodymium chloride or fluoride with calcium.","BiologicalRoles":"Neodymium has no known biological role. It is moderately toxic and irritating to eyes.","Appearance":"A silvery-white metal. It rapidly tarnishes in air.","CASnumber":"7440-00-8","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":60,"RelativeAtomicMass":"144.242","AtomicRadius":"2.39","CovalentRadii":"1.880","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.14","CovalentRadius":"1.88","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1016","MeltingPointK":"1289","MeltingPointF":"1861","BoilingPointC":"3074","BoilingPointK":"3347","BoilingPointF":"5565","MolarHeatCapacity":"190","Density":"7.01","DensityValue":"7.01","YoungsModulus":"41.4","ShearModulus":"16.3","BulkModulus":"31.8","DiscoveryYear":"1885","Discovery":"1885","DiscoveredBy":"Carl Auer von Welsbach","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027neos didymos\u0027 meaning new twin.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe most important use for neodymium is in an alloy with iron and boron to make very strong permanent magnets. This discovery, in 1983, made it possible to miniaturise many electronic devices, including mobile phones, microphones, loudspeakers and electronic musical instruments. These magnets are also used in car windscreen wipers and wind turbines.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNeodymium is a component, along with praseodymium, of didymium glass. This is a special glass for goggles used during glass blowing and welding. The element colours glass delicate shades of violet, wine-red and grey. Neodymium is also used in the glass for tanning booths, since it transmits the tanning UV rays but not the heating infrared rays. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNeodymium glass is used to make lasers. These are used as laser pointers, as well as in eye surgery, cosmetic surgery and for the treatment of skin cancers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNeodymium oxide and nitrate are used as catalysts in polymerisation reactions.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Neodymium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: neodymium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, two for the price of one this week. Here\u0027s Andrea Sella.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs a graduate student I used to seal off NMR samples under vacuum. As the glass was heated by the torch, the flame would blaze with the fierce orange glow of the sodium lurking in the pyrex. It was all the glassblowing I could do. Anything more serious required a trip down to the ground floor to see our wizard glassblower, Geoffrey Wilkinson, a lovable rogue from the Black Country with an infectious laugh, and wit was as sharp as a razor.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne day, as he stood at his lathe with an orange inferno raging before him I asked him about the glasses he was wearing. \"Didymium\" he answered cryptically, and then noticing my blank look, he added \"Cuts out the light. Try them.\" He passed me his specs, the lenses of a curious greeny-grey colour. I slipped them on and suddenly the flame was gone. All I could see was a red-hot piece of spinning glass unobscured by the glare. I gawped in wonder until Geoff pulled the specs off my face saying \"Give \u0027em back ya fool\" and went back to his work. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDidymium is not a name you will often find in textbooks these days. It is the name of a pair of elements which lie next to each other in the lanthanide or rare earth series - what used to be the Wild West of the periodic table. The fourteen elements that constitute the series are remarkable for their similarity. Nowhere else does one find a group of elements that so resemble each other in their chemical properties. Hence these elements proved incredibly difficult to separate from each other and purify. And to make matters worse, unlike other metals, the colours of rare earth metal compounds were pale changed little from one compound to the next, making it even harder to work out whether your material was pure. Amongst the many claims for the discovery of new elements was a report in 1839 by the Swedish chemist Carl Gustav Mosander of a supposed element he called \"Didymium\" - after the Greek word for twin. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe invention of spectroscopy by Gustov Kirchoff and Robert Bunsen (yup, he of the Bunsen burner) now came into its own. It was soon realized that the spectre of the rare earths were very characteristic, with sharp gas-phase-like lines both in the solid and solution. At last there was a means of establishing purity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBunsen, who, by the 1870s, was the world\u0027s leading authority on the spectroscopy of the rare earths set this element as a problem for one of his students Carl Auer, who began to carry out the hundreds of fractional crystallizations necessary to get it pure. By 1885 it was clear that Auer had not one but two elements on his hands - a bluish lilac one he called \"Neodymium\", the new twin - and a green one he named \"Praseodymium\" - the green twin, each with their own spectra which summed together were the same as those of Mosander\u0027s material. Bunsen was delighted and immediately gave his approval to his student\u0027s work. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut it would not be until the 1940s before fast and effective methods for the separation of the lanthanides would be developed. Rather than the series of excruciatingly tedious crystallizations, the American chemists led by Frank Spedding described ion exchange methods and then within a few years solvent extraction became prevalent and produced kilogram quantities of these elements. Suddenly, commercial applications became a real prospect.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause the ions themselves have unpaired electrons, their magnetic properties have proved fascinating to scientists and lucrative to entrepreneurs. An alloy of neodymium, iron and boron discovered in the 1980s is ferromagnetic, yielding permanent magnets over 1000 times stronger than anything ever seen before. Neodymium ion borade magnets have not only found their way into almost billions of electric motors and electronic devices around the world but also into wonderful toys for children.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOn the other hand, the sharp spectral lines that so fascinated Bunsen and generations of spectroscopists since, imply very precise electronic states. Embedding neodymium into synthetic gemstones such as garnet resulted in the Neodymium:YAG laser, the workhorse of industrial laser cutting tools with its brilliant infrared lines. Your personalised iPod was probably engraved with a YAG. Coupled with a frequency doubling crystal a YAG gives us the bright green laser pointer than some lecturers like to show off with.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut some lateral thinking in the 1940s by chemists at Corning Glassworks in the US gave the invention that changed glassblowing forever. Someone spotted that both praseodymium and neodymium had absorption lines corresponding almost exactly with that annoyingly brilliant orange sodium line. Corning began producing \"Didymium glass\" which acts as an optical notch filter to cut out the glare and effect remains as astonishing to me today as it was the first time I saw it. When, a few years ago, one of our glassblowers here at UCL retired, he phoned me up on his last day. \"I have something for you,\" he said mysteriously. I went down to the basement and shook his hand to wish him well. And then, to my delight, he handed me his specs. \"Didymium,\" he said, \"You\u0027ll need these.\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAndrea Sella with the story of didymium, two elements rolled into one. And Andrea is back next week with a taste of a metal that melts in your mouth and possibly also in your hands. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut I\u0027m sure you really want to know is, if this really is the M \u0026amp; M element, what does it taste like? I knew you would ask. So I had a quick lick a couple of days back and the answer is it doesn\u0027t actually taste of very much to be honest. There\u0027s a faintly astringent and metallic taste which lingers on your tongue for few hours. And when it is molten, sorry I\u0027ll leave that experiment for someone more intrepid than I.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can catch the story of gallium, which is what he was eating, with Andrea Sella on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element, that\u0027s of course assuming that his element eating antics haven\u0027t poisoned him in the meantime. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Neodymium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Nd","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eNeodymium was discovered in Vienna in 1885 by Karl Auer. Its story began with the discovery of cerium, from which Carl Gustav Mosander extracted didymium in 1839. This turned out to be a mixture of lanthanoid elements, and in 1879, samarium was extracted from didymium, followed a year later by gadolinium. In 1885, Auer obtained neodymium and praseodymium from didymium, their existence revealed by atomic spectroscopy. Didymium had been studied by Bohuslav Brauner at Prague in 1882 and was shown to vary according to the mineral from which it came. At the time he made his discovery, Auer was a research student of the great German chemist, Robert Bunsen who was the world expert on didymium, but he accepted Auer\u0027s discovery immediately, whereas other chemists were to remain sceptical for several years.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA sample of the pure metal was first produced in 1925.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22376,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22376.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":61,"Symbol":"Pm","Name":"Promethium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on a scene from an Ancient Greek vase. It depicts the god Atlas witnessing Zeus’ punishment of Prometheus. Prometheus was chained to a rock on a mountain top. Every day an eagle tore at his body and ate his liver, and every night the liver grew back. Because Prometheus was immortal, he could not die, but he suffered endlessly.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003ePromethium’s longest-lived isotope has a half-life of only 18 years. For this reason it is not found naturally on Earth. It has been found that a star in the Andromeda galaxy is manufacturing promethium, but it is not known how. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePromethium can be produced by irradiating neodymium and praseodymium with neutrons, deuterons and alpha particles. It can also be prepared by ion exchange of nuclear reactor fuel processing wastes.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Promethium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A radioactive metal.","CASnumber":"7440-12-2","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":61,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[145]","AtomicRadius":"2.38","CovalentRadii":"1.860","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.86","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1042","MeltingPointK":"1315","MeltingPointF":"1908","BoilingPointC":"3000","BoilingPointK":"3273","BoilingPointF":"5432","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"7.26","DensityValue":"7.26","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1945","Discovery":"1945","DiscoveredBy":"Jacob .A. Marinsky, Lawrence E. Glendenin, and Charles D. Coryell","OriginOfName":"Promethium is named after Prometheus of Greek mythology who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humans.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eMost promethium is used only in research. A little promethium is used in specialised atomic batteries. These are roughly the size of a drawing pin and are used for pacemakers, guided missiles and radios. The radioactive decay of promethium is used to make a phosphor give off light and this light is converted into electricity by a solar cell.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePromethium can also be used as a source of x-rays and radioactivity in measuring instruments.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Promethium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: promethium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, we enter the world of Greek mythology to reveal the great powers of the element promethium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOf all the figures in Greek myth, Prometheus has to be one of the most significant for science. This Titan brought fire to mankind. For that gift he was punished by having his liver pecked out by an eagle every day. Such was the reward for being an early technologist. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn other legends Prometheus gave us maths and science, agriculture and medicine - or even created humans in the first place. This uncertainty of just what Prometheus was responsible for is echoed in the uncertainty of who discovered the element promethium, number 61 in the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe know who named it. That was Grace Coryell, the wife of Charles Coryell who with colleagues Jacob Marinsky and Lawrence Glendenin produced promethium at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, near Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1945. Mrs Coryell allegedly felt they were, like Prometheus, stealing fire from the gods - presumably a reference to the atomic bomb programme, rather than anything significant about promethium itself. But this wasn\u0027t the first reference to element 61. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs far back as 1902 there were suspicions that such an element should exist. Promethium sits in the lanthanides, the floating bar of elements that squeezes between barium and lutetium. The rare earth elements either side of it, neodymium and samarium, seemed not to have the right relationship in their chemical properties to be neighbours. It was as if there were a gap between, and Czech chemist John Bohuslav Branner suspected that a missing element occupied that gap. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis suspicion was reinforced by Henry Moseley, the English physicist who gave structure to the concept of atomic number, realizing that it reflected the number of protons in an atom\u0027s nucleus. What had, until then, been a rather arbitrary numbering system was given a specific meaning - and in 1914, Moseley realized that there was a missing element in number 61. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBefore Coryell\u0027s team isolated promethium there were at least two others in the 1920s who claimed to have found element 61. An Italian team found something they named florentium after their city, while an American group in Illinois came up with illinium. Both these findings were announced in 1926, with the Americans publishing first, promptly followed by the Italians, who claimed priority because they had results locked away in a safe dating back two years. But in practice neither of these findings could be duplicated, and apart from a failed 1938 attempt at Ohio State University, the discovery remained unclaimed until the 1945 isolation of promethium. It was a by-product of uranium fuel in one of the early reactors being used to produce plutonium for the atomic bomb. Coryell\u0027s team intended to call it clintonium, after the Clinton Laboratories where they worked, until Mrs Coryell persuaded them that the classical name was better. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne of the reasons promethium was so elusive for a relatively low atomic number element is that it doesn\u0027t have a stable state - it\u0027s one of only two elements below 83 that only has radioactive isotopes, the other being technetium. The most stable form of promethium has a half life of just 17.7 years - that\u0027s promethium 145 - so it\u0027s hardly surprising that it proved difficult to pin down, though it does occur naturally in tiny quantities in the ore pitchblende when uranium 238 splits spontaneously. The amounts produced are so small - around a trillionth of a gram from a tonne of ore - that promethium was unlikely to be discovered this way. However it would be wrong to say that promethium is negligible in nature. It has been detected using spectroscopes, devices that analyze materials from the light they give off, on the star HR465 in the constellation Andromeda. No one is quite sure why this star is pumping out what must be considerable quantities of promethium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis grey metallic element gives off beta particles - electrons from the nucleus - as it decays. These can cause radioactive damage in their own right, but prometheum is probably most dangerous because those beta particles generate X-rays when they hit heavy nuclei, making a sample of promethium bathe its surroundings in a constant low dosage X-ray beam. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was initially used to replace radium in luminous dials when it was realized that radium was too dangerous. Promethium chloride was mixed with phosphors that glow yellowy-green or blue when radiation hits them. However, as the dangers of the element\u0027s radioactive properties became apparent, this too was dropped from the domestic glow-in-the-dark market, only used now in specialist applications. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe obvious use of promethium is for portable X-ray devices, though this isn\u0027t an application that has been properly developed yet. Instead the element\u0027s beta radiation has been used in industry to measure the thickness of materials, and the isotope promethium 147 has been used in nuclear batteries. These are long life power sources that make use of the beta radiation (which is, after all, made up of electrons, the source of an electrical current) to generate power. Such batteries, often less than a centimetre across, can keep in action for around five years, twice promethium 147\u0027s half life. They have been used in everything from missiles to pacemakers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn its early days, nuclear power seemed to promise vast amounts of cheap, portable energy. Science fiction of the period featured walnut-sized generators that could run a household, all driven by nuclear fission. In nuclear batteries, promethium comes about as close as we\u0027ve ever got to a portable nuclear powered energy source. So in that small way at least, it lives up to the titan it was named after - Prometheus, the bringer of fire. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo a provider of portable and long life power named after the bringer of fire. That was science writer Brian Clegg bringing us the powerful and mythological chemistry of promethium. Now next week an element that shoots us off into outer space, quite literally. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Corfield\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDespite its rarity and hazards it seems appropriate that an element first synthesised during a global conflict that saw the development of the vehicles that would one day take us to the Moon and beyond is now so pivotal to space exploration, providing our robotic pioneers not only with power but also the ability to analyse extraterrestrial materials as well. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTrying to guess what wondrous element this is? Join Richard Corfield to find out the discovery, chemistry and applications of the element curium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Promethium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Pm","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1902, Bohuslav Branner speculated that there should be an element in the periodic table between neodymium and samarium. He was not to know that all its isotopes were radioactive and had long disappeared. Attempts were made to discover it and several claims were made, but clearly all were false. However, minute amounts of promethium do occur in uranium ores as a result of nuclear fission, but in amounts of less than a microgram per million tonnes of ore.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1939, the 60-inch cyclotron at the University of California was used to make promethium, but it was not proven. Finally element 61 was produced in 1945 by Jacob .A. Marinsky, Lawrence E. Glendenin, and Charles D. Coryell at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. They used ion-exchange chromatography to separate it from the fission products of uranium fuel taken from a nuclear reactor.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22386,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22386.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":62,"Symbol":"Sm","Name":"Samarium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The mineral samarskite, from which samarium was first isolated, is named after Colonel Samarsky, a Russian mine official. The Soviet hammer, sickle and star are on a background that reflects the use of the element in lasers.","NaturalAbundance":"Samarium is found along with other lanthanide metals in several minerals, the principal ones being monazite and bastnaesite. It is separated from the other components of the mineral by ion exchange and solvent extraction. \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRecently, electrochemical deposition has been used to separate samarium from other lanthanides. A lithium citrate electrolyte is used, and a mercury electrode. Samarium metal can also be produced by reducing the oxide with barium. \u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Samarium has no known biological role. It has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A silvery-white metal.","CASnumber":"7440-19-9","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":62,"RelativeAtomicMass":"150.36","AtomicRadius":"2.36","CovalentRadii":"1.850","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.17","CovalentRadius":"1.85","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, 2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1072","MeltingPointK":"1345","MeltingPointF":"1962","BoilingPointC":"1794","BoilingPointK":"2067","BoilingPointF":"3261","MolarHeatCapacity":"196","Density":"7.52","DensityValue":"7.52","YoungsModulus":"49.7","ShearModulus":"19.5","BulkModulus":"37.8","DiscoveryYear":"1879","Discovery":"1879","DiscoveredBy":"Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from samarskite, the name of the mineral from which it was first isolated.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eSamarium-cobalt magnets are much more powerful than iron magnets. They remain magnetic at high temperatures and so are used in microwave applications. They enabled the miniaturisation of electronic devices like headphones, and the development of personal stereos. However, neodymium magnets are now more commonly used instead.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSamarium is used to dope calcium chloride crystals for use in optical lasers. It is also used in infrared absorbing glass and as a neutron absorber in nuclear reactors. Samarium oxide finds specialised use in glass and ceramics. In common with other lanthanides, samarium is used in carbon arc lighting for studio lighting and projection.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Samarium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: samarium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, a rare, lustrous element with isotopes that have some unfathomably long half-lives. To tell us more, here\u0027s Richard Corfield:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Corfield\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSamarium is a rare earth element that - indirectly - has the distinction of being the first naturally occurring chemical element to be named after a living person. Samarium was isolated from the mineral Samarskite which was discovered near the small town of Miass in the southern Ural mountains in 1847. The mineral was named by the German Mineralogist Heinrich Rose after Vasili Evgrafovich Samarsky-Bykhovets, Chief of Staff of the Russian Corps of Mining Engineers between 1845 and 1861 who had given Rose the ore sample to study.\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eAlthough Samarium was discovered in 1853 by the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac - who first observed its sharp absorption lines in didymium - it was not until 1879 that it was isolated in Paris by the French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran using a sample from a newly located ore body in North Carolina. \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eSamarium is a rare earth metal with a pronounced silver lustre. It oxidizes in air and ignites spontaneously at 150 degrees centigrade. Rare Earth metals are a collection of seventeen chemical elements which include scandium, yttrium and fifteen lanthanoids. The term \u0027rare earth\u0027 is simple a reflection of the fact that these elements were originally isolated from uncommonly occurring oxide-type minerals. Today rare earth metals are increasingly important in the manufacture of high-tech electronic devices.\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eSamarium\u0027s geological origins in Samarskite is entirely in keeping with its importance to the science of geology. Samarium has several isotopes, four of which are stable and several of which are unstable. The half-lives of many of these are very short, on the order of a few seconds but three, \u003csup\u003e147\u003c/sup\u003eSm, \u003csup\u003e148\u003c/sup\u003eSm and \u003csup\u003e149\u003c/sup\u003eSm have extremely long half lives. It is \u003csup\u003e147\u003c/sup\u003eSm that is the key player in the sub-discipline of geology known as geochronology - the science of assigning absolute dates to minerals. \u003csup\u003e147\u003c/sup\u003eSm has a staggeringly long half life: 1.06x10\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e years or, in real money, 106 billion years. Even by geological standards this gigantic figure is incomprehensible, especially if we remember that the Universe itself is only a little under fourteen billion years old. Thus one kg of \u003csup\u003e147\u003c/sup\u003eSm will decay to half a kilo of \u003csup\u003e147\u003c/sup\u003eSm in a period of time that is roughly eight times the duration of the Universe! \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eGiven that the age of the Earth and the other planets of the solar system is only 4.5 billion years, why is this particular element and isotope so useful? Partly it is because the samarium to neodymium decay chain is highly resistant to metamorphosis, the geological process which transforms sedimentary and igneous rocks into other rock types by subjecting them to great heat or pressure or both. This has the effect of redistributing, or fractionating, the original elements. In the case of other geological chronometers, such as the uranium to lead or rubidium to strontium decay series this resets the decay chain clock, rendering them useless. Samarium to neodymium does not suffer from this disadvantage. \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eSamarium also has a long history in the nuclear industry. Soon after the Second World War the Indianapolis-based chemical giant Eli Lilley developed a fractional crystallisation technique for separating neodymium from ore. The synthesis of samarium and gadolinium was a by-product of the process and since \u003csup\u003e149\u003c/sup\u003eSm is a strong neutron absorber the product - called \u0027Lindsay Mix\u0027 - was sold as an early form of neutron damper for nuclear control rods. Even today samarium is still used as a neutron absorber in reactor control rods; particularly when mixed with europium and gadolinium forming the so-called samarium-europium-gadolinium (SEG) concentrate.\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eSamarium has more modest uses as well. These include its use as a component in carbon arc lights in the movie industry, as well as for making magnets that have a high resistance to demagnetisation. Such samarium-based magnets are perfect for both headphones as well as electric guitar pickups. Recently developed samarium/cobalt (SmCo5) magnets have the highest resistance to demagnetisation of any material yet synthesised. \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eSamarium oxide is also used in optical glass to absorb infrared radiation as well as to dope calcium fluoride crystals in optical lasers. \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eSamarium, like other rare earths is becoming progressively more valuable in a world whose dependence on high-technology is snow-balling. Recent reports have highlighted concerns that the Chinese are hoarding their native reserves of the rare earths to feed their electronic industries. This will certainly have the effect of hiking the price of samarium and the other rare earth elements so it may be time to consider buying share options. Not bad for an element first discovered in the mountains of tsarist Russia and which has - until now - been mostly noted for its arcane role in dating exotic rocks. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo get those samarium shares in ASAP. That was science writer Richard Corfield with the geological and technological uses of the element samarium. Now next week, we stick with the lanthanides and hear about an element that likes to play hard to get.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAt that time, scientists were using improved techniques such as fractional crystallisation to obtain the individual lanthanides from mixtures. In 1886, Lecoq was the first person to identify dysprosium by separating its oxide from holmium oxide. It took him over 30 goes to do this, so he named the element accordingly, from the Greek word, dysprositos, meaning \"hard to get at\". \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Simon Cotton will be sharing some of the chemistry, properties and applications of dysprosium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element\u003cem\u003e. \u003c/em\u003e Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham and thank you for listening\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Samarium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Sm","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"Samarium was one of the rare earths (aka lanthanoids) which perplexed and puzzled the chemists of the 1800s. Its history began with the discovery of cerium in 1803. This was suspected of harbouring other metals, and in 1839 Carl Mosander claimed to have obtained lanthanum and didymium from it. While he was right about lanthanum, he was wrong about didymium. In 1879, Paul-\u0026Eacute;mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran extracted didymium from the mineral samarskite. He then made a solution of didymium nitrate and added ammonium hydroxide. He observed that the precipitate which formed came down in two stages. He concentrated his attention on the first precipitate and measured its spectrum which revealed it to be a new element samarium. Samarium itself was eventually to yield other rare-earths: gadolinium in 1886 and europium in 1901.","CSID":22391,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22391.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":63,"Symbol":"Eu","Name":"Europium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The design is based on the European Union flag and monetary symbol.","NaturalAbundance":"In common with other lanthanides, europium is mainly found in the minerals monazite and bastnaesite. It can be prepared from these minerals. However, the usual method of preparation is by heating europium(Ill) oxide with an excess of lanthanum under vacuum.","BiologicalRoles":"Europium has no known biological role. It has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal that tarnishes quickly and reacts with water.","CASnumber":"7440-53-1","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":63,"RelativeAtomicMass":"151.964","AtomicRadius":"2.35","CovalentRadii":"1.830","ElectronAffinity":"83.363","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.83","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, 2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"822","MeltingPointK":"1095","MeltingPointF":"1512","BoilingPointC":"1529","BoilingPointK":"1802","BoilingPointF":"2784","MolarHeatCapacity":"182","Density":"5.24","DensityValue":"5.24","YoungsModulus":"18.2","ShearModulus":"7.9","BulkModulus":"8.3","DiscoveryYear":"1901","Discovery":"1901","DiscoveredBy":"Eugène-Anatole Demarçay","OriginOfName":"Europium is named after Europe","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eEuropium is used in the printing of euro banknotes. It glows red under UV light, and forgeries can be detected by the lack of this red glow.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLow-energy light bulbs contain a little europium to give a more natural light, by balancing the blue (cold) light with a little red (warm) light.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEuropium is excellent at absorbing neutrons, making it valuable in control rods for nuclear reactors. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEuropium-doped plastic has been used as a laser material. It is also used in making thin super-conducting alloys.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Europium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: europium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week we\u0027re uncovering the origins of the element that put red into colour TV and also spawned a row with France, so I suppose there\u0027s nothing unusual there.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMany countries are honoured in the periodic table. There\u0027s americium, germanium, polonium, and francium, to name but a few. Usually these place names reflect where their discoverer worked. But despite the number of elements first isolated in England - ten were found at the Royal Institution in London alone - there is no Englandium, Unitedkingdium or Brittanium. However, there is europium, which allows for the possibility of a UK discoverer. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEuropium is a lanthanide, one of those unfamiliar elements sitting outside the main structure of the periodic table. With atomic number 63, it inhabits the bar of elements that squeeze numerically between barium and hafnium. Along with scandium and yttrium, these are sometimes called rare earth elements - something of a misnomer, as they\u0027re not that scarce, but the minerals they were originally found in \u003cem\u003ewere\u003c/em\u003e rare, hence the name.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEuropium wasn\u0027t so much discovered as groped towards. The British connection here is English scientist Sir William Crookes, who worked both in chemistry and physics. Crookes is probably best remembered for his work with discharge tubes. He was investigating (the scientific term for \u0027messing around with\u0027) the effect of putting a high voltage across two electrodes inside a tube with most of the air sucked out. This produced an unearthly glow on the glass at the end of the tube. Crookes called this effect a cathode ray. It was eventually shown to be caused by a stream of electrons, and the Crookes tube was the ancestor of traditional TV screens and computer monitors.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut Crookes was also an active chemist. He discovered the element thallium and is credited by some with the discovery of our topic today, europium. In the late 1880s, Crookes noticed a new line in spectroscopic analysis of a mineral containing ytterbium and samarium. Spectroscopy is a technique that makes it possible to analyze a material by measuring the different colours of light that are absorbed by it, or radiated when it\u0027s heated, giving a unique visual fingerprint. Crookes believed he had spotted a new element - so in a sense discovered europium, but never isolated it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOthers acknowledge French discoverers - either Paul Lecoq de Boisbaudran, a prolific investigator of new elements, who also identified a set of new lines a couple of years later, or definitively Eugene-Anatole Demarçay, who produced a europium salt in 1901 (it took many more years to get to the pure metal). It was certainly named by Demarçay - which should come as no surprise, as no Englishman of Crookes\u0027 time would think of himself as European.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is a good example of the way that scientific discoveries aren\u0027t cut and dried. History-of-science expert Patricia Fara draws a parallel between the discoveries of europium and penicillin. We generally award the accolade for finding that life-saving mould to Alexander Fleming, who found it, but didn\u0027t pursue it further, rather than the team that isolated penicillin. But for europium, many historians play events the other way round, ignoring europium\u0027s Fleming, William Crookes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEven if Crookes isn\u0027t the discoverer, he still plays a part in europium\u0027s story because of cathode ray tubes. If you are listening to this podcast on a computer with a traditional colour monitor, europium will be enhancing your view of the Chemistry World website. When colour TVs were first developed, the red pixels were relatively weak, which meant the whole colour spectrum had to be kept muted. But a phosphor doped with europium proved a much better, brighter source of red and is still present in most surviving monitors and TVs that predate the flat screen revolution.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDoping is something of a speciality for europium. Doping involves adding a relatively small amount of a material to another to change its properties. This is often europium\u0027s role in phosphors, the materials used to provide a glow when stimulated by electrons in TVs, or by ultraviolet in fluorescent lights. As well as the red glow from the valency three version of europium, its valency two salts produce a blue radiance. These are \u003cem\u003eboth\u003c/em\u003e combined with a third phosphor to produce white light in compact fluorescent bulbs.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnother phosphorescent role for europium, where the name is particularly apt, is as an anti-forgery mark on Euro bank notes. Europium is also behind the action of the mineral that gives us the word \u0027fluorescent\u0027. In fluorescence, a material absorbs relatively high energy light such as ultraviolet and gives off a lower frequency in the visible range, making the substance unnaturally bright. The same type of europium responsible for the blue phosphor in fluorescent lights is present in some variants of the mineral fluorite, and it was its blue glow that resulted in the word fluorescent being derived from the mineral\u0027s name.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough technically a metal, europium lacks the familiar metallic shininess because it oxidizes so easily. This silvery/white material is never naturally found in the free state. If it\u0027s not reacting with air, it fizzes away in water to produce a hydroxide. Europium is also a great neutron absorber, making it an interesting possibility for damping nuclear reactors by hoovering up stray neutrons, though it hasn\u0027t been widely used for this to date.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo that\u0027s europium - the substance that brings colours to phosphors. It\u0027s somehow rather appropriate that the discovery of europium, the element named after the continent of Europe, should be the subject of a dispute between England and France. Some things, it seems, will never change.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBrian Clegg with the story of europium, the element that makes you see red, or at least it does on an old fashioned TV screen. Next week, the inside story on the element that just didn\u0027t want to be discovered. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Orvig\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eVanadium, a first row transition metal in the Periodic Table, is an element of mystery. Not only was it first transported two hundred years ago from Mexico, and lost in a shipwreck along with all of the relevant lab notes by the great German scientist Baron von Humboldt, but it required discovery several times by such famous names as Wöhler, Berzelius and del Rio (who was actually talked out of his claim in 1805). \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut why, and who did eventually discover vanadium and what do we do with it today. To find out join Chris Orvig, on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Europium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Eu","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"Europium’s story is part of the complex history of the rare earths, aka lanthanoids. It began with cerium which was discovered in 1803. In 1839 Carl Mosander separated two other elements from it: lanthanum and one he called didymium which turned out to be a mixture of two rare earths, praseodymium and neodymium, as revealed by Karl Auer in 1879. Even so, it still harboured another rarer metal, samarium, separated by Paul-\u0026Eacute;mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, and even that was impure. In 1886 Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac extracted gadolinium, from it, but that was still not the end of the story. In 1901, Eugène-Anatole Demarçay carried out a painstaking sequence of crystallisations of samarium magnesium nitrate, and separated yet another new element: europium.","CSID":22417,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22417.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":64,"Symbol":"Gd","Name":"Gadolinium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the past use of the element in television screens.","NaturalAbundance":"In common with other lanthanides, gadolinium is mainly found in the minerals monazite and bastnaesite. It can be commercially prepared from these minerals by ion exchange and solvent extraction. It is also prepared by reducing anhydrous gadolinium fluoride with calcium metal.","BiologicalRoles":"Gadolinium has no known biological role, and has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal that reacts with oxygen and water.","CASnumber":"7440-54-2","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":64,"RelativeAtomicMass":"157.25","AtomicRadius":"2.34","CovalentRadii":"1.820","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.20","CovalentRadius":"1.82","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1313","MeltingPointK":"1586","MeltingPointF":"2395","BoilingPointC":"3273","BoilingPointK":"3546","BoilingPointF":"5923","MolarHeatCapacity":"235","Density":"7.90","DensityValue":"7.90","YoungsModulus":"54.8","ShearModulus":"21.8","BulkModulus":"37.9","DiscoveryYear":"1880","Discovery":"1880","DiscoveredBy":"Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac","OriginOfName":"Gadolinium was named in honour of Johan Gadolin.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eGadolinium has useful properties in alloys. As little as 1% gadolinium can improve the workability of iron and chromium alloys, and their resistance to high temperatures and oxidation. It is also used in alloys for making magnets, electronic components and data storage disks. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIts compounds are useful in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), particularly in diagnosing cancerous tumours. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGadolinium is excellent at absorbing neutrons, and so is used in the core of nuclear reactors.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Gadolinium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: gadolinium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week: the art of naming an element. Here\u0027s Simon Cotton:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s always interesting to know where an element takes its name. The family of elements that we call the lanthanides, or lanthanoids, have a somewhat random selection of names. That\u0027s because identifying the 15 lanthanide elements took over one hundred and fifty years, from the isolation of the first compounds to the synthesis of the last lanthanide, radioactive promethium, in 1947. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome are named after gods, such as cerium; some like europium are named after places; and others including gadolinium, the star of this podcast, derive their names from scientists.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGadolinium is named after Johan Gadolin, a Finnish scientist who was both a chemist and geologist. In 1792 he isolated the first rare earth compound, what we now know as yttrium oxide, from a black mineral that had been discovered at Ytterby in Sweden. A few years later this ore, which contained a number of lanthanides, was named gadolinite. Because of the difficulty in separating the very similar lanthanides, it was not until 1880 that a Swiss chemist named de Marignac identified spectroscopic lines due to the element we now know as gadolinium. Six years later, in 1886, the French chemist de Boisbaudran isolated the pure oxide, and called the element gadolinium, as it was obtained from gadolinite. Metallic gadolinium was not isolated until 1935, and like all the other lanthanides, it is a reactive metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNearly all the known chemistry of gadolinium is that of the gadolinium three plus (3+) ion. This ion is colourless and does not at first glance seem very interesting. But like most other lanthanides and indeed transition metals, it has several unpaired electrons, giving it interesting magnetic properties. In fact this ion has 7 unpaired electrons in its 4f orbitals giving it a very large magnetic moment, and scientists are currently interested in making use of this.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs everyone knows, chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs for short, have been widely used in the past in fridges and freezers as the refrigerant gas. CFCs contribute to both depleting the Ozone layer and they are also Greenhouse gases, and due to this their use in the developed world has largely ceased. Meaning a good, more environmentally friendly, replacement is needed. Gadolinium may prove useful the fridges of the future due to a process known as magnetic refrigeration or adiabatic demagnetisation.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt works like this: - \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eWhen a substance containing unpaired electrons is put into a magnetic field, the magnetic dipoles tend to align with the field, in the lowest energy state; this process releases heat, which can be taken away using an external cooling liquid. Now if you remove the coolant from the magnetic material, and switch off the magnetic field. The magnetic dipoles in the material randomises, and it cools down.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA magnetic fridge has actually been constructed making use of gadolinium\u0027s ability to do this. The fridge contains a wheel with segments of powdered gadolinium, and as the wheel turns it passes through a gap between the poles of a very powerful magnet. When gadolinium is in the magnetic field it heats up, so it has to be cooled down by passing water through it. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThen as the wheel turns and the gadolinium leaves the magnetic field, the gadolinium starts to cools even more. A second lot of water is then flowed over the metal, which in turn is cooled down. This cool water is then circulated through the cooling coils of the fridge. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s makers based at Iowa State University, say that this \u0027magnetic\u0027 refrigeration is 20 to 30 percent more energy efficient than conventional refrigeration - adding to its \u0027green\u0027 credentials.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat use may lie in the future, but the use of gadolinium in Magnetic Resonance Imaging is very much in the present.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMRI is a routine non-invasive clinical method used to produce two-dimensional images of our tissues or organs for diagnostic purposes. When searching for blood vessels or tumours, contrast agents are injected intravenously to improve the image quality of the MRI signal, and these are normally aqueous solutions of gadolinium complexes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe free Gd3+ ion has a similar ionic radius to Ca2+ but a greater charge, so gadolinium itself can not be used as it might interfere with various calcium roles in signalling within the body and therefore be toxic. So the gadolinium ions are turned into stable complexes before being used, by reacting them with ligands like diethylenetriamine pentacetic acid, known as DPTA. This ligand has 8 atoms to attach to gadolinium, meaning it is bound very tightly indeed, ensuring free, toxic, gadolinium is not released. Once injected the compound circulates though the vascular system and then is filtered out through the kidneys and excreted unchanged. All the evidence suggests that it is quite safe, but at present its use in pregnant women is discouraged, largely because its safety for the foetus has not been proved. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo Gadolinium - colourless and initially may not sound very interesting, but may hold the key to keeping your milk or butter cool without damaging our environment and may even help save your life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo offering the potential to save our lives and the environment - quite an element. That was Uppingham School\u0027s Simon Cotton with the heroic chemistry of gadolinium. Now, next week, we go back to the importance of naming an element, but also its pronunciation.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027d think it is pretty strightforward to decide what an element is called, but element 102 has had more than its fair share of misunderstandings and arguments. To begin with, there\u0027s the matter of how to pronounce its current name: no-bell-ium, as it comes from the same root as the Nobel prize; or no-beel-ium, modelled on the way we say \u0027helium\u0027. Even the Royal Society of Chemistry\u0027s representatives had a raging discussion on this when I asked them, before plumping for no-beel-ium. And that\u0027s just the pronunciation, the name itself took a fair amount of sorting out.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd join Brian Clegg to find out how element 102 received its name, as well as the wonders of its chemistry, in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e Until then, thank you for listening, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Gadolinium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Gd","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"Gadolinium was discovered in 1880 by Charles Galissard de Marignac at Geneva. He had long suspected that the didymium reported by Carl Mosander was not a new element but a mixture. His suspicions were confirmed when Marc Delafontaine and Paul-Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran at Paris reported that its spectral lines varied according to the source from which it came. Indeed, in 1879 they had already separated samarium from some didymium which had been extracted from the mineral samarskite, found in the Urals. In 1880, Marignac extracted yet another new rare earth from didymium, as did Paul-\u0026Eacute;mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1886, and it was the latter who called it gadolinium.","CSID":22418,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22418.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":65,"Symbol":"Tb","Name":"Terbium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The abstracted compact disc symbol reflects the use of the element in the manufacture of the first rewritable compact discs.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eTerbium can be recovered from the minerals monazite and bastnaesite by ion exchange and solvent extraction. It is also obtained from euxenite, a complex oxide containing 1% or more of terbium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe metal is usually produced commercially by reducing the anhydrous fluoride or chloride with calcium metal, under a vacuum. It is also possible to produce the metal by the electrolysis of terbium oxide in molten calcium chloride.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Terbium has no known biological role. It has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-27-9","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":65,"RelativeAtomicMass":"158.925","AtomicRadius":"2.33","CovalentRadii":"1.810","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.81","CommonOxidationStates":"4, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1359","MeltingPointK":"1632","MeltingPointF":"2478","BoilingPointC":"3230","BoilingPointK":"3503","BoilingPointF":"5846","MolarHeatCapacity":"182","Density":"8.23","DensityValue":"8.23","YoungsModulus":"55.7","ShearModulus":"22.1","BulkModulus":"38.7","DiscoveryYear":"1843","Discovery":"1843","DiscoveredBy":"Carl Gustav Mosander","OriginOfName":"Terbium was named after Ytterby, Sweden.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eTerbium is used to dope calcium fluoride, calcium tungstate and strontium molybdate, all used in solid-state devices. It is also used in low-energy lightbulbs and mercury lamps. It has been used to improve the safety of medical x-rays by allowing the same quality image to be produced with a much shorter exposure time. Terbium salts are used in laser devices. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAn alloy of terbium, dysprosium and iron lengthens and shortens in a magnetic field. This effect forms the basis of loudspeakers that sit on a flat surface, such as a window pane, which then acts as the speaker.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Terbium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: terbium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e This week a colourful element with a multitude of uses. Bringing you the luminous chemistry of terbium, here\u0027s Louise Natrajan. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLouise Natrajan\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs a synthetic chemist whose job it is to study the chemistry of the lanthanide ions, I am often asked which one is my favourite. This is not however a particularly easy question to answer, and my reply often varies depending on which element I have been playing with in the lab that week. You see, although a common perception is that lanthanides all have the same chemistry, and some have even described them as \u0027boring\u0027, each element has its own unique and special characteristics. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTerbium, element number 65, is no different and lies in the middle of the lanthanide series in between gadolinium and dysprosium. It is one of the rarer rare earth elements, although it is still twice as common as silver in the Earth\u0027s crust. It is also one of the four lanthanide elements that are named after the place of its discovery, Ytterby in Sweden, \u0027the village of the four elements\u0027. Terbium was first isolated after several of the other lanthanides in Stockholm, Sweden by Carl Gustav Mosander in 1843, who suspected that the mineral Yttria discovered previously in 1794 by Johan Gadolin might harbour other elements, just as ceria had done previously. Mosander was Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and he succeeded in showing that yttria was mainly yttrium oxide, but also contained two other oxides, terbium oxide, which is yellow in colour and erbium oxide, which is a rose pink colour. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCompounds of terbium generally contain the terbium ion in its 3+ valence state, however in some solids, terbium is quite unusual in that it can exist in the 4+ valence state, due to the fact its fourth ionisation energy is relatively low so it attains a more stable half filled shell of electrons just as its neighbour gadolinium. The most striking property of terbium compounds comes from its spectroscopic and optical properties, which makes it one of the more exciting and studied lanthanide elements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTerbium in the +3 state radiates an aesthetically pleasing luminous green colour when the correct wavelength of energy is used to excite the atoms. This is because terbium 3+ ions are strongly luminescent, so strong in fact, that its luminescence can often be seen by the naked eye The human eye is particularly sensitive to the colour green and even small amounts in the right compound are easily detectable by eye. This bright colour renders terbium compounds particularly useful as colour phosphors in lighting applications, e.g. in fluorescent lamps, where it is a yellow colour, and as with europium(III) which is red, provides one of the primary colours in TV screens; who knew that Tb could be in your TV set! Some terbium compounds are also quite unusual in that they display a phenomenon known as triboluminescence. This is a process where light is emitted when a crystalline solid compound is fractured, so a fracture in the crystalline lattice for example will result in the emission of bright green light that can be seen. The triboluminescence of Tb containing compounds can be exploited in fibre optic sensors that measure changes in mechanical stress e.g. pressure, strains, vibrations and acoustic emissions and has been proposed to be of use in monitoring structural stress in aeroplane wings! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMolecular terbium compounds have also found use in biological and medical research. The green emission of terbium compounds is very long lived, typically in the order of milliseconds, which means it can be detected long after the fluorescence of biological molecules has decayed away, and hence can be used as a biological probe to signal certain events. The luminescence from molecular Tb compounds can be switched on and off by chemical manipulations to the molecule and this has been exploited in the fabrication of sensors that measure the partial pressure of oxygen for example. Other Tb compounds have been used for the determination and quantification of drugs, in DNA and RNA assays, for the determination of protein structures and probes are currently being developed for in vitro cell imaging to aid in the early detection and treatment of diseases including cancer. Finally, Tb phosphors are also used as security inks and are found in anti counterfeit Euro bank notes, although europium is perhaps a little more famous for this role. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBesides its fantastic green colour, terbium also finds a niche role in its use in an alloy called Terfenol-D. Terfenol-D is an alloy of Tb, Fe and Dy and is a material that changes shape in a magnetic field; so called magnetostriction. It is used commercially in a speaker called the \u0027SoundBug\u0027, which turns any flat surface into a speaker! The device works by vibrating any material onto which it is placed such as a table or desk, making it into a speaker. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo what do TV screens, Euro bank notes, triboluminescence and SoundBug speakers all have in common? Terbium of course! So, now when someone asks me which lanthanide is my favourite, I\u0027d have to say that terbium is definitely one of them and it is certainly far from being boring! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNo, not boring at all if it helps make television, sound speakers and currency come into existence. That was Manchester University\u0027s Louise Natrajan explaining the many uses of terbium. Now next week a special treat, as we have an element that\u0027s so new that it hasn\u0027t even officially been named yet. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSigurd Hofmann\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1996 we set about producing element 112, inside a particle accelerator. We bombarded a lead target - that has 82 protons - with a zinc beam containing 30 protons for one week, and were able to detect a single atom of an element with 112 protons - element 112. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Sigurd Hofmann, one of the discoverers of element 112 will be explaining the chemistry of this new element and also reveal what he and his team at the GSI Helmolt Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany are hoping to name it. So to find out, join us on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam from the nakedscientists.com and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Terbium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Tb","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"Terbium was first isolated in 1843 by the Swedish chemist Carl Mosander at Stockholm. He had already investigated cerium oxide and separated a new element from it, lanthanum, and now he focussed his attention on yttrium, discovered in 1794, because he thought this too might harbour another element. In fact Mosander was able to obtain two other metal oxides from it: terbium oxide (yellow) and erbium oxide (rose pink) and these he announced in 1843. This was not the end of the story, however, because later that century these too yielded other rare earth elements (aka lanthanoids). Today these elements are easily separated by a process known as liquid-liquid extraction.","CSID":22397,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22397.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":66,"Symbol":"Dy","Name":"Dysprosium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is a stylised depiction of a nuclear reactor, reflecting the use of the element in reactor control rods.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn common with many other lanthanides, dysprosium is found in the minerals monazite and bastnaesite. It is also found in smaller quantities in several other minerals such as xenotime and fergusonite. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt can be extracted from these minerals by ion exchange and solvent extraction. It can also be prepared by the reduction of dysprosium trifluoride with calcium metal.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Dysprosium has no known biological role. It has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A bright, silvery metallic element.","CASnumber":"7429-91-6","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":66,"RelativeAtomicMass":"162.500","AtomicRadius":"2.31","CovalentRadii":"1.800","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.22","CovalentRadius":"1.80","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1412","MeltingPointK":"1685","MeltingPointF":"2574","BoilingPointC":"2567","BoilingPointK":"2840","BoilingPointF":"4653","MolarHeatCapacity":"173","Density":"8.55","DensityValue":"8.55","YoungsModulus":"61.4","ShearModulus":"24.7","BulkModulus":"40.5","DiscoveryYear":"1886","Discovery":"1886","DiscoveredBy":"Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027dysprositos\u0027, meaning hard to get.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eAs a pure metal it is little used, because it reacts readily with water and air. Dysprosium’s main use is in alloys for neodymium-based magnets. This is because it is resistant to demagnetisation at high temperatures. This property is important for magnets used in motors or generators. These magnets are used in wind turbines and electrical vehicles, so demand for dysprosium is growing rapidly. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDysprosium iodide is used in halide discharge lamps. The salt enables the lamps to give out a very intense white light.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA dysprosium oxide-nickel cermet (a composite material of ceramic and metal) is used in nuclear reactor control rods. It readily absorbs neutrons, and does not swell or contract when bombarded with neutrons for long periods.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Dysprosium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: dysprosium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week an element which played hard to get but once caught gave a wide range of chemical applications. Simon Cotton.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf you study a timeline of the discovery of the chemical elements, you see that new elements have often been discovered in clusters, in parallel with some other breakthrough in science. Obviously, the transuranium elements were a spin-off from developments in radiochemistry accompanying the Manhattan project - the second world war project to develop the first atomic bomb. Likewise the noble gases could easily be separated once cryogenics became feasible, thanks to the invention of Dewar\u0027s flask. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the mid-19th century, Bunsen and Kirchhoff found that different elements emitted light of different frequencies when hot, and used this to identify new elements such as rubidium and caesium. Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran was one of the first people to exploit this new technique. He came from Cognac in France, so you will not be surprised to learn that his family made cognac. In 1875, he identified gallium from two spectroscopic lines in the spectrum of a sample of zinc blende from the Pyrénées, and isolated the element later that year, thus filling one of the gaps left in the Periodic Table by Mendeleev. At that time, scientists were using improved techniques such as fractional crystallisation to obtain the individual lanthanides from mixtures. In 1879 Lecoq went on to extract pure samarium from the mineral samarskite whilst in 1886 he was the first person to identify dysprosium by separating its oxide from holmium oxide. To achieve the separation, he used precipitations with ammonia and with oxalate, checking the fractions spectroscopically. It took him over 30 goes to do this, so he named the element accordingly, from the Greek word, dysprositos, meaning \"hard to get at\". \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAll the lanthanides are rather similar to each other chemically, showing gradations in properties from one end of the series to the other, but electronic and magnetic properties which depend upon the number of electrons, vary a lot from one lanthanide to its neighbour, giving each lanthanide its own particular uses. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne very unusual application for dysprosium is in the alloy Terfenol-D, which also contains terbium and iron. It is a magnetostrictive material, meaning that when it is put into a magnetic field, it changes shape, reversibly. This has found applications in ships\u0027 sonar systems (underwater radar using soundwaves) and in all sorts of sensors and transducers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlong with a little caesium iodide and mercury bromide, dysprosium iodide is used in Medium Source Rare Earth Lamps (otherwise known as MSRs). These are discharge lamps where the dysprosium iodide emits over a range of frequencies, giving a good colour rendering. Caesium iodide helps broaden the emission whilst the mercury bromide reduces corrosion of the bulb and of the tungsten electrodes. These have applications including the film industry; the lamps have a high luminous efficiency whilst they can be dimmed appreciably whilst still maintaining the same \"colour temperature\". \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLike other heavier lanthanides, dysprosium has a lot of unpaired electrons, giving both the metal and its ions a high magnetic susceptibility. This has led to applications in data storage devices, such as compact discs. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDysprosium has a high thermal neutron absorption cross-section, meaning that it is very good at absorbing neutrons. Because of this, it is used to make the control rods that are put into nuclear reactors to absorb excess neutrons and stop fission reactions getting out of control. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere seem to be a lot of dys- words around at the start of the 21st century, They have the Greek prefix for abnormal or bad - dyslexic, dyspepsia and dysfunctional spring to mind. Dysprosium\u0027s not like that, it has many applications and as time goes on it will have even more. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo elementally changing the connotations of the greek prefix. That was Simon Cotton explaining the widely applied chemistry of dysprosium. Now next week, a mythological element that appears to be weeping. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJon Steed\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe element was christened after Niobe the daughter of Tantalus in greek mythology. Niobe had a fairly hard time of it. She was foolish enough to suggest that rather than worshipping invisible gods, it might be a nice idea to appreciate real people for a change. The greek gods weren\u0027t very forgiving of this kind of hubris and as a punishment killed if not all then most of her twelve children - the Niobids. As a result Niobe fled to mount Sipylus and was turned to stone. There is to this day a rock formation in the Aegean region of Turkey termed the weeping rock that resembles a woman\u0027s face purportably Niobe\u0027s. Water seeps through the porous limestone of the weeping rock and is said to resemble Niobe\u0027s unceasing tears at the fate of the Niobids. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd move away from the tears to find out the colourful and superconducting chemistry of the element niobium with Jon Steed in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam, thanks for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Dysprosium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Dy","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eDysprosium was discovered in 1886 by Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in Paris. Its discovery came as a result of research into yttrium oxide, first made in 1794, and from which other rare earths (aka lanthanoids) were subsequently to be extracted, namely erbium in 1843, then holmium in 1878, and finally dysprosium. De Boisbaudran’s method had involved endless precipitations carried out on the marble slab of his fireplace at home.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePure samples of dysprosium were not available until Frank Spedding and co-workers at Iowa State University developed the technique of ion-exchange chromatography around 1950. From then on it was possible to separate the rare earth elements in a reliable and efficient manner, although that method of separation has now been superseded by liquid-liquid exchange technology.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22355,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22355.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":67,"Symbol":"Ho","Name":"Holmium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based upon the civic coat of arms of Stockholm, the city that gives the element its name.","NaturalAbundance":"Holmium is found as a minor component of the minerals monazite and bastnaesite. It is extracted from those ores that are processed to extract yttrium. It is obtained by ion exchange and solvent extraction.","BiologicalRoles":"Holmium has no known biological role, and is non-toxic.","Appearance":"A bright, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-60-0","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":67,"RelativeAtomicMass":"164.930","AtomicRadius":"2.30","CovalentRadii":"1.790","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.23","CovalentRadius":"1.79","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1472","MeltingPointK":"1745","MeltingPointF":"2682","BoilingPointC":"2700","BoilingPointK":"2973","BoilingPointF":"4892","MolarHeatCapacity":"165","Density":"8.80","DensityValue":"8.80","YoungsModulus":"64.8","ShearModulus":"26.3","BulkModulus":"40.2","DiscoveryYear":"1878","Discovery":"1878","DiscoveredBy":"Per Teodor Cleve at Uppsala, Sweden and independently by Marc Delafontaine and Louis Soret in Geneva, Switzerland","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin name for Stockholm, \u0027Holmia\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Holmium can absorb neutrons, so it is used in nuclear reactors to keep a chain reaction under control. Its alloys are used in some magnets.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Holmium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: holmium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, mythical monopoles that could lead us into another dimension. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHayley Birch\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1949, Milton Smith published a short work of fiction that he entitled \u003cem\u003eThe Mystery of Element 117\u003c/em\u003e. The real element 117 is yet to be discovered - it\u0027s a blank space in the Periodic Table just below the halogens. Smith\u0027s 117, however, was a strange material that could be used to open a window to another dimension. He called it a magnetic monopole substance - one that instead of having poles, plural, like an ordinary magnet, had a pole. Singular. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow, whilst no reputable scientist would argue that a magnetic monopole could open an inter-dimensional portal, its existence isn\u0027t outside the realms of possibility and if recent reports are anything to go by, it could depend on an otherwise mundane metallic element that you can find skulking around near the bottom of the Periodic Table - holmium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDespite having little else to shout about - bar a silvery sheen and a bit part in controlling nuclear reactions - holmium has some pretty fascinating magnetic properties. In fact, it has the strongest magnetic force of any element, albeit it as a paramagnet, which means it only becomes magnetic when it\u0027s sitting in an externally applied magnetic field. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePerhaps most interesting are recent experiments that involved using holmium to try to find the mythical magnetic monopole. First though, let\u0027s create some context. As we know, the monopole has acquired the kind of fringe scientific status that makes it worthy of mention in science fiction circles - besides its appearance in Element 117, the author Larry Niven references monopoles in his 1973 novel Protector, where he imagines one of his characters mining shovelfuls of north poles from the rings of Saturn. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut monopoles have also been the subject of much real scientific debate. The basis for their existence relies on work by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Paul Dirac. According to theories, singular magnetic charges - monopoles - must exist in order to adhere to the grand unified theory of physics; to mirror the singular electric charges of elementary particles. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1982, a Stanford University physicist called Blas Cabrera thought he\u0027d found one when, on Valentine\u0027s night, his \"superconducting quantum interference detector\" recorded a massive jump in the current fluctuations it was designed to monitor, indicating the existence of what he claimed to be a monopole. Cabrera and his troop of monopole hunters were given extra funding to build a bigger and better detector, but eventually abandoned their hunt in favour of a search for something similarly mysterious and just as elusive: dark matter. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMonopoles are even talked about in the same breath as the ever elusive Higg\u0027s boson, with whisperings that CERN scientists could create them, along with black holes, in their experiments at the LHC. So last year, when French scientists claimed to have found magnetic components in holmium titanate crystals that behaved for all intents and purposes like monopoles, they sparked a minor media storm. The crystals contained tiny north and south pole points that were separated by less than a nanometre. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUnderstandably, however, some scientists took issue with the use of the term \"monopole\" in this instance and argued that because that because one of these north points couldn\u0027t be created without the corresponding south point, the team hadn\u0027t found true monopoles. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo that\u0027s about as glamorous and interesting as holmium gets - a minor role in a science fiction story and in a search that may, for all we know, end in nothing but disappointment. And as the 56th most abundant element, it\u0027s twenty times more common than silver and hardly deserving of its \"rare earth metal\" label. In fact, in oxide form, it\u0027s used to colour cubic zirconia, the synthetic material that\u0027s sold as a cheap substitute for real gemstones. It is also found in very, very small amounts in the body and affects metabolism in certain bacteria, but it doesn\u0027t seem to be essential and no one really knows what, exactly, it does. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut perhaps I\u0027ve been a bit harsh on poor old holmium, which, to be fair, doesn\u0027t get a whole lot of press. Because it does perform another useful task that\u0027s deserving of a mention. Some of the most cutting edge lasers used to treat certain cancers are solid-state lasers that require holmium to dope yttrium aluminium crystals. The lasers can be used to vaporise tumours with only minor tissue damage; a patient with early stage bladder cancer can be in and out of hospital in an afternoon without a general anaesthetic. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo there you have it: mythical monopoles and vaporising lasers. Not bad for an element you barely even knew existed. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo the search for the monopole continues, but vaporising tumours with minimal tissue damage is definitely a noteworthy application of holmium. That was science writer Hayley Birch with the mythical chemistry of holmium. Now, staying on treatments for cancer next week\u0027s element also has a radiating way to kill cancer cells. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Corfield\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e225Ac can be used as the active agent Targeted Alpha Therapy, also known as TAT,a technique for inhibiting the growth of secondary cancers by direct irradiation with nuclear material. And so an element discovered in the same mineral - pitchblende - which kick-started the whole science of nuclear chemistry, today stands at the crossroads of one of the most challenging of all medical disciplines - finding a cure for cancer. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Oxford\u0027s Richard Corfield will be revealing more uses for actinium as well as the origin of the actinides in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Holmium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ho","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"Holmium was discovered at Geneva in 1878 by Marc Delafontaine and Louis Soret, and independently by Per Teodor Cleve at Uppsala, Sweden. Both teams were investigating yttrium, which was contaminated with traces of other rare earths (aka lanthanoids) and had already yielded erbium which was later to yield ytterbium. Cleve looked more closely at what remained after the ytterbium had been removed, and realised it must contain yet other elements because he found that its atomic weight depended on its source. He separated holmium from erbium in 1878. Delafontaine and Soret also extracted it from the same source, having seen unexplained lines in the atomic spectrum. We cannot be certain that either group had produced a \u003cem\u003epure\u003c/em\u003e sample of the new element because yet another rare-earth, dysprosium, was to be extracted from holmium.","CSID":22424,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22424.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":68,"Symbol":"Er","Name":"Erbium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the use of the element in producing pink glazes in ceramics.","NaturalAbundance":"Erbium is found principally in the minerals monazite and bastnaesite. It can be extracted by ion exchange and solvent extraction.","BiologicalRoles":"Erbium has no known biological role, and has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metallic element.","CASnumber":"7440-52-0","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":68,"RelativeAtomicMass":"167.259","AtomicRadius":"2.29","CovalentRadii":"1.770","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.24","CovalentRadius":"1.77","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1529","MeltingPointK":"1802","MeltingPointF":"2784","BoilingPointC":"2868","BoilingPointK":"3141","BoilingPointF":"5194","MolarHeatCapacity":"168","Density":"9.07","DensityValue":"9.07","YoungsModulus":"69.9","ShearModulus":"28.3","BulkModulus":"44.4","DiscoveryYear":"1843","Discovery":"1843","DiscoveredBy":"Carl Gustav Mosander","OriginOfName":"Erbium is named after Ytterby, Sweden, ","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eErbium finds little use as a metal because it slowly tarnishes in air and is attacked by water. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen alloyed with metals such as vanadium, erbium lowers their hardness and improves their workability.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eErbium oxide is occasionally used in infrared absorbing glass, for example safety glasses for welders and metal workers. When erbium is added to glass it gives the glass a pink tinge. It is used to give colour to some sunglasses and imitation gems.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBroadband signals, carried by fibre optic cables, are amplified by including erbium in the glass fibre.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Erbium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: erbium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we meet the man and one of the chemicals that led to the birth of the science of spectroscopy, but is pink your colour?\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA couple of years ago a colleague popped his head round my door and said, as chemists do, \"I\u0027m on the scrounge\". It\u0027s quite common in chemistry departments - you want to do a quick experiment and just want a smidge of something without having to order a whole bottle. So you ask a friend whether they have a bit of whatever. \"Have you got some erbium oxide?\" \"Sure I said. I\u0027ve got some up in the lab\". A few minutes later my friend went off with a small bottle containing a delicate pink coloured powder. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA few weeks later I saw him in the stairwell and asked him how he\u0027d got on with the erbium. \"It\u0027s amazing stuff. You HAVE to see this.\" He replied. He pulled out of his pocket a sample vial containing some stunning pink crystals that glinted alluringly. \"Wow!\" I said - chemists are always impressed by nice crystalline products. \"It gets better.\" he said mysteriously. He beckoned me into a hallway that had recently been refurbished. \"Look\" he said. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs the crystals caught the light from the new fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling, the pink colour seemed to deepen and brighten up. \"Wow!\" I said again. We moved the crystals back into the sunlight and the colour faded again. Moving the crystals back and forth they glowed and dimmed in magical fashion.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was a stunning example of the luminescence of the group of elements, the rare earths, of which erbium is a member. The red phosphor in the fluorescent lights must have contained erbium ions and because the emission wavelength of the phosphor exactly matched the absorption in my friend\u0027s crystals, resonant absorption occurs causing the magical glow. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe rare earths were revealed to the world quite by accident by a Swedish lieutenant and rock-hound Carl Axel Arrhenius in 1787 in a quarry on the island of Vaxholm in Sweden, where the small town of Ytterby is located. The mineral that Arrhenius had discovered would lead to the discovery of 16 elements, all of them with remarkably similar properties. And the small village of Ytterby would provide the inspiration for the names of several of them: ytterbium, yttrium, terbium, and the element of this podcast, erbium. Others got names like scandium, holmium, thulium in recognition of the region whence they first appeared. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor over a century, controversy raged amongst chemists about these elements. And one of the key players in this chemical row was Robert Bunsen, the co-inventor with Gustav Kirchoff, of spectroscopy. Together they had had the idea of putting chemical compounds into a flame and analyzing the resulting light with a prism. The spectra they observed proved to be amazing analytical tools - Kirchoff would use the method to identify elements on the sun. The method rapidly became one of the central pillars of chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut like many others working in the area, Bunsen was intrigued by the faint colours of the lanthanides, and their remarkable invariance. Erbium compounds, regardless of the partner - the oxide, the chloride, fluoride, amide, hydrocarbyls - are almost invariably faint pink. Over a period of three long years Bunsen methodically carried out the hundreds of crystallizations need to purify the elements, and then meticulously measured and sketched the spark spectra which contained many sharp bands of varying intensities. It was a spectroscopic tour de force for its time. At last, in May 1874, Bunsen finished writing his monumental manuscript. With a feeling of relief, he finally headed off to the local pub for lunch.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eImagine the poor man\u0027s horror when he got back to the lab and the manuscript was gone. A round bottom flask of water on the desk had focussed the spring sunshine from the window and set fire to the entire pile. Years of work reduced to ashes. After venting his despair in a couple of letters to friends, Bunsen painstakingly redid the work from scratch, laying the foundation of our understanding of the electronic structures of elements such as erbium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe now realize that the valence electrons of erbium - of which there are 11 in its compounds, are buried deep within the core of the atom. Their location makes them remarkably insensitive to the world outside - which is why the colours are so consistent from compound to compound.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut what Bunsen could not know, was that there were spectroscopic bands in the infrared part of the spectrum and it is these that are what makes erbium so valuable to us today. As you are probably aware, most of our telephone calls and internet data transfers are carried by optical fibres. These gossamer thin threads of glass are of a rare optical perfection. But much like light passing through the atmosphere, scattering occurs - photons of light collide occasionally with the chains of glass in the fibre and the light is attenuated, limiting the length of fibre one can use. This phenomenon, called Rayleigh scattering, is the same that causes the daytime sky to be blue and sunsets to be red. The shorter the wavelength, the greater the scattering. Erbium light - at 1.55 microns, in the near infrared region of the spectrum - falls right where Rayleigh scattering is at a minimum but away from where bond vibrations of the glass absorb infrared light. Erbium lasers and amplifiers are therefore the hub around which all of our modern telecommunications revolve. So the next time you phone a friend and say to them \"It\u0027s a lovely day. Let\u0027s go to the park\", think Erbium. It may only be the 44\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e most abundant element on our planet. But it punches far above its weight.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHow ironic that the man who invented the Bunsen burner ended up with his work going up in smoke thanks to the sun. That was UCL chemist, Andrea Sella telling the story of Robert Bunsen and the element Erbium. Next time to the philosopher\u0027s stone and the man who boiled up urine expecting to get gold, and found this element instead.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNina Notman \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePhosphorus was first made by Hennig Brandt in Hamburg in Germany in 1669 when he evaporated urine and heated the residue until it was red hot. Glowing phosphorus vapour came off and he condensed it under water. And for more than 100 years most phosphorus was made this way. This was until people realised that bone was a great source of phosphorus. Bone can be dissolved in sulfuric acid to form phosphoric acid, which is then heated with charcoal to form white phosphorus.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut what can we do with it? You can find out next time when Nina Notman tells the tale of Phosphorous on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Erbium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Er","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1843, at Stockholm, Carl Mosander obtained two new metal oxides from yttrium, which had been know since 1794. One of these was erbium oxide, which was pink. (The other was terbium oxide, which was yellow.) While erbium was one of the first lanthanoid elements to be discovered, the picture is clouded because early samples of this element must have contained other rare-earths. We know this because In1878 Jean-Charles Galissard de Marignac, working at the University of Geneva, extracted another element from erbium and called it ytterbium. (This too was impure and scandium was extracted from it a year later.)\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA sample of pure erbium metal was not produced until 1934, when Wilhelm Klemm and Heinrich Bommer achieved it by heating purified erbium chloride with potassium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22416,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22416.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":69,"Symbol":"Tm","Name":"Thulium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the origin of the element’s name, and suggests a distant region to the far north (ultima Thule).","NaturalAbundance":"Thulium is found principally in the mineral monazite, which contains about 20 parts per million. It is extracted by ion exchange and solvent extraction. The metal is obtained by reducing the anhydrous fluoride with calcium, or reducing the oxide with lanthanum.","BiologicalRoles":"Thulium has no known biological role. It is non-toxic.","Appearance":"A bright, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-30-4","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":69,"RelativeAtomicMass":"168.934","AtomicRadius":"2.27","CovalentRadii":"1.770","ElectronAffinity":"99.283","ElectroNegativity":"1.25","CovalentRadius":"1.77","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, 2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1545","MeltingPointK":"1818","MeltingPointF":"2813","BoilingPointC":"1950","BoilingPointK":"2223","BoilingPointF":"3542","MolarHeatCapacity":"160","Density":"9.32","DensityValue":"9.32","YoungsModulus":"74","ShearModulus":"30.5","BulkModulus":"44.5","DiscoveryYear":"1879","Discovery":"1879","DiscoveredBy":"Per Teodor Cleve","OriginOfName":"The name comes from Thule, the ancient name for Scandinavia.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"When irradiated in a nuclear reactor, thulium produces an isotope that emits x-rays. A ‘button’ of this isotope is used to make a lightweight, portable x-ray machine for medical use. Thulium is used in lasers with surgical applications.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Thulium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: thulium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week\u0027s element takes us into the unknown, entering dark, mysterious lands. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn medieval times, when maps were bedecked with strange and exotic unknowns, where the corners might be inscribed \u0027Here be monsters\u0027, the most distant place that could be conceived, lying beyond the borders of the known world, was labelled \u0027Ultima Thule\u0027. Thule is sometimes pronounced Tooli, though it looks as if it should be Thool, which frankly sounds much more suitably dark and mysterious. Originally this was the classical name for a mysterious land, six day\u0027s sail to the north of Britain, thought by the Greek historian Polybius to be the most northerly part of the world. \u0027Ultima Thule\u0027 took things one stage further - it was the farthest part of Thule. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen thulium was named by Per Teodor Cleve in 1879, it was down to a slight misunderstanding of the meaning of thule. Cleve would eventually discover a total of four elements, and won the Davy Medal from the Royal Society for his work on the rare earth metals, but here he wasn\u0027t entirely accurate. He wrote \u0027For the oxide placed between ytterbia and erbia. I propose the name of thullium derived from Thule, the ancient name of Scandinavia.\u0027 Not only had he misplaced Thule, he couldn\u0027t even spell it right, putting two L\u0027s in the name - but today we spell thulium, like Thule, with a single L. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSitting towards the end of the lanthanides, the floating strip of elements on the periodic table that squeezes between barium and lutetium, thulium has atomic number 69. It\u0027s one of the rare earths, elements that are largely misnamed as they are quite common. The name reflects the rarity of the original ore in which they were found - but in thulium\u0027s case it\u0027s not such a bad title as this soft, silvery metal is one of the rarest of the rare earths, and more valuable than platinum. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe initial discovery of the element was something of an accident. Traces of erbium and terbium had been found when ytrrium was first discovered, though it wasn\u0027t initially realized that they were new elements in their own right. Cleve was examining the erbium oxide separated from the mix and found that this too was corrupted. It had a small amount of an unknown substance which gave a slight variation to the atomic weight. The ever finer separation of the contents of this productive ore would eventually yield the oxides of two further elements - hol-mium and finally thulium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor a long time thulium was a Cinderella substance. There was nothing you could do with thulium that couldn\u0027t be done better and cheaper with one of the other elements. It looked likely that it would be consigned to the dustbin of useless chemical substances. It\u0027s notable that one science writer has said of thulium \u0027the most surprising thing about it is there\u0027s nothing surprising about it.\u0027 But that\u0027s a little unfair. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThulium isn\u0027t exactly mass market, but about 50 tonnes of it is mined each year, broadly in three bands of ores - Australia and China, the US and Brazil, and India and Sri Lanka. And that\u0027s not an effort that would be put in for nothing. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe only natural isotope of thulium, usually found as an oxide is thulium 169. This is stable, but thulium 170 with a half life of 128 days, produced by bombarding thulium in a nuclear reactor, has proved a good portable source of x-rays. It was first suggested for this role in the 1950s and has frequently turned up since in small scale devices, such as those used in dentist\u0027s surgeries. As a low energy source, it\u0027s relatively safe, making it a good bet for low tech applications that also find it cropping up in engineering, where the x-rays can be used to hunt for cracks in components. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLess common, but still valuable, is thulium\u0027s role in doping a special type of garnet, yttrium aluminium garnet or YAG. The crystal is used as the active medium in a laser with a wavelength of around 2,000 nanometres, which is ideal for laser surgery, so once again thulium comes to our medical aid. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThulium might not have many uses, but it did contribute to the Nobel Prize of American chemist Theodore William Richards. If ever a Nobel Prize was awarded for sheer dogged hard work, then it was the one won by Richards in 1914. The Nobel citation must be one of the least exciting ever made. It was \u0027in recognition of his accurate determination of the atomic weight of a large number of chemical elements.\u0027 But this reflects for thulium alone a total of 15,000 recrystalisation experiments before Richards had a pure enough sample of thulium bromate to be able to fix its atomic weight to his satisfaction (168.93421 to be precise). \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen Per Teodor Cleve named thulium he was working at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, the oldest of the Nordic universities. He wanted to celebrate historic Scandinavian culture - and even if he didn\u0027t quite position the mythological land correctly, for Cleve his new discovery would remain the Ultima Thule. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTaking us into distant lands there with the element that comes to our medical aid in lasers and small scale x-rays. That was Science Writer Brian Clegg with the chemistry of Thulium. Now next week, an element that can be manipulated to give us what we want. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDark grey in colour and with a very glossy glass-like sheen, it looks like a metal but is in fact quite a poor conductor of electricity, and there in many ways, lies the secret of its ultimate success. By deliberately introducing impurities like boron or phosphorus one can subtly change the electrical behaviour of the element. Such tricks lie at the heart of the functioning of the silicon chips that allow you to listen to this podcast. In less than 50 years silicon has gone from being an intriguing curiosity to being one of the most fundamental elements in our lives. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out more about how crucial silicon is in our everyday lives, join Andrea Sella in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Thulium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Tm","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThulium was first isolated in 1879 as its oxide by Per Teodor Cleve at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. The discoveries of the many rare earth elements (aka lanthanoid) began with yttrium in 1794. This was contaminated with these chemically similar elements. Indeed the early chemists were unaware they were there. In 1843, erbium and terbium were extracted from yttrium, and then, in 1874, Cleve looked more closely at erbium and realised that it must contain yet other elements because he observed that its atomic weight varied slightly depending on the source from which it came. He extracted thulium from it in 1879.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1911, the American chemist Theodore William Richards performed 15,000 recrystallisations of thulium bromate in order to obtain an absolutley pure sample of the element and so determine exactly its atomic weight.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22400,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22400.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":70,"Symbol":"Yb","Name":"Ytterbium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on ancient Swedish rock carvings.","NaturalAbundance":"In common with many lanthanide elements, ytterbium is found principally in the mineral monazite. It can be extracted by ion exchange and solvent extraction.","BiologicalRoles":"Ytterbium has no known biological role. It has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery metal. It slowly oxidises in air, forming a protective surface layer.","CASnumber":"7440-64-4","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":70,"RelativeAtomicMass":"173.045","AtomicRadius":"2.26","CovalentRadii":"1.780","ElectronAffinity":"-1.930","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.78","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, 2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"824","MeltingPointK":"1097","MeltingPointF":"1515","BoilingPointC":"1196","BoilingPointK":"1469","BoilingPointF":"2185","MolarHeatCapacity":"155","Density":"6.90","DensityValue":"6.90","YoungsModulus":"23.9","ShearModulus":"9.9","BulkModulus":"30.5","DiscoveryYear":"1878","Discovery":"1878","DiscoveredBy":"Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac","OriginOfName":"Ytterbium is named after Ytterby, Sweden.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Ytterbium is beginning to find a variety of uses, such as in memory devices and tuneable lasers. It can also be used as an industrial catalyst and is increasingly being used to replace other catalysts considered to be too toxic and polluting.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Ytterbium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: ytterbium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week an element that likes to be different. Explaining the exceptional chemistry of Ytterbium, here\u0027s Louise Natrajan. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLouise Natrajan\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere is a famous quote about the lanthanides by Pimentel and Sprately from their book, Understanding Chemistry published in 1971: \"Lanthanum has only one important oxidation state in aqueous solution, the +3 state. With few exceptions, this tells the whole boring story about the other 14 elements\" \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf you\u0027ve listened to any of the other podcasts in the lanthanide series, I hope you\u0027ll agree that this is far from true. While, the most common oxidation state of the lanthanides is indeed the +3 valence state, ytterbium, the last and smallest of the lanthanides or rare earths in the series is one of the exceptions Pimentel and Sprately were talking about. Ytterbium can also exist in the +2 valence state; its compounds are powerful reducing agents and it is capable of reducing water to hydrogen gas. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYtterbium is named after the town of Ytterby near Stockholm in Sweden, and makes up the fourth element to be named after this town, the others being of course yttrium, terbium and erbium. Ytterbium was isolated in 1878 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac who was a Swiss chemist working at the University of Geneva at the time. Its discovery can be traced back to the oxide yttria. When yttria was first identified, nobody realised that it was contaminated with traces of other rare earth metals. Earlier, in 1843, erbium and terbium were extracted from yttria and then ytterbium was separated from erbium. This was achieved by heating erbium nitrate until it decomposed and then extracting the residue with water to obtain two oxides; a red one, which was identified as erbium oxide and a white powder, which was named ytterbium oxide. In fact, Marignac\u0027s ytterbium oxide was not of a pure form either and a few years later in 1907, George Urbain extracted lutetium as its oxide from this ytterbium oxide. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYtterbium is one of the more common lanthanide elements, and is not at all rare as its group name of the rare earths may suggest. In fact, it is the 43rd most abundant element on earth and has a greater natural abundance than tin, bromine, uranium or arsenic. In its metallic form, ytterbium is a bright and shiny metal that is both ductile and malleable and is more reactive than the other lanthanide metals, quickly tarnishing in air as it reacts with oxygen. Seven naturally occurring isotopes of ytterbium are known ranging from mass numbers 168 to 176. In addition, ten radioactive isotopes are also known; these isotopes are unstable and break down into other isotopes giving out radiation in the process. Ytterbium-169 in particular emits gamma rays. Gamma rays are similar to X-rays in that they pass through soft materials and tissues but are blocked by more dense materials such as bone. In this regard, small amounts of Yb-169 have been exploited in portable X-ray machines that require no electricity and are much easier to carry around than conventional X-ray machines-useful for radiography of small objects! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA second intriguing possibility is the use of elemental ytterbium is in super accurate atomic clocks. The isotope Yb-174 has the potential to keep time more accurately than the current gold standard, which is a caesium fountain clock that is accurate to within a second every 100 million years. Then no one will have any excuse for being late! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs with all the lanthanides, ytterbium exists in the majority of its compounds as the trivalent ion Yb3+. The only ytterbium compound of historical commercial use is ytterbium oxide (Yb2O3); this is used to make alloys and special types of glass and ceramics. However, more recently, some materials doped with ytterbium and erbium can be used to convert invisible infra red light into green and/or red light from the erbium ions; the ytterbium acts cooperatively with the erbium ions and effectively talks to or \u0027sentitises\u0027 the emission from the Er ion. These special materials or phosphors are being devised as alternatives to europium and terbium phosphors in anti forgery security inks and in bank notes. Instead of placing the bank note under UV light to see the security encoding, an infra red laser pen is used to reveal the luminescence colours of erbium, clever hey? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTerbium compounds are currently used as luminescent probes in biological and biomedical research, but they emit visible light. In the research community, luminescent ytterbium compounds that give out light in the near infra red (around 980 nm) are of current interest and are being developed for use as alternative luminescent probes. This means, that unlike Eu or Tb, which emit visible light, the light is in invisible to our eyes. Human tissue is a lot more transparent to near infra red radiation than to visible light, which means that imaging with near infra red would access greater tissue depths and so give us more detailed information regarding a specific biological event or process. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYtterbium is also used in some laser systems and ytterbium fibre laser amplifiers are found in commercial and industrial applications where they are used in marking and engraving. Ytterbium compounds are capable of absorbing light in the near infra red part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which has been exploited to convert radiant energy into electrical energy in devices coupled to solar cells. Additionally, ytterbium compounds are often more potent catalysts than their lanthanide counterparts. They are useful for many organic transformations and are finding increasing use in the chemical industry. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWell, that was ytterbium, definitely an interesting and fascinating element with many uses as diverse as atomic clocks and solar cells and definitely different from the other lanthanides. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e Different indeed with that range of uses. That was Manchester University\u0027s Louise Natrajan with the unique chemistry of ytterbium. Now next week, we\u0027ve got an explosive element and I\u0027ll give one you guess as to who it\u0027s named after. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen the bomb exploded on November the first, 1952, it produced an explosion with the power of over 10 million tonnes of TNT - five hundred times the destructive power of the Nagasaki explosion. This was very much a test device - weighing over 80 tons and requiring a structure around 50 feet high to support it, meaning that it could never have been deployed - but it proved, all too well, the capability of the thermonuclear weapon. And in the moments of that intense explosion it produced a brand new element. There among the ash and charred remains of coral were found a couple of hundred atoms of element 99, later to be called einsteinium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBrian Clegg will be providing more insight into the reactions and naming of einsteinium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Ytterbium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Yb","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eYtterbium was isolated in 1878 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac at the University of Geneva. The story began with yttrium, discovered in 1794, which was contaminated with other rare-earth elements (aka lanthanoids). In 1843, erbium and terbium were extracted from it, and then in 1878, de Marignac separated ytterbium from erbium. He heated erbium nitrate until it decomposed and then extracted the residue with water and obtained two oxides: a red one which was erbium oxide, and a white one which he knew must be a new element, and this he named ytterbium. Even this was eventually shown to contain another rare earth, lutetium, in 1907.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA tiny amount of ytterbium metal was made in 1937 by heating ytterbium chloride and potassium together but was impure. Only in 1953 was a pure sample obtained.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22428,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22428.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":71,"Symbol":"Lu","Name":"Lutetium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on the civic coat of arms for the city of Paris (Latin name ‘Lutetia’), which gives the element its name.","NaturalAbundance":"In common with many other lanthanides, the main source of lutetium is the mineral monazite. It is extracted, with difficulty, by reducing the anhydrous fluoride with calcium metal.","BiologicalRoles":"Lutetium has no known biological role. It has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A silvery-white, hard, dense metal.","CASnumber":"7439-94-3","GroupID":19,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":71,"RelativeAtomicMass":"174.967","AtomicRadius":"2.24","CovalentRadii":"1.740","ElectronAffinity":"32.81","ElectroNegativity":"1.0","CovalentRadius":"1.74","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1663","MeltingPointK":"1936","MeltingPointF":"3025","BoilingPointC":"3402","BoilingPointK":"3675","BoilingPointF":"6156","MolarHeatCapacity":"154","Density":"9.84","DensityValue":"9.84","YoungsModulus":"68.6","ShearModulus":"27.2","BulkModulus":"47.6","DiscoveryYear":"1907","Discovery":"1907","DiscoveredBy":"Georges Urbain in Paris, France and independently by Charles James in New Hampshire, USA","OriginOfName":"The name derives from the Romans\u0027 name for Paris, \u0027Lutetia\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"0.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":50,"ProductionConcentrations":97,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Lutetium is little used outside research. One of its few commercial uses is as a catalyst for cracking hydrocarbons in oil refineries.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Lutetium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: lutetium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week: an element that was worth the wait. Here\u0027s Simon Cotton:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAll chemists have their favourite elements, often for some personal reasons. In my case, that would be iron, as I spent three years of a PhD working on iron compounds. But it could also be cobalt, because cobalt is used to make the blue colour in many of my favourite stained glass windows in churches and cathedrals. Or it could be the last of the lanthanides - lutetium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAfter completing my PhD, I carried out postdoctoral research trying to make new organometallic compounds of the metallic elements with electrons in their 4f subshells, known as the lanthanides. Until then, all the structures of these compounds that had been isolated contained organic rings bound side-on, or as organometallic chemists say, polyhapto-. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis research was, well, challenging. The compounds did not just catch fire in air, sometimes they caught fire in the inert atmospheres of glove boxes. It took me two years but eventually I managed to make compounds of lutetium, and also ytterbium. My colleague, Alan Welch, did an X-ray diffraction study using crystals of the lutetium compound, and found that the rings were bound in a way that had not been seen in lanthanides before, end-on or monohapto-.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis discovery was particularly pleasing because it was also the first four coordinate compound of any lanthanide. Mind you, what put it into perspective was that on the other side of the bench from me, an extremely talented and productive Indian chemist named Joginder Singh Ghotra made the first three coordinate compounds for yttrium and all the 14 stable lanthanides, not just lutetium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo I\u0027ve got good memories of lutetium, but what does lutetium matter to other chemists?\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAll the lanthanides took a long while to be discovered. Partly because neighbouring lanthanides tend to be very, very similar chemically, making them hard to separate. Another problem was that no one knew how many there were meant to be, as there were no theories of electronic structure or atomic number at the time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLutetium was actually the last lanthanide to be isolated in 1907; and was simultaneously discovered by three chemists working in different parts of the world.\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003eThey were the Austrian Carl Auer von Welsbach, the American Charles James, and Georges Urbain from France. Urbain was first to successfully separate lutetium from its neighbour, ytterbium, so he was given the privilege of naming the element. And being a good Frenchman, he selected the Latin name for Paris, lutetia.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo why was lutetium the last lanthanide to be discovered? Two reasons. As the atomic number of an element increases, its abundance decreases. Secondly elements with even atomic numbers, like ytterbium, are more abundant than elements with odd atomic numbers, such as lutetium. This is summarised in what is called the Oddo-Harkins rule, which sounds like something out of a Tolkien novel. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAdditionally because lutetium has a filled 4f (\u003cem\u003eNB, Simon Cotton says 4d here\u003c/em\u003e) subshell, it is spectroscopically rather transparent and it does not form coloured compounds, and so it is quite easy to overlook. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere is more than a hundred times more cerium, the most abundant lanthanide, in the earth than there is lutetium, the least abundant. This makes lutetium and its compounds rather expensive. Having said that, it is more abundant in the earth than elements like silver or gold, or the platinum metals.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLutetium is the last of its family and the smallest. In size it is much nearer to yttrium and scandium, so some versions of the Periodic Table have lutetium directly under Sc and Y, preceded by the lanthanides from lanthanum to ytterbium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe pure element is a silvery metal, and is similar to calcium and magnesium in its reactivity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLutetium and its compounds have found some applications, the most important of these is the use of the oxide in making catalysts for cracking hydrocarbons in the petrochemical industry. But there are other more specialist uses, such as using the radioactive Lutetium-177 isotope in cancer therapy. Lutetium ions were also used to dope gadolinium gallium garnet to make magnetic bubble computer memory that was eventually replaced by modern-day hard drives. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLutetium triflate has also been found to be a very effective recyclable catalyst for organic synthesis in aqueous systems - it avoids the use of organic solvents, giving it green credentials - but because of its cost, it will never be as popular as the triflates of some other lanthanides. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s fair to say that lutetium is still an element looking for its niche in the world, but I predict that more specialist uses will be forthcoming as the twenty-first century unfolds.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo keep your eyes peeled for lutetium popping up in medicine and our industries in the future. That was Simon Cotton with the long-awatied chemistry of the lanthanide lutetium. Now, next week, we\u0027re making new elements.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is not work for the lone experimenter working in a shed somewhere. These are experiments of extraordinary subtlety and complexity. And the problem is not just making the new element but also figuring out what you\u0027ve got at the end. The problem is that you only make a few atoms at a time and these products tend to be spectacularly unstable so you sometimes have only a few milliseconds in which to work out what you\u0027ve got. It\u0027s complex. It\u0027s expensive. And very very clever. And each new atom really is a whole new chemical world to explore. Can it be any wonder that it attracts fortune seekers?\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd join University College London\u0027s Andrea Sella to find out how elements 116 and 118 were discovered, as well as which fortune seekers found them, in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Lutetium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Lu","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; CIS Countries (inc. Russia); USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe honour of discovering lutetium went to Georges Urbain at the Sorbonne in Paris, because he was the first to report it. The story began with the discovery of yttrium in 1794 from which several other elements – the rare earths (aka lanthanoids) – were to be separated, starting with erbium in 1843 and ending with lutetium in 1907.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOther chemists, namely Karl Auer in Germany and Charles James in the USA, were about to make the same discovery. Indeed James, who was at the University of New Hampshire, was ahead of Urbain and had extracted quite a lot of the new metal, but he delayed publishing his research. A sample of pure lutetium metal itself was not made until 1953.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22371,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22371.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":72,"Symbol":"Hf","Name":"Hafnium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on the civic coat of arms for the city of Copenhagen, which gives the element its name.","NaturalAbundance":"Most zirconium ores contain around 5% hafnium. The metal can be prepared by reducing hafnium tetrachloride with sodium or magnesium.","BiologicalRoles":"Hafnium has no known biological role, and it has low toxicity.","Appearance":"A shiny, silvery metal that resists corrosion and can be drawn into wires.","CASnumber":"7440-58-6","GroupID":4,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":72,"RelativeAtomicMass":"178.486","AtomicRadius":"2.23","CovalentRadii":"1.640","ElectronAffinity":"1.351","ElectroNegativity":"1.3","CovalentRadius":"1.64","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"2233","MeltingPointK":"2506","MeltingPointF":"4051","BoilingPointC":"4600","BoilingPointK":"4873","BoilingPointF":"8312","MolarHeatCapacity":"144","Density":"13.3","DensityValue":"13.3","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1923","Discovery":"1923","DiscoveredBy":"George Charles de Hevesy and Dirk Coster","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin name for Copenhagen, \u0027Hafnia\u0027","CrustalAbundance":"3.0","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eHafnium is a good absorber of neutrons and is used to make control rods, such as those found in nuclear submarines. It also has a very high melting point and because of this is used in plasma welding torches. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHafnium has been successfully alloyed with several metals including iron, titanium and niobium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHafnium oxide is used as an electrical insulator in microchips, while hafnium catalysts have been used in polymerisation reactions.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Hafnium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: hafnium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, super alloys, nuclear reactors and space rockets. Just some of the reasons that this week\u0027s uncommon and unknown element Hafnium is cherished by scientists worldwide. Here\u0027s Eric Scerri. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToday I am going to talk about an uncommon element that is also not very well known. However it has a rather interesting history and some important commercial applications including its use in the nuclear power industry and in the making of super-alloys.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e The element is number 72 in the periodic table, and is called hafnium. It takes its name from hafnium, the old Latin name for Copenhagen which is the city in which it was first isolated in 1922. But first let me back-track a little. In 1913, the physicist Henry Moseley, working in Manchester and later Oxford, discovered an experimental method for ordering the elements according to their atomic numbers. Prior to this work the elements in the periodic table had been ordered by using their atomic weights, which gave rise to a series with uneven gaps between each element. As a result, nobody could be sure how many elements remained to be discovered. All this changed following Moseley\u0027s discovery because atomic number increases in whole number steps as one moves through the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e One of the gaps that opened up, was between element 71, lutetium, and element 73, tantalum. Moreover this particular case was complicated by the fact that it was not clear if element 72 would turn out to be a transition metal, or perhaps a rare earth element, since element 72 falls at the boundary between these two types of elements. Some chemists thought the element would be a rare earth element and carried out many fruitless searches for the element among minerals containing rare earths. But some other chemists suggested that the new element would be a transition metal. The chemical argument for this was quite simple. According to some versions of the periodic table, element 72 fell underneath titanium and zirconium in the periodic table, and both of these elements were known transition elements. Then an argument from physics was proposed by Niels Bohr, one of the founders of quantum theory. According to the electronic configuration that Bohr predicted for element 72 he also agreed that it had be a transition metal. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e In 1923 Coster and Hevesy a couple of young researchers in Bohr\u0027s institute decided to try to isolate the element as a test of Bohr\u0027s theory. In order to do this they followed the chemists\u0027 suggestion and decided to look among the ores of zirconium. Within just a few weeks they succeeded by examining some Norwegian zircon and by detecting the X-ray spectral line frequencies expected for this element. It was the discovery of one of the only six then remaining gaps in the periodic table. It also turned out to be the one but last discovery of any naturally occurring element, the last one being rhenium a few years later. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e Hafnium is not all that uncommon compared to many other exotic elements. It occurs to the extent of 5.8 ppm of the Earth\u0027s upper crust by weight. The reason why it took a long time to isolate is that its atoms have almost the identical size to those of zirconium, along with which it typically occurs in minerals. This makes it difficult to separate from zirconium. But these days a number of methods of extraction have been developed and hafnium has found many of applications because of its rather specific properties. It is a shiny, silvery metal that is corrosion resistant to a remarkable degree. More important perhaps, it has a very high ability to capture neutrons which renders it ideal for making control rods in nuclear reactors, especially those that need to operate under harsh conditions such as today\u0027s pressurized water reactors.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e Hafnium is also very good at forming super-alloys, which can withstand very high temperatures and has found applications in making a variety of parts for space vehicles. In terms of regular compounds rather than alloys, hafnium carbide has the highest melting point, of any compound consisting of just two elements, at just under \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e3,990\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC. Moving up to compounds of three elements, the mixed carbide of tungsten and hafnium has \u003cem\u003ethe\u003c/em\u003e single highest melting point of any known compound at 4125\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e Hafnium is not cheap given how difficult it is to extract and because of its relative scarcity. But there are some cases where one just has to pay the price! In the case of nuclear reactors for example, it costs in excess of a million dollars just for the neutron absorbing hafnium rods. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e On my recent trip to Copenhagen I spent a long time looking for the famous little mermaid that is symbolic of the city. When I found it I was surprised to see that it is rather insignificant but this did not seem to lessen the special attention that it held from tourists from all over the world. I think it\u0027s a little bit like the metal hafnium, first discovered in the mermaid\u0027s city of Copenhagen. It too seems somewhat insignificant at first sight and yet it holds the attention of a variety of scientists because of its rather special properties.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe ability to capture neutrons and the highest melting point of any compound, you can see why scientists consider this element as special as the little mermaid. That was Eric Scerri revealing the powers of Hafnium. Now next week, we meet the King of the elements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eForget 10 Downing Street or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the most prestigious address in the \u003cem\u003euniverse\u003c/em\u003e is number one in the periodic table, hydrogen. In science, simplicity and beauty are often equated - and that makes hydrogen as beautiful as they come, a single proton and a lone electron making the most compact element in existence.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Brian Clegg will be revealing the beauty of hydrogen in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then, thanks for listening, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam from the nakedscientists.com and I\u0027ll see you next week. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Hafnium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Hf","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1911, Georges Urbain reported the discovery of the missing element below zirconium in the periodic table, but he was wrong and the search continued. It was finally discovered by George Charles de Hevesy and Dirk Coster at the University of Copenhagen in 1923. It was found in a zirconium mineral, a Norwegian zircon, but it had proved very difficult to separate it from zirconium and this explained why hafnium remained undiscovered for so long.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOther zirconium minerals were now examined by Hevesy, and some were found to contain as much as five per cent of hafnium. (It meant the atomic weight of zirconium was wrong and hafnium-free material had to be produced in order for this to be determined.)\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first pure sample of hafnium itself was made in 1925 by decomposing hafnium tetra-iodide over a hot tungsten wire.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22422,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22422.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":73,"Symbol":"Ta","Name":"Tantalum","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"An image of an abstracted human skull, banded with strips or ‘plates’. This reflects the use of the element in medical prosthetics. The background design is based on a scene from an Ancient Greek vase depicting the mythological figure Tantalus, a reference to the origin of the element’s name.","NaturalAbundance":"Tantalum is sometimes, but only rarely, found uncombined in nature. It occurs mainly in the mineral columbite-tantalite, which also contains other metals including niobium. It is mined in many places including Australia, Canada and Brazil. There are several complicated steps involved in separating the tantalum from the niobium. A lot of tantalum is obtained commercially as a by-product of tin extraction.","BiologicalRoles":"Tantalum has no known biological role. It is non-toxic.","Appearance":"A shiny, silvery metal that is very resistant to corrosion.","CASnumber":"7440-25-7","GroupID":5,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":73,"RelativeAtomicMass":"180.948","AtomicRadius":"2.22","CovalentRadii":"1.580","ElectronAffinity":"31.068","ElectroNegativity":"1.5","CovalentRadius":"1.58","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e5\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"3017","MeltingPointK":"3290","MeltingPointF":"5463","BoilingPointC":"5455","BoilingPointK":"5728","BoilingPointF":"9851","MolarHeatCapacity":"140","Density":"16.4","DensityValue":"16.4","YoungsModulus":"185.7","ShearModulus":"69.2","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1802","Discovery":"1802","DiscoveredBy":"Anders Gustav Ekeberg","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the legendary Greek figure King Tantalus.","CrustalAbundance":"0.7","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":54,"ProductionConcentrations":25,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":48.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.1,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eOne of the main uses of tantalum is in the production of electronic components. An oxide layer which forms on the surface of tantalum can act as an insulating (dielectric) layer. Because tantalum can be used to coat other metals with a very thin layer, a high capacitance can be achieved in a small volume. This makes tantalum capacitors attractive for portable electronics such as mobile phones.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTantalum causes no immune response in mammals, so has found wide use in the making of surgical implants. It can replace bone, for example in skull plates; as foil or wire it connects torn nerves; and as woven gauze it binds abdominal muscle. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is very resistant to corrosion and so is used in equipment for handling corrosive materials. It has also found uses as electrodes for neon lights, AC/DC rectifiers and in glass for special lenses.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTantalum alloys can be extremely strong and have been used for turbine blades, rocket nozzles and nose caps for supersonic aircraft. \u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Tantalum.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: tantalum\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we put down our portable game stations, stop taking photos and turn off our phones, to give some respect to the element that\u0027s helped make our modern lifestyles possible. Here\u0027s John Whitfield. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Whitfield \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStop a minute. Check your pockets. Rummage in your bag. Chances are that somewhere in there you\u0027ll turn up a mobile phone. Although it might take a few moments, and you might not even be sure where your phone has got to, so light and compact have these ubiquitous devices become. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe\u0027ve got tantalum to thank for making our mobiles so easy to lose. It\u0027s this element that\u0027s allowed them to evolve from the house bricks of the nineteen eighties to the Star-trek style communicators of the noughties. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA mixture of powdered tantalum and tantalum oxide is used in mobile phone capacitors, components that store electrical charge and control the flow of current. What makes the elements ideal for phones, and other dinky electronic devices, such as handheld game consoles, laptops and digital cameras, is that the metal is extremely good at conducting both heat and electricity, meaning that it can be used in small components that don\u0027t crack up under pressure. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTantalum, you might say, is the strong, silent type. Its properties have made it an element that gets inside things, hidden but influential. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe boom in mobile electronics means that tantalum is now more in demand, and probably more widely known than at any point since it was discovered in 1802. It\u0027s also made tantalum one of those raw materials that fuel and provoke conflict, leading to some people talking about \u0027blood tantalum\u0027 \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTantalum was discovered by the Swedish chemist Anders Ekeberg, who extracted the metal from mineral samples. Tantalus was a king in greek mythology who, after stealing secrets from the gods, was punished by being forced to stand in a pool of water that flowed away from him every time he bent his head to drink. The new metal\u0027s refusal to react when immersed in acid reminded Ekeberg of the king\u0027s plight. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAfter Ekeberg\u0027s discovery, however, tantalum fell prey to a case of mistaken identity, with many chemists believing that it was one and the same as columbium, another metal described at around the same time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe two, which have similar chemical properties and nearly always occur together in nature, were not unequivocally shown to be different until the middle of the nineteenth century, when columbium was renamed niobium, after Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBoth are rare earth elements. Tantalum now sits below niobium in the periodic table. It has an atomic number of 73, and an atomic weight of just under 181. It always takes a valence of 5, so, for example, its oxide contains two atoms of tantalum and five of oxygen. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn its pure state, tantalum is a grey-blue metal, which can be polished to a silvery sheen. You can hammer it into sheets, and draw it into wires. And, as Ekeberg discovered, it\u0027s tough stuff. Tantalum alloys turn up in hot places such as jet engines and nuclear reactors because the metal\u0027s melting point is around 3,000 degrees centigrade - among the metals, only tungsten and rhenium are higher. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTantalum\u0027s chemical inertness has also led to it being used in surgical instruments and implants such as pacemakers - it\u0027s neither corroded by body fluids, nor does it irritate living tissue. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne promising medical application is in replacement joints. A layer of metal about 50 micrometres thick is deposited onto a porous carbon skeleton to create a rigid material that has a similar structure to bone itself, meaning that once the new joint is in the body, the patient\u0027s bone and soft tissue can bond with and grow into the implant. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTantalum is relatively rare: it\u0027s the fiftieth commonest element in the earth\u0027s crust. There are only 40 miligrams of the stuff in a cell phone, but with there currently being about two phones for every three people on Earth, that\u0027s still a lot of tantalum. Last year more than two-and-a-half million kilograms were used, two thirds of that in electronic devices. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHistorically, the most important source of the metal was Australia, but in late 2008, the world\u0027s largest mine in western Australia, which had supplied about 30% of the world\u0027s total, was mothballed by it\u0027s owners, citing slack demand from manufacturers in the global economic downturn, and cheaper sources of the metal elsewhere. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElsewhere in this case means Central Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo in particular contains large deposits of a mineral containing a mix of tantalum and niobium compounds, called columbite-tantalite, colloquially known as coltan. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eProfits from coltan mining have helped fund the opposing sides in the DRC\u0027s appalling civil war, which has killed more than 5 million people since 1998. The country\u0027s neighbours have also been accused of smuggling the metal out of the DRC. Human rights groups, and the United Nations, have condemned the trade, meaning that although tantalum might be chemically inert, in the last decade it\u0027s become politically explosive. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo an element under political scrutiny due to its wide range of uses in mobile phones, jet engines, nuclear reactors and even replacement joints. That was John Whitfield with the tantalising story of Tantalum. Now next week, we\u0027ve got an element whose founder is under question. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was not until the twentieth century before protactinium was first discovered. Of course it depends on what one really means by the discovery of an element. Does it mean somebody realizing that a mineral contains a new element, or does it mean the first time an element is actually isolated? Depending on what choice is made the discovery of protactinium can be assigned to different scientists. And in the case of protactinium there is an even further complication. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo join UCLA\u0027s Eric Scerri who will be revealing this complication in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Tantalum","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ta","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Brazil; Australia; Mozambique","TopProductionCountries":"Brazil; Rwanda; China","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eTantalum was reported as a new metal in 1802 by Anders Gustav Ekeberg at Uppsala University, Sweden. However, when William Wollaston analysed the minerals from which it had been extracted he declared it was identical to niobium which has been discovered the year previously. It was as a result of their similarity that there was confusion regarding their identification. These two elements often occur together and, being chemically very similar, were difficult to separate by the methods available at the time of the discovery.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was not until 1846 that Heinrich Rose separated tantalum and niobium and proved conclusively that they were different elements, and yet his sample of tantalum was still somewhat impure, and it was not until 1903 that pure tantalum was produced by Werner von Bolton.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22395,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22395.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"Medium","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"48.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":74,"Symbol":"W","Name":"Tungsten","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol used reflects the once common use of the element in light bulbs.","NaturalAbundance":"The principal tungsten-containing ores are scheelite and wolframite. The metal is obtained commercially by reducing tungsten oxide with hydrogen or carbon.","BiologicalRoles":"Tungsten is the heaviest metal to have a known biological role. Some bacteria use tungsten in an enzyme to reduce carboxylic acids to aldehydes.","Appearance":"A shiny, silvery-white metal.","CASnumber":"7440-33-7","GroupID":6,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":74,"RelativeAtomicMass":"183.84","AtomicRadius":"2.18","CovalentRadii":"1.500","ElectronAffinity":"78.757","ElectroNegativity":"1.7","CovalentRadius":"1.50","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e6\u003c/strong\u003e, 5, 4, 3, 2, 0","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"3414","MeltingPointK":"3687","MeltingPointF":"6177","BoilingPointC":"5555","BoilingPointK":"5828","BoilingPointF":"10031","MolarHeatCapacity":"132","Density":"19.3","DensityValue":"19.3","YoungsModulus":"411.0","ShearModulus":"160.6","BulkModulus":"311.0","DiscoveryYear":"1783","Discovery":"1783","DiscoveredBy":"Juan and Fausto Elhuyar\u003cbr\u003e","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Swedish \u0027tung sten\u0027 meaning heavy stone.","CrustalAbundance":"1","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":61,"ProductionConcentrations":84,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9.5,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eTungsten was used extensively for the filaments of old-style incandescent light bulbs, but these have been phased out in many countries. This is because they are not very energy efficient; they produce much more heat than light.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTungsten has the highest melting point of all metals and is alloyed with other metals to strengthen them. Tungsten and its alloys are used in many high-temperature applications, such as arc-welding electrodes and heating elements in high-temperature furnaces. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTungsten carbide is immensely hard and is very important to the metal-working, mining and petroleum industries. It is made by mixing tungsten powder and carbon powder and heating to 2200°C. It makes excellent cutting and drilling tools, including a new ‘painless’ dental drill which spins at ultra-high speeds. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCalcium and magnesium tungstates are widely used in fluorescent lighting.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Tungsten.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: tungsten\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week supersonic steels, fast formula cars and upset Spanish scientists. But what are they arguing about? Here\u0027s Katherine Holt.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Holt\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat\u0027s in a name? How do we decide what to call an element anyway? Is the name of an element the same in all languages? Does it matter? And who decides?\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWell the answer to the last question is easy - the naming of elements is ultimately decided by IUPAC - the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry. The answer to the other questions is mainly \u0027it depends\u0027! Take for example the case of element 74 - or as we call it in English - tungsten. Ever wonder why its symbol is W? Chemists in many European countries don\u0027t have to wonder why - because they call it Wolfram. The two-name confusion arises from early mineralogy. The name \u0027tungsten\u0027 is derived from the old Swedish name for \u0027heavy stone\u0027, a name given to a known tungsten-containing mineral. The name \u0027wolfram\u0027 comes from a different mineral, wolframite, which also has a high content of the element we call tungsten. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUntil recently both names - tungsten \u003cem\u003eand\u003c/em\u003e wolfram - were included in \u0027Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry - IUPAC Recommendations\u0027 or the \u0027Red book\u0027 as it is known in IUPAC circles. However in 2005 \u0027wolfram\u0027 was dropped and tungsten became the sole official IUPAC name for this element. However, wolfram did not go down without a fight! In particular the Spanish chemists were unhappy to see the change - not least because their compatriots the Delhuyar brothers are credited with the discovery of the element and its isolation from the mineral wolframite. In their original paper, the Delhuyar brothers requested the name wolfram for the newly isolated element, saying \u0027We will call this new metal wolfram, taking its name from the matter of which it has been extracted.this name is more suitable than tungsten...... because wolframite is a mineral which was known long before...., at least among the mineralogists, and also because the name wolfram is accepted in almost all European languages.....\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough this may be a compelling case, IUPAC argues that is that its working language is English and so Tungsten is the most appropriate name. They make the point that students will have to learn some history of chemistry to know why the element symbol is W. The same is true also for a number of other elements, such as potassium, mercury, and silver whose symbols bear no relation to their English name.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, it seems unlikely to me that such a colourful name as wolfram will be forgotten. In case you were wondering, it is believed to be derived from the German for \u0027wolf\u0027s foam\u0027. Many centuries ago mid-European tin smelters observed that when a certain mineral was present in the tin ore, their yield of tin was much reduced. They called this mineral \u0027wolfs foam\u0027 because, they said, it devoured the tin much like a wolf would devour a sheep! Thus over time the name \u0027wolframite\u0027 evolved for this tungsten-containing ore. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn contrast to its semi-mythical role in early metallurgy, these days the applications of tungsten are highly technological, making use of its hardness, stability and high melting point. Current uses are as electrodes, heating elements and field emitters, and as filaments in light bulbs and cathode ray tubes. Tungsten is commonly used in heavy metal alloys such as high speed steel, from which cutting tools are manufactured. It is also used in the so-called \u0027superalloys\u0027 to form wear-resistant coatings. Its density makes it useful as ballast in aircraft and in Formula one cars and more controversially as supersonic shrapnel and armour piercing ammunition in missiles. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt seems to me that the name tungsten, or \u0027heavy stone\u0027, is justified by these applications, which exploit its strength and density. I\u0027m glad, though, that the birth of chemistry in the activity of those ancient metallurgists and mineralogists is still celebrated by the use of the symbol W for element 74. This ensures that we never forget that there was a time, not so long ago, when many chemical processes could only be explained through metaphor. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI always used to remember tungsten\u0027s letter W as standing for the wrong symbol, but can you think of the one letter of the alphabet that isn\u0027t used in the periodic table? Now there\u0027s something to ponder on. In the meantime, thank you very much to UCL\u0027s Katherine Holt. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNext week we\u0027ll meet the element that was introduced to the world in, its fair to say, a pretty unusual way.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first hint the world had of the existence of Americium was not in a paper for a distinguished journal but on a children\u0027s radio quiz in 1945. Seaborg appeared as a guest on MBC\u0027s Quiz Kids show where one of the participants asked him if they produced any other new elements as well as plutonium and neptunium. As Seaborg was due to formally announce the discovery of Americium five days later he let slip its existence along with element 96.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Brian Clegg will be telling the story of the radio active element americium and how it keeps homes safe in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Tungsten","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"W","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; Russia; USA","TopProductionCountries":"China; Russia; Bolivia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eMore than 350 years ago, porcelain makers in China incorporated a unique peach colour into their designs by means of a tungsten pigment that was not known in the West. Indeed it was not for another century that chemists in Europe became aware of it. In 1779, Peter Woulfe examined a mineral from Sweden and concluded it contained a new metal, but he did not separate it. Then in 1781, Wilhelm Scheele investigated it and succeeded in isolating an acidic white oxide and which he rightly deduced was the oxide of a new metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe credit for discovering tungsten goes to the brothers, Juan and Fausto Elhuyar, who were interested in mineralogy and were based at the Seminary at Vergara, in Spain, 1783 they produced the same acidic metal oxide and even reduced it to tungsten metal by heating with carbon.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22403,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22403.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"10–30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":75,"Symbol":"Re","Name":"Rhenium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol is based on the coat of arms of Mainz, the capital of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.","NaturalAbundance":"Rhenium is among the rarest metals on Earth. It does not occur uncombined in nature or as a compound in a mineable mineral species. It is, however, widely spread throughout the Earth’s crust to the extent of about 0.001 parts per million. Commercial production of rhenium is by extraction from the flue dusts of molybdenum smelters.","BiologicalRoles":"Rhenium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A metal with a very high melting point. \u0026nbsp;Tungsten is the only metallic element with a higher melting point.","CASnumber":"7440-15-5","GroupID":7,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":75,"RelativeAtomicMass":"186.207","AtomicRadius":"2.16","CovalentRadii":"1.410","ElectronAffinity":"14.47","ElectroNegativity":"1.9","CovalentRadius":"1.41","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e7\u003c/strong\u003e, 6, 4, 2, -1","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"3185","MeltingPointK":"3458","MeltingPointF":"5765","BoilingPointC":"5590","BoilingPointK":"5863","BoilingPointF":"10094","MolarHeatCapacity":"137","Density":"20.8","DensityValue":"20.8","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1925","Discovery":"1925","DiscoveredBy":"Walter Noddack, Ida Tacke and Otto Berg","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin name for the Rhine, \u0027Rhenus\u0027.","CrustalAbundance":"0.000188","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":52,"ProductionConcentrations":51,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":67.5,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.2,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eRhenium is used as an additive to tungsten- and molybdenum-based alloys to give useful properties. These alloys are used for oven filaments and x-ray machines. It is also used as an electrical contact material as it resists wear and withstands arc corrosion. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRhenium catalysts are extremely resistant to poisoning (deactivation) and are used for the hydrogenation of fine chemicals. Some rhenium is used in nickel alloys to make single-crystal turbine blades.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Rhenium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: rhenium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week one of the rarest elements on earth that seems to enjoy changing the laws of nature. Unraveling the mysteries of rhenium, here\u0027s UCLA\u0027s Eric Scerri. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRhenium is element 75 in the periodic table and in many ways a rather unusual element. It is one of the rarest elements on the Earth with an abundance of something like 1 part per million. It is also one of the densest elements, following only platinum, iridium and osmium and it is one of the highest melting point elements exceeded only by tungsten and carbon. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRhenium sits two places below manganese in the periodic table and its existence was first predicted by Mendeleev when he first proposed his periodic table in 1869. In fact this group is unusual in that, when the periodic table was first published, it possessed only one known element, manganese, with at least two gaps below it. The first gap was eventually filled by element 43 technetium, the second gap was filled by rhenium. But rhenium was the first to be discovered. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was first isolated in 1925 by Walter and Ida Noddack and Otto Berg in Germany. In the course of an extraction of epic proportions, they processed about 660 kg of the ore molybdenite in order to get just one gram of rhenium. These days rhenium is extracted more efficiently as the bi-product of the processes for the purification of molybdenum and copper, since rhenium often occurs as an impurity in the ores of these elements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe discoverers called their element, rhenium, after the Latin name Rhenus for the river Rhine close to the place where they were working. In fact the Noddacks and Berg believed that they had also isolated the other element missing from group 7, or element 43, that eventually became known as technetium, but it was not to be. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs recently as the early years of the 21st century some researchers from Belgium and the US re-analyzed the X-ray evidence from the Noddacks and argued that they had in fact isolated element 43. But these claims have been hotly debated by many radiochemists and physicists and now have been finally laid to rest. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut by an odd twist of fate, a Japanese chemist, Masataka Ogawa believed that he had isolated element 43 and called it nipponium back in 1908. His claim too was largely discredited but as recently as 2004 it has emerged that he had in fact isolated rhenium well before the Noddacks. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUntil quite recently no mineral containing rhenium combined with just a non-metal had ever been found. Not until 1992 that is, when a team of Russian scientists discovered rhenium disulphide at the mouth of a volcano on an islands off the east coast of Russia between the Kamchatka peninsula and the Japanese islands. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe chemistry of rhenium is also rather interesting. For example, it shows the largest range of oxidation states of absolutely any known element, namely -1, 0, +1, +2 and so on all the way to +7, the last of which is actually its most common oxidation state. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow here is another oddity. Until the early 1960s it was believed that three bonds between any two atoms was as high as nature could go, as in the case of the nitrogen-nitrogen triple bond for example. But in 1964 Albert Cotton and co-workers in the USA discovered the existence of a metal-metal quadruple bond. Yes you guessed it, it was rhenium, or rather a rhenium compound namely the rhenium ion, [Re2Cl8]2+ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e[correction: this should be the two minus ion, not the two plus ion]\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMore recently an especially simple compound of rhenium, rhenium dibromide, has attracted a great deal of scientific attention because it is one of the hardest of all known substances. And unlike other super-hard materials, like diamond, it does not have to be manufactured under high pressure conditions. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut what else is rhenium good for? What are some other applications? Well there are many of them. A good deal of the rhenium extracted is made into super-alloys to be used for parts in jet engines. Not surprisingly for a transition metal, rhenium is also a good catalyst. In fact a combination of rhenium and platinum make up the catalyst of choice in the very important process of making lead-free and high-octane petrol. Rhenium catalysts are especially resistant to chemical attack from nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur, which also makes them useful in hydrogenation reactions in various industrial processes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd just to go back to the Noddacks, and in particular Ida Noddack, it was she who first proposed in 1934 that nuclear fission might be possible as the result of the break up of a nucleus into fragments but her speculation was ignored and it had to wait until 1939 when Hahn, Strassmann and Meitner really discovered fission. Why was Noddack ignored? The most popular view seems to be that it was because her reputation had been damaged by her falsely announcing the discovery of element 43 in addition to the correct discovery of rhenium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo its one of the hardest of all known substances, has a variety of oxidation states, and has the ability to make quadruple bonds, certainly a rule breaker. That was Eric Scerri from the University of California Los Angeles, revealing the secret powers of rhenium. Next week, a colourful luminous element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLouise Natrajan\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTerbium in the +3 state radiates an aesthetically pleasing luminous green colour when the correct wavelength of energy is used to excite the atoms. This is because terbium 3+ ions are strongly luminescent, so strong in fact, that its luminescence can often be seen by the naked eye The human eye is particularly sensitive to the colour green and even small amounts in the right compound are easily detectable by eye. This bright colour renders terbium compounds particularly useful as colour phosphors in lighting applications, e.g. in fluorescent lamps, where it is a yellow colour, and as with europium(III) which is red, provides one of the primary colours in TV screens; who knew that Turbium could be in your TV set! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Manchester University\u0027s Louise Natrajan will be filling us in on the colourful story of terbium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Rhenium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Re","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Chile; USA; Russia","TopProductionCountries":"Chile; USA; Poland","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe periodic table had two vacant slots below manganese and finding these missing elements, technetium and rhenium, proved difficult. Rhenium was the lower one and indeed it was the last stable, non-radioactive, naturally-occurring element to be discovered. In 1905, Masataka Ogawa found it in the mineral thorianite from Sri Lanka. He realised from lines in its atomic spectrum that it contained an unknown element. He wrongly thought it was the one directly below manganese and so his claim was discounted at the time. However, a re-examination of Ogawa’s original photographic spectra proved he had discovered rhenium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe isolation of rhenium was finally achieved in May 1925 by Walter Noddack and Ida Tacke working in Berlin. They concentrated it from the ore gadolinite in which it was an impurity.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22388,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22388.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"67.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":76,"Symbol":"Os","Name":"Osmium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image suggests the use of the element in making high-quality pen nibs.","NaturalAbundance":"Osmium occurs uncombined in nature and also in the mineral osmiridium (an alloy with iridium). Most osmium is obtained commercially from the wastes of nickel refining.","BiologicalRoles":"Osmium has no known biological role. The metal is not toxic, but its oxide is volatile and very toxic, causing lung, skin and eye damage.","Appearance":"A shiny, silver metal that resists corrosion. It is the densest of all the elements and is twice as dense as lead.","CASnumber":"7440-04-2","GroupID":8,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":76,"RelativeAtomicMass":"190.23","AtomicRadius":"2.16","CovalentRadii":"1.360","ElectronAffinity":"106.1","ElectroNegativity":"2.2","CovalentRadius":"1.36","CommonOxidationStates":"8, 6, \u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e, 3, 2, 0, -2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"3033","MeltingPointK":"3306","MeltingPointF":"5491","BoilingPointC":"5008","BoilingPointK":"5281","BoilingPointF":"9046","MolarHeatCapacity":"130","Density":"22.5872","DensityValue":"22.5872","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1803","Discovery":"1803","DiscoveredBy":"Smithson Tennant","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek word \u0027osme\u0027, meaning smell.","CrustalAbundance":"0.000037","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":95,"ProductionConcentrations":60,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":44.3,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Osmium has only a few uses. It is used to produce very hard alloys for fountain pen tips, instrument pivots, needles and electrical contacts. It is also used in the chemical industry as a catalyst.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Osmium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: osmium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello this week the illuminating story of the chemical that christened a light bulb company and helps us to find fingerprints but in the wrong hands can stink to high heaven. To tell the story of the densest element we know here\u0027s science broadcaster Quentin Cooper. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eQuentin Cooper\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGiven the whole periodic table to choose from, how to pick a particular element to talk about rather than any other? They\u0027ve all got their charms and quirks - well, except maybe bismuth.I\u0027ve never had much time for bismuth - but the deal was I had to single out one. And then it came to me. A real light-bulb moment. Osmium. Under-appreciated under-exploited osmium - if any element needs a change of PR this is the one. It\u0027s brittle, prone to ponginess and arguably the dunce of the periodic table. Even the man who discovered osmium treated it rather sniffily. Perhaps in part that\u0027s because Smithson Tennant, an English chemist, was also the first to establish that diamond is a form of carbon.so this was never going to match up to that glittering career highlight. What also didn\u0027t help was that his discovery of osmium around 1803 came as part of a job lot - he isolated another element, alongside it: also a metal it was hard and yellowy-white and some of its compounds had a kind of rainbow sheen when they caught the light so he gave it a nice shiny name - iridium as in iridescent. No such luck for the bluish-silver substance he found at the same time : it reeked - or at least some of its compounds did. Tennant described the \u003cem\u003e\"pungent and penetrating smell\" \u003c/em\u003e as one of the new element\u0027s \u003cem\u003e\"most distinguishing characters\"\u003c/em\u003e. So he called it osmium - osme being the Greek for odour. Not very nice.but at least apposite: as a powder even at room temperature it gives off osmium tetroxide, which is so corrosively pungent it can damge the eyes, lungs and skin..although strangely that doesn\u0027t prevent it sometimes being used - with extreme care - to help detect fingerprints.. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo osmium is not just an element, it\u0027s a smellement, and it\u0027s also way beyond lead and gold and platinum as probably the most immensely dense of the whole bunch. I say probably because it depends how you measure it - and while some rate it as densest others argue it\u0027s just pipped by the very thing it was discovered with, iridium. Down the decades as tests have been refined, the right to wear the dense-is cap has repeatedly shifted between the two.. making the only safe option to declare them joint-winners of the prestigious title of densest element in the periodic table. Given the two share both discovery and a date with density it\u0027s perhaps no surprise to find they also rub along in nature and occur as an alloy, wittily known as osmiridium - something you\u0027ll find in upmarket fountain pen nibs and odd bits of surgical equipment. Osmium itself also plays a part in some catalysts, and is used for staining specimens in microscopy. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNone of these is what you might call a bulk application - which may account for why it\u0027s estimated that the current annual amount of osmium now produced right around the world weighs less than a large tiger. Or about 100 kilograms if you prefer conventional units. Time was, though, when osmium was considerably more sought after. Not because of its density or smelly compounds, but because of its high melting point. Very high - over 3 thousand degrees C. After Thomas Edison produced the first commercial electric light in 1879, the race was on to improve on his design - for starters there was the filament - the bit that glows to produce the light but, crucially, doesn\u0027t melt. There had to be something better than Edison\u0027s use of bamboo - I mean, bamboo, really.what was he thinking? Lots of possibilities were explored, but - largely thanks to the work of the Austrian chemist Carl Auer Von Welsbach - the top two elements-as-filaments ended up being osmium and tungsten.which has an even higher melting point. These days it\u0027s tungsten that\u0027s the clear favourite, but in 1906 when a name was needed for a new German company making these improved lights, they simply went with a verbal alloy of the two. Os from Osmium and ram from Wolfram - the German name for Tungsten.hence Osram - now one of the largest lighting manufacturers in the world.and hence my bright light-bulb moment when it came to picking osmium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eQuentin Cooper who was turning the spotlight for us this week onto Osmium. Thanks Quentin. Next time we\u0027re meeting the metal that can sooth this burning issue. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA few weeks ago I had a stupid accident in the lab; I wont go into the details; I am not terribly proud about what happened. But the result is I suffered from some superficial burns on my face and neck. I was seen to by a specialist nurse who nodded at me and then handed me tub of ointment. \u0027Its flammacerium\u0027, she said, \u0027apply it twice a day\u0027. \u0027Flama what\u0027, I replied, \u0027cerium\u0027, she said. I was delighted. \u0027Cerium, it can not be serious, it\u0027s my favorite element\u0027. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd that\u0027s Andrea Sella who will be introducing the chemical that can quite literally get right under your skin but at the same time clean up car emissions and also polish the mirrors of telescopes. That\u0027s the science of cerium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in it\u0027s element, I hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening, see you next time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Osmium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Os","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"South Africa; Russia; USA","TopProductionCountries":"South Africa; Russia; Zimbabwe","History":"In 1803, Smithson Tennant added platinum to dilute aqua regia, which is a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, and observed that not all the metal went into solution. Earlier experimenters had assumed that the residue was graphite, but he suspected it was something else, and he began to investigate it. By a combination of acid and alkali treatments he eventually separated it into two new metal elements, which he named iridium and osmium, naming the latter on account of the strong odour it gave off. Its name is derived from \u003cem\u003eosme\u003c/em\u003e the Greek word for smell. Although it was recognised as a new metal, little use was made of it because it was rare and difficult to work with, although it was extremely hard wearing and for several years it was used for pen nibs and gramophone needles.","CSID":22379,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22379.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"44.3","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":77,"Symbol":"Ir","Name":"Iridium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Iridium salts are highly coloured. The iridescent wings of the dragonfly represent both the origin of the element’s name and its strongly coloured salts.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eIridium is one of the rarest elements on Earth. It is found uncombined in nature in sediments that were deposited by rivers. It is commercially recovered as a by-product of nickel refining. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA very thin layer of iridium exists in the Earth’s crust. It is thought that this was caused by a large meteor or asteroid hitting the Earth. Meteors and asteroids contain higher levels of iridium than the Earth’s crust. The impact would have caused a huge dust cloud depositing the iridium all over the world. Some scientists think that this could be the same meteor or asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Iridium has no known biological role, and has low toxicity.","Appearance":"Iridium is a hard, silvery metal. It is almost as unreactive as gold. It has a very high density and melting point.","CASnumber":"7439-88-5","GroupID":9,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":77,"RelativeAtomicMass":"192.217","AtomicRadius":"2.13","CovalentRadii":"1.320","ElectronAffinity":"150.884","ElectroNegativity":"2.2","CovalentRadius":"1.32","CommonOxidationStates":"6, \u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e, 3, 2, \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e, 0, -1","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"2446","MeltingPointK":"2719","MeltingPointF":"4435","BoilingPointC":"4428","BoilingPointK":"4701","BoilingPointF":"8002","MolarHeatCapacity":"131","Density":"22.5622","DensityValue":"22.5622","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1803","Discovery":"1803","DiscoveredBy":"Smithson Tennant","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris.","CrustalAbundance":"0.000037","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":95,"ProductionConcentrations":60,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":44.3,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Iridium is the most corrosion-resistant material known. It is used in special alloys and forms an alloy with osmium, which is used for pen tips and compass bearings. It was used in making the standard metre bar, which is an alloy of 90% platinum and 10% iridium. It is also used for the contacts in spark plugs because of its high melting point and low reactivity.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Iridium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: iridium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week a rare, sexy, superhero of an element whose name is a little bit deceiving. Here\u0027s Brian Clegg. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere are many reasons to single out an element - in the case of iridium it has to be because it has the sexiest name. It\u0027s the sort of name a science fiction writer would give to a new substance that was strong yet beautiful. It\u0027s a name that belongs to a superhero of the elements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo how does the real thing live up to the name? It\u0027s hard, certainly, a dense silver-white transition metal of the platinum group, looking a bit like polished steel, but not quite as flashy as the name sounds. It\u0027s not iridescent itself. Yet its name derives from the same source. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen Smithson Tennant, later professor of chemistry at Cambridge, gave it the name in 1804, he was referring to Iris, the Greek rainbow goddess. He said \u0027I should incline to call this metal iridium, from the striking variety of colours which it gives, while dissolving in marine acid.\u0027 (Marine acid is a variant of muriatic acid, one of the old names for hydrochloric acid.) \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIridium was originally found as a contaminant (with the element osmium) in platinum, and it was from the solid remnants left when platinum was dissolved in a mix of sulphuric and hydrochloric acids that Tennant made his discovery of both elements. He might equally well have named iridium after its weight - it\u0027s more than twice as dense as lead, and with osmium it\u0027s one of the two densest of all the elements (there is some dispute over which is the heaviest, though osmium usually gets the laurels). Alternatively, Tennant could have reflected on its extremely high melting point, of nearly 2,500 degrees Celsius. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat \u0027superhero\u0027 feel also comes through in iridium\u0027s resistance to corrosion. We\u0027re used to gold and platinum as the exemplars of metals that stay pure, but iridium fights off corrosion better than either. It was partly for this reason - and the metal\u0027s sheer hardness - that iridium was first put to use in alloys to make the tips of fountain pens. Set in gold, these nibs shook off the worst ink and pressure could put on them. To this day you will see fountain pens claiming to have iridium nibs, though in practice it has been replaced by cheaper materials like tungsten. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere was only ever a small percentage of iridium in these pens, which is just as well. It\u0027s a rare material that makes platinum seem commonplace. There are only about 3 tonnes of iridium produced each year. These days it is more likely to turn up in the central electrode of spark plugs, where its resistance to corrosion and hardness are equally valuable. You\u0027ll also find it in specialist parts of industrial machinery. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIridium, with atomic number 77 and two stable isotopes, 191 and 193, turns up in an alloy with platinum in the standard bar and weight used for many years to define the metre and the kilogramme. The metre was originally one 10 millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the Equator in a great circle running through Paris, but this wasn\u0027t a practical measure, so a metal bar was set up to define the length, first in pure platinum, and then from 1889 in the platinum/iridium alloy. Now, though, the distance is defined from the speed of light, permanently fixed in 1983 as 299,792,458 metres per second. As the second is accurately defined by an atomic clock, the metre falls out of the calculation. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe kilogramme, surprisingly, is still based on the mass of a particular block of platinum/iridium alloy kept in a vault in France, although there is a move for this too to be linked to a more reliable measurement of a natural quantity, such as a fixed number of known atoms. Iridium has also found its way into space, both as a secure container for the plutonium fuel of the nuclear electric generators on long range probes and as a coating on the X-ray mirrors of telescopes like the Chandra X-ray Observatory. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut perhaps iridium\u0027s best-known claim to fame is as a clue in a piece of 65 million-year-old Crime Scene Investigation. The concentration of iridium in meteorites is considerably higher than in rocks on the Earth, as most of the Earth\u0027s iridium is in the molten core. One class of meteorite, called chondritic (meaning they have a granular structure) still has the original levels of iridium that were present when the solar system was formed. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1980, a team led by physicist Luis Alvarez was investigating the layer of sedimentary clay that was produced around 65 million years ago, a time of particular interest because this so-called K/T boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods marks the point at which the majority of dinosaurs became extinct. This layer contains considerably more iridium that would normally be expected, suggesting that there may have been a large meteor or asteroid strike on the Earth at this time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere is so much iridium present that the asteroid would have to have been around 10 kilometres across - sizeable enough to devastate global weather patterns, bringing about changes in climate that could have wiped out the dinosaurs. It was iridium that provides the principle clue as to why we now believe that so many species were wiped out, leaving the way clear for mammals to take the fore. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn one small way, iridium disappoints. Unlike its oxides, the element itself doesn\u0027t display the rainbow hues that its name suggests. But that apart, this is a true superhero of an element: tough, practically incorruptible and, yes, extremely dense. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, a rare metal that not only has uses varying from fountain pens to telescopes but also helped us understand the extinction of the dinosaurs. That was Brian Clegg brightening up the Periodic Table with the iridescent tale of Iridium. Now next week a colourful element that likes to shed a tear \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClaire Carmalt\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndium is a soft, malleable metal with a brilliant lustre. The name indium originates from the indigo blue it shows in a spectroscope. Indium has a low melting point for metals and above its melting point it ignites burning with a violet flame. Bizarrely, the pure metal of indium is described as giving a high-pitched \"cry\" when bent. This is similar to the sound made by tin or the \"tin cry\", however, neither of them is really much like a cry! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd join UCL\u0027s Claire Carmalt to find out what tricks, other than crying, indium has up its sleeve in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam from the nakedscientists.com and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Iridium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ir","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"South Africa; Russia; USA","TopProductionCountries":"South Africa; Russia; Zimbabwe","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIridium was discovered together with osmium in1803 by Smithson Tennant in London. When crude platinum was dissolved in dilute aqua regia, which is a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, it left behind a black residue thought to be graphite. Tennant thought otherwise, and by treating it alternately with alkalis and acids he was able to separate it into two new elements. These he announced at the Royal Institution in London, naming one iridium, because its salts were so colourful and the other osmium because it had a curious odour (see osmium).\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDespite its seeming intractability, a group of chemists, including the great Humphry Davy, demonstrated in 1813 that iridium would indeed melt like other metals. To achieve this they exposed it to the powerful current generated by a large array of batteries.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22367,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22367.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"44.3","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":78,"Symbol":"Pt","Name":"Platinum","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on Mayan character glyphs. The Mayans used platinum in jewellery.","NaturalAbundance":"Platinum is found uncombined in alluvial deposits. Most commercially produced platinum comes from South Africa, from the mineral cooperite (platinum sulfide). Some platinum is prepared as a by-product of copper and nickel refining.","BiologicalRoles":"Platinum has no known biological role. It is non-toxic.","Appearance":"A shiny, silvery-white metal as resistant to corrosion as gold.","CASnumber":"7440-06-4","GroupID":10,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":78,"RelativeAtomicMass":"195.084","AtomicRadius":"2.13","CovalentRadii":"1.300","ElectronAffinity":"205.321","ElectroNegativity":"2.2","CovalentRadius":"1.30","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e4, 2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1768.2","MeltingPointK":"2041.4","MeltingPointF":"3214.8","BoilingPointC":"3825","BoilingPointK":"4098","BoilingPointF":"6917","MolarHeatCapacity":"133","Density":"21.5","DensityValue":"21.5","YoungsModulus":"168.0","ShearModulus":"61.0","BulkModulus":"228.0","DiscoveryYear":"1750","Discovery":"Known to native South Americans before Columbus, and taken to Europe around 1750","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Spanish \u0027platina\u0027, meaning little silver.","CrustalAbundance":"0.000037","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":95,"ProductionConcentrations":60,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":44.3,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003ePlatinum is used extensively for jewellery. Its main use, however, is in catalytic converters for cars, trucks and buses. This accounts for about 50% of demand each year. Platinum is very effective at converting emissions from the vehicle’s engine into less harmful waste products. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlatinum is used in the chemicals industry as a catalyst for the production of nitric acid, silicone and benzene. It is also used as a catalyst to improve the efficiency of fuel cells.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe electronics industry uses platinum for computer hard disks and thermocouples. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlatinum is also used to make optical fibres and LCDs, turbine blades, spark plugs, pacemakers and dental fillings.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlatinum compounds are important chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancers.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Platinum.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: platinum\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello - blonde hair, expensive jewellery, a new generation of catalysts and anti cancer drugs plus a mistake that cost the Spanish conquistadors very dear. Have you spotted the connection yet? If not, here\u0027s Katherine Haxton.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Haxton \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlatinum as a metal speaks of prestige, value and power. An album has gone platinum, platinum wedding anniversaries, and highly prized platinum jewellery such as rings and Rolex watches. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlatinum is a very different substance to a chemist. Platinum metal is silvery white and does not oxidise, properties that make it highly appealing for jewellery. It is more precious than silver but with prices more volatile than gold. Platinum has broad chemical resistance although the metal may be dissolved in aqua regia, a highly acidic mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, forming chloroplatinic acid, and has an extremely high melting point in excess of two thousand degrees centigrade.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSpanish conquistadors in the 16\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century viewed platinum as a nuisance, a white metal obtained while panning for gold and difficult to separate from the gold. It was named Platina, a diminutive of Plata, the Spanish word for silver. Platina was believed to be unripe gold, and was flung back into the rivers in the hope that it would continue to mature into gold. There is anecdotal evidence of gold mines being abandoned due to platinum contamination.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlatinum\u0027s properties allowed it to defy identification and classification until the 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century. Its high melting point and broad chemical resistance meant that obtaining a pure sample of the metal was difficult. Platinum\u0027s place as a precious metal was first established in the 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century by Henrik Sheffer, who succeeded in melting or fusing platinum by adding arsenic. Three chemists, Lavoisier, Seguin and Musnier began working together in the late 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century to improve the design of their furnaces to enable platinum to be melted without the need of fluxes such as arsenic. The French Chemist Lavoisier wrote for help from Josiah Wedgewood, the founder of Wedgewood pottery, asking for a clay that could be used to manufacture vessels that could withstand the high temperatures needed to melt platinum. Seguin later requested details of which fuel could burn sufficiently hot enough, and for further details on creating the hottest flame possible. Lavoisier succeeded in melting platinum using oxygen to enhance the heat of the furnace but it would still be many years before a process could be found to produce commercial quantities. Of course, that was prior to Lavoisier\u0027s beheading at the height of the French Revolution in 1794. In 1792 the French Academy of Science obtained a supply of platinum from Marc-Etienne Janety, a master goldsmith in Paris. Janety had managed to develop a means of producing workable platinum using arsenic, and a way to remove the arsenic afterwards with limited success. It is ironic that the very properties that make platinum metal so desirable caused so many difficulties for its discoverers. King Louis XVI of France believed that platinum metal was only fit for Kings, due in part to the difficulties in working with pure samples.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1859, a method for melting up to 15 kilograms of platinum using a furnace lined with lime and oxygen and coal gas as fuel was described by Deville and Debray. The 19th century also saw the development of the first fuel cell using platinum electrodes. Fuel cells produce electricity through electrochemical reactions, often using platinum as non-reactive electrodes, and represent an important area of research into environmentally friendly technologies and cleaner, greener sources of energy today. The very properties of platinum that had made it so hard to work with became valued and platinum was used for lab equipment, and other applications where its broad chemical resistance was required. Johnson Matthey perfected the techniques of separating and refining the platinum group metals and in 1879 Matthey produced a standard metre measure made of a platinum and iridium alloy.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlatinum compounds have been well documented, perhaps none more so than cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II), cisplatin. In the early 1960s, Barnett Rosenberg was conducting experiments on bacteria, measuring the effects of electrical currents on cell growth. It was observed that the \u003cem\u003eE.coli\u003c/em\u003e bacteria were abnormally long during the experiment, something that could not be attributed to the electric current. Further investigation revealed a number of platinum compounds were being formed due to reaction of the buffer and platinum electrode and subsequent characterization of these compounds isolated cisplatin. Cisplatin was found to inhibit cell division thus causing the elongation of the bacteria, and was tested in mice for anticancer properties. This was at the height of a push for new cures for cancer, and screening programs for novel chemotherapy agents. Initial experiments failed due to too high a dose but finally evidence was obtained for cisplatin. Cisplatin today is widely used to treat epithelial malignancies with outstanding results in the treatment of testicular cancers. Cisplatin is a remarkable tale of serendipity in science research and a wonderful example of how major breakthroughs cannot be commanded. The success of cisplatin has spawned a search for new platinum anticancer compounds that has produced oxaliplatin and carboplatin to date with several other compounds at various stages of development. Platinum\u0027s chemical legacy goes far beyond medicinal chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the last 50 years platinum catalysts have become widespread in industry, used to enhance the octane number of gasoline, and manufacturing primary feedstocks for the plastics industry. Platinum plays a significant role in many of the manufactured goods we rely on today. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded, in 2007, to Gerhard Ertl who\u0027s work included a study of oxidation of carbon monoxide on platinum surfaces. Platinum group metals are also components of many autocatalysts, converting car exhaust gases in to less harmful substance. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd our fascination with platinum as a rare and robust metal continues. The term \u0027platinum blond\u0027 came about in the 1930\u0027s when actresses with platinum jewellery were the stars of newly invented talking pictures. The sinking of the Titanic inspired public displays of mourning, including a new fashion for black and white jewellery. Platinum metal became popular in such pieces due to its pale colour. More recently it was the metal of choice for the wedding bands of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, and remains synonymous with quality and wealth today. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAmazing to think that the Spanish colonists were throwing the stuff away. That was Keele University\u0027s Katherine Haxton with the story of Platinum. Next week it\u0027s time to relive your schooldays.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf there were a competition for the chemical element mostly likely to generate schoolboy howlers, the winner would be germanium. It\u0027s inevitable that the substance with atomic number 32 is quite often described as a flowering plant with the common name cranesbill. Just one letter differentiates the flower geranium from the element germanium - an easy enough mistake.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou may like to say it with flowers and give someone a gift of a geranium - but you\u0027re more likely to communicate down a modern fibre optic phone line, and then it\u0027s germanium all the way.\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndeed, and you can download Brian Clegg\u0027s tale of germanium, probably via a fibre optic too, because he\u0027ll be here next week for Chemistry in its Element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Platinum","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Pt","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"South Africa; Russia; USA","TopProductionCountries":"South Africa; Russia; Zimbabwe","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eProbably the oldest worked specimen of platinum is that from an ancient Egyptian casket of the 7\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century BC, unearthed at Thebes and dedicated to Queen Shapenapit. Otherwise this metal was unknown in Europe and Asia for the next two millennia, although on the Pacific coast of South America, there were people able to work platinum, as shown by burial goods dating back 2000 years.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1557 an Italian scholar, Julius Scaliger, wrote of a metal from Spanish Central America that could not be made to melt and was no doubt platinum. Then, in 1735, Antonio Ulloa encountered this curious metal, but as he returned to Europe his ship was captured by the Royal Navy and he ended up in London. There, members of the Royal Society were most interested to hear about the new metal, and by the 1750s, platinum was being reported and discussed throughout Europe.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22381,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22381.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"44.3","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":79,"Symbol":"Au","Name":"Gold","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"In this image a traditional alchemical symbol for the element is used. It is also used as a sun symbol, and much of the mythology around gold relates to the sun. Early alchemists were obsessed by gold and pursued their desire to transmute base metals (usually lead) into gold. The image in the background is based on a symbolic representation of an alchemist’s ‘laboratory’.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eGold is one of the few elements to occur in a natural state. It is found in veins and alluvial deposits. About 1500 tonnes of gold are mined each year. About two-thirds of this comes from South Africa and most of the rest from Russia. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSeawater contains about 4 grams of gold in 1,000,000 tonnes of water. Overall this is a huge amount of gold stored in the oceans but, because the concentration is so low, attempts to reclaim this gold have always failed.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Gold has no known biological role, and is non-toxic.","Appearance":"A soft metal with a characteristic yellow colour. It is chemically unreactive, although it will dissolve in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids).","CASnumber":"7440-57-5","GroupID":11,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":79,"RelativeAtomicMass":"196.967","AtomicRadius":"2.14","CovalentRadii":"1.300","ElectronAffinity":"222.749","ElectroNegativity":"2.4","CovalentRadius":"1.30","CommonOxidationStates":"5,4,\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e,2, 1,-1","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1064.18","MeltingPointK":"1337.33","MeltingPointF":"1947.52","BoilingPointC":"2836","BoilingPointK":"3109","BoilingPointF":"5137","MolarHeatCapacity":"129","Density":"19.3","DensityValue":"19.3","YoungsModulus":"78.0","ShearModulus":"27.0","BulkModulus":"217.0","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"approx 3000BC","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name is the Anglo-Saxon word for the metal and the symbol comes from the Latin ‘aurum’, gold.","CrustalAbundance":"0.0013","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":15,"ProductionConcentrations":13,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":5.7,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eMost mined gold is stored as bullion. It is also, however, used extensively in jewellery, either in its pure form or as an alloy. The term ‘carat’ indicates the amount of gold present in an alloy. 24-carat is pure gold, but it is very soft. 18- and 9-carat gold alloys are commonly used because they are more durable. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe metal is also used for coinage, and has been used as standard for monetary systems in some countries. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGold can be beaten into very thin sheets (gold leaf) to be used in art, for decoration and as architectural ornament. Electroplating can be used to cover another metal with a very thin layer of gold. This is used in gears for watches, artificial limb joints, cheap jewellery and electrical connectors. It is ideal for protecting electrical copper components because it conducts electricity well and does not corrode (which would break the contact). Thin gold wires are used inside computer chips to produce circuits. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDentists sometimes use gold alloys in fillings, and a gold compound is used to treat some cases of arthritis. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGold nanoparticles are increasingly being used as industrial catalysts. Vinyl acetate, which is used to make PVA (for glue, paint and resin), is made using a gold catalyst.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Gold.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: gold\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, in this week\u0027s episode of Chemistry in its element, we\u0027re taking a flight on Concorde, dropping by Buckingham Palace and finding out what could form a film just 230 atoms thick. Going for gold for us this week, here\u0027s the legendary science broadcaster and populariser Johnny Ball. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohnny Ball\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe element gold. Gold is element 79 and its symbol is Au. Though the name is Anglo Saxon, gold originated from the Latin Aurum, or shining dawn, and previously from the Greek. It\u0027s abundance in the earth\u0027s crust is 0.004 ppm. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e100% of gold found naturally is isotope Au-197. 28 other isotopes can be produced artificially and are all radioactive.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGold along with silver and copper, form a column in the periodic table. They are found naturally and were the first three elements known to man. They were all used as primitive money well before the first gold coins which appeared in Egypt around 3400 BC.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost gold is ancient or comes from Central American Aztecs and South American Incas brought to Europe by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 16th century, and which has since been recycled over and over again. In 1830 world output was no more than 12 tonnes per annum. But around that time, new gold discoveries were being made. Finds were discovered in Siberia, California, New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, Transvaal, South Africa, the Klondike and Alaska, and they all produced gold rushes. World production was then around 150 tonnes per year. It is now around 2300 tones per annum.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause it is found in it\u0027s natural state and does not naturally alloy with anything else and because it is the heaviest metal, by sifting rock in water, the gold always falls to the bottom and all less dense impurities are washed away. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe largest nugget was the Welcome Stranger nugget found in Victoria, Australia in 1869. It weighed over 71 kg. This type of nugget occurs naturally, but is very, very rare. Pure gold is 24 karat. 18 karat is 75% and 12 karat is 50% pure gold. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGold is the most malleable of all metals and soft enough to be cut with a knife. Stone age peoples hammered gold into plates for ornamental purposes. Really quite large amounts were gathered together. Though King Tutankhamun was a minor Pharaoh and died aged 18, his coffin alone contained 112 kg of gold. Egyptians also made thin gold sheets, utensils, vast varieties of jewellery and even gold thread. King Tut when he was buried had over 150 gold ornaments on his body.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eToday 1 gram can be beaten into a square metre sheet just 230 atoms thick. 1 cubic centimetre would make a sheet of 18 square metres. Concord\u0027s windscreen had a layer of gold to screen pilots from UV light and today it is often used in sky scraper windows to cut down both heat and UV from sunlight. 1 gram can be drawn to make 165 metres of wire 20 um (microns) thick (1/200th of a millimeter)\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe gold colour in the Buckingham Palace fence is actually gold covered, as it lasts 30 years, whereas gold paint (which contains no gold at all) lasts in tip top condition, only about a year. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSea water contains around 3 parts in a billion of gold, but there\u0027s never been found an economic means of recovering it. The Germans tried very hard during the second World War but failed miserably. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe largest modern hoard is the 30,000 tons in the US Federal Reserve Bank in New York, which belongs to 18 different nations. It is estimated that all the world\u0027s gold gathered together would only make a cube around 18 metres per side - about 6000 cubic metres. And that\u0027s gold.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo now you know why pirates used to bite gold coins to see if they were real. It wasn\u0027t just for the camera because it looked good, it was because the metal was soft enough to be marked by teeth. That was Johnny Ball telling the story of gold. Next time on Chemistry in its element Victoria Gill introduces the chemical that founded the science of photography and also helped to launch the careers of successions of Oscar winners. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVictoria Gill\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ein 1840, Henry Talbot discovered an additional chemical twist, that a so called latent silver image, that had been briefly exposed onto a layer of silver iodide could be revealed using gallic acid. The effect was seen as magical, a devilish art. Hollywood could never have existed without the chemical reaction that gave celluloid film its ability to capture the stars and bring them to the aptly dubbed silver screen. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear Victoria Gill crossing your cognitive palm and lining your intellectual pocket with silver on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening, see you next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Gold","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Au","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Australia; South Africa; Russia","TopProductionCountries":"China; Australia; USA","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eGold has been known since prehistoric times and was one of the first metals to be worked, mainly because it was to be found as nuggets or as particles in the beds of streams. Such was the demand that by 2000 BC the Egyptians began mining gold. The death mask of Tutankhamen, who died in 1323 BC, contained 100 kg of the metal. The royal graves of ancient Ur (modern Iraq), which flourished from 3800 to 2000 BC, also contained gold objects.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe minting of gold coins began around 640 BC in the Kingdom of Lydia (situated in what is now modern Turkey) using electrum, a native alloy of gold and silver. The first pure gold coins were minted in the reign of King Croesus, who ruled from 561–547 BC.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22421,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22421.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"74.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":80,"Symbol":"Hg","Name":"Mercury","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is of a traditional alchemical symbol for mercury. This is also an astrological symbol for the planet Mercury. The dragon or serpent in the background comes from early alchemical drawings and is often associated with the element.","NaturalAbundance":"Mercury rarely occurs uncombined in nature, but can be found as droplets in cinnabar (mercury sulfide) ores. China and Kyrgyzstan are the main producers of mercury. The metal is obtained by heating cinnabar in a current of air and condensing the vapour.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eMercury has no known biological role, but is present in every living thing and widespread in the environment. Every mouthful of food we eat contains a little mercury. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOur daily intake is less than 0.01 milligrams (about 0.3 grams in a lifetime), and this we can cope with easily. However, in much higher doses it is toxic and one form of mercury – methylmercury – is particularly dangerous. It can accumulate in the flesh of fish and be eaten by people, making them ill.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A liquid, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7439-97-6","GroupID":12,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":80,"RelativeAtomicMass":"200.592","AtomicRadius":"2.23","CovalentRadii":"1.320","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"1.9","CovalentRadius":"1.32","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e, 1","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-38.829","MeltingPointK":"234.321","MeltingPointF":"-37.892","BoilingPointC":"356.619","BoilingPointK":"629.769","BoilingPointF":"673.914","MolarHeatCapacity":"140","Density":"13.5336","DensityValue":"13.5336","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"25","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"approx 1500BC","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"Mercury is named after the planet, Mercury.","CrustalAbundance":"0.03","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":29,"ProductionConcentrations":74,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":8.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eMercury has fascinated people for millennia, as a heavy liquid metal. However, because of its toxicity, many uses of mercury are being phased out or are under review.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is now mainly used in the chemical industry as catalysts. It is also used in some electrical switches and rectifiers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePreviously its major use was in the manufacture of sodium hydroxide and chlorine by electrolysis of brine. These plants will all be phased out by 2020. It was also commonly used in batteries, fluorescent lights, felt production, thermometers and barometers. Again, these uses have been phased out.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMercury easily forms alloys, called amalgams, with other metals such as gold, silver and tin. The ease with which it amalgamates with gold made it useful in recovering gold from its ores. Mercury amalgams were also used in dental fillings.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMercuric sulfide (vermilion) is a high-grade, bright-red paint pigment, but is very toxic so is now only used with great care.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Mercury.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: mercury\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! This week, we\u0027re exploring the link between mad hatters, mascara, the emperors of China and fishing floats; a strange combination you might say, but probably not as strange as this!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFred Campbell\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCould a man walk across a swimming pool filled with mercury? Don\u0027t ask me how the conversation had reached this point, but being surrounded by friends, who would, it is fair to say, describe themselves as science illiterate, I knew it was up to me, the token scientist around the table, to give the definitive answer. \"No.\" I confidently said, adding rather smugly, \"it is nowhere near dense enough.\" The next morning I was rudely awakened by my ringing mobile; I was wrong! Elemental mercury, a liquid at room temperature, is 13 times denser than water. Enough it turns out to support a man of average build and yes, if you type \u003cem\u003eman sitting on mercury\u003c/em\u003e into Google, you\u0027ll quickly find a 1972 photograph, published in National Geographic of a man suited and booted, sat unaided, albeit a little nervously, on top of a tank of rippling mercury. I\u0027ve been unequivocally proved wrong, but within a fraction of a second, this feeling had been transformed to sheer amazement. Amazement not just at the fact that mercury was so dense it could support a man, but more pressingly that the man in question was very likely giving himself a lethal dose of mercury poisoning in one fatal pose. Surely even in 1972, this kind of activity was seen as an exceptionally bad idea. This of course was not the first time that man has been lowered in by mercury. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWith its Greek name, \u003cem\u003ehydrargyrum\u003c/em\u003e, literally meaning liquid silver it\u0027s perhaps unsurprising that for the last three millennia, civilizations have been transfixed, believing mercury held wondrous physical and spiritual properties, but often those who dabbled reached an unpleasant and mercurial end. The Romans were renowned for using it in cosmetics, often disfiguring their faces in the process. The Egyptians were buried with it to illustrate their civilizations\u0027 mining prowess and the ancient Chinese drank lethal Mercury cocktails seeking eternal life and well-being. In deed, Chinese first emperor, Qin Shi Huang is said to have believed so strongly in the magical properties of Mercury that he died seeking immortality by coughing out\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e Mercury and powdered jade, pick-me-up. His tomb yet to be fully unearthed is thought to be surrounded by great rivers of the element and guarded by the 8000 soldiers of the terracotta army. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSkipping forward to the 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e Century and for the first time, psychological illnesses were attributed to mercury exposure. The madness of many millionaires was blamed on the extensive use of mercuric nitrate in the hat industry and the phrase \u003ci\u003em\u003c/i\u003e\u003cem\u003ead as a hatter \u003c/em\u003e was coined. The link almost certainly inspired Lewis Carroll to dream up the Mad Hatter, although much debate hangs over whether he is in fact displaying the symptoms of mercury poisoning. From this point on, the hazards of mercury were well documented; but despite its toxicity, it continued to find many uses in everyday applications throughout the last century. To forego reeling off a huge list of weird and wonderful uses for mercury, I would just briefly mention my personal favourite, fishing floats, used to maintain in an regular wobble on the water surface, the mercury float proves so alluring to fish that even now after its use has been globally banned, there is active research to find a replacement to do an equal job. It can still be found swirling around in dentistry, where it is used in amalgam fillings and it remains an important ingredient of many mascaras. But both these sources of mercury are currently under threat. Even the humble thermometer is gradually being phased out to be replaced by alcohol filled digital or thermistor-based instruments. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOn one hand, it saddens me to think that mercury will eventually be an elemental artefact sitting hopelessly between gold and thallium in the periodic table, but on the other, it constantly reminds me of the dangers that hide behind the façade of its beautiful silver lustre. As for the man sitting on the vat of mercury, unfortunately I\u0027m still waiting to hear back from National Geographic, for his sake though, we can only hope that he is living a long and healthy life and has not joined the long list of mercury\u0027s many victims.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e\u0027s Fred Campbell on the uses and abuses of element number 80, Quick silver, otherwise known as mercury. Here\u0027s a taste of what to look forward to next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAdina Payton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first thing most people think about when this element is mentioned is barium enema or barium swallow, sickly memories often surface off the radiology clinic, where the nice nurse asked you, \u003cem\u003e\u0027what flavour would you like, strawberry or banana\u0027\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA hard act to swallow, you could say, but thankfully a very digestible account of barium. That\u0027s coming up with Adina Payton on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Mercury","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Hg","StateAtRT":"Liquid","TopReserveHolders":"Mexico; China; Kyrgzstan","TopProductionCountries":"China; Kyrgzstan; Chile","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eCinnabar (aka vermilion, mercury sulfide, HgS), was used as a bright red pigment by the Palaeolithic painters of 30,000 years ago to decorate caves in Spain and France. Cinnabar would yield up its mercury simply on heating in a crucible, and the metal fascinated people because it was a liquid that would dissolve gold. The ancients used in on a large scale to extract alluvial gold from the sediment of rivers. The mercury dissolved the gold which could be reclaimed by distilling off the mercury.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe Almadén deposit in Spain provided Europe with its mercury. In the Americas, it was the Spanish conquerors who exploited the large deposits of cinnabar at Huancavelica in order to extract gold. In 1848 the miners of the Californian Gold Rush used mercury from the New Almaden Mines of California.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough highly toxic, mercury had many uses, as in thermometers, but these are now strictly curtained.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22373,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22373.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"22.6","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":81,"Symbol":"Tl","Name":"Thallium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the origin of the element’s name (from Greek ‘thallos’, meaning ‘a green shoot or twig’), its toxicity and its use in the manufacture of reflective glass.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eThallium is found in several ores. One of these is pyrites, which is used to produce sulfuric acid. Some thallium is obtained from pyrites, but it is mainly obtained as a by-product of copper, zinc and lead refining. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThallium is also present in manganese nodules found on the ocean floor.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Thallium has no known biological role. It is very toxic and there is evidence that the vapour is both teratogenic (disturbs the development of an embryo or foetus) and carcinogenic. It can displace potassium around the body affecting the central nervous system.","Appearance":"A soft, silvery-white metal that tarnishes easily.","CASnumber":"7440-28-0","GroupID":13,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e6p\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":81,"RelativeAtomicMass":"204.38","AtomicRadius":"1.96","CovalentRadii":"1.440","ElectronAffinity":"36.375","ElectroNegativity":"1.8","CovalentRadius":"1.44","CommonOxidationStates":"3, \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"304","MeltingPointK":"577","MeltingPointF":"579","BoilingPointC":"1473","BoilingPointK":"1746","BoilingPointF":"2683","MolarHeatCapacity":"129","Density":"11.8","DensityValue":"11.8","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"43","DiscoveryYear":"1861","Discovery":"1861","DiscoveredBy":"William Crookes","OriginOfName":"Thallium is derived from the Greek \u0027thallos\u0027, meaning a green twig.","CrustalAbundance":"0.85","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe use of thallium is limited as it is a toxic element. Thallium sulfate was employed as a rodent killer – it is odourless and tasteless – but household use of this poison has been prohibited in most developed countries. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMost thallium is used by the electronics industry in photoelectric cells. Thallium oxide is used to produce special glass with a high index of refraction, and also low melting glass that becomes fluid at about 125K.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAn alloy of mercury containing 8% thallium has a melting point 20°C lower than mercury alone. This can be used in low temperature thermometers and switches.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Thallium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: thallium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week\u0027s element sees us immersed in a murder mystery - Henry Nicholls:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHenry Nicholls\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDuring World War I, Agatha Christie worked in a hospital and then a pharmacy, an experience that could explain the presence of poisons in many of her plots. In The Pale Horse, a thriller published in 1961, the star of the show was thallium, also known as \"the poisoner\u0027s poison\" because many salts of this soft, silvery metal is soluble in water, producing a colourless, odourless and tasteless liquid with a delayed effect on the victim. Here\u0027s an excerpt from the dramatic climax in which the novel\u0027s narrator Mark Easterbrook solves the mystery of several unexplained deaths.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003eI slammed back the receiver, then took it off again. I dialed a number and was lucky enough this time to get Lejeune straight away. \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Listen,\" I said, \"is Ginger\u0027s hair coming out by the roots in handfuls?\"\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Well - as a matter of fact I believe it is. High fever, I suppose.\"\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Fever my foot,\" I said. \"What Ginger\u0027s suffering from, what they\u0027ve all suffered from, is thallium poisoning. Please God, may we be in time...\"\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChristie may have got the idea for her plot a few years\u0027 earlier in 1957, when the KGB attempted to assassinate Nikolai Khokhlov, a former KGB assassin himself who had defected to the United States. In turn Christie\u0027s dramatic and detailed description of the symptoms of thallium poisoning in The Pale Horse is thought to have saved at least two lives and led to the arrest and conviction of a British factory worker who had used thallium to kill his stepmother, two work colleagues and nauseate around 70 others. It is so dangerous because thallium has similar biological properties to potassium ions, hijacking the ubiquitous sodium/potassium membrane pump to smuggle itself into cells throughout the body interfering with the important roles played by potassium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThallium is pretty abundant in the earth\u0027s crust, found in several selenium-containing minerals. Indeed, it was whilst cooking up one such compound in 1861 that British chemist William Crookes noted that \"suddenly a bright green line flashed into view and quickly disappeared.\" He knew he was onto a new element and called it thallium after the Greek for green shoot or twig - thallos. The following year, he succeeded in isolating small quantities of the element, but nowhere near the quantities obtained by French chemist Claude-Auguste Lamy who was working away independently with a greater bulk of raw material. When, in 1862, Lamy was awarded a medal at the International Exhibition in London \u003cem\u003eFor the discovery of a new and abundant source of thallium\u003c/em\u003e, Crookes had a fit and it was only with his election to the Royal Society in 1863 - largely on the back of his thallium work - that the cross-channel spat for priority died down. Subsequent work on the chemistry of thallium showed it to have similar properties to several other elements, including silver, mercury and lead. So much so that French chemist Jean-Baptiste Dumas later dubbed it the \"ornithorhyncus, or duck-billed platypus of the metals.\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe raw material on which both Crookes and Lamy worked came from waste products deposited during the manufacture of sulphuric acid. The commercial production of thallium today is not dissimilar, with the metal mostly recovered as a by-product of smelting iron, zinc or lead sulphides to make sulphur dioxide. The resulting thallium contains the two naturally occurring stable isotopes, with around 30% of it made up of atomic mass 203 and the remaining 70% comprised of atomic mass 205. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOwing to its toxic properties, thallium has been used as a rodenticide, though there are safer ways to kill rats and the use of this chemical in the environment is now banned in many countries. Today, thallium is of greatest use to the electronics industry. In particular, the conductivity of thallium sulphide alters on exposure to infrared light, making it an important compound in photocells. Thallium bromide-iodide crystals have also been used in infrared detectors. The addition of metals like thallium to glass can also reduce its melting point to as low as 150 degrees centigrade. As such low-melting point glasses do not shatter like normal glasses, they are particularly useful for the manufacture of electronic parts. Thallium is also being tested in high-temperature ceramic superconductors.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlongside the two stable isotopes, there are a further 23 radioisotopes, though most of them with fleeting half lives. One of them, thallium 201, is useful in nuclear medicine. Its injected into the bloodstream and will find its way into all tissues with the help of the sodium/potassium membrane pump. This can then reveal to the clinician any part of the body not bathed in blood or where the membrane transporter is not working properly. In particular, it is used to image the blood flow to heart muscle in patients suspected of coronary artery disease. Thankfully, with a suitably short half-life of just 72.5 hours, Thallium 201 disappears from the body long before it can cause the lethal damage of the more stable isotopes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn The Pale Horse, Agatha Christie was not as explicit about the treatment for thallium poisoning as she was about its symptoms. \"Do they know how to treat thallium poisoning?\" asks the narrator Mark Easterbrook when he reaches the hospital where the hair-shedding Ginger has been taken. \"You don\u0027t often get a case of it,\" the investigating officer Inspector Lejeune tells him. \"But everything possible will be tried.\" It was, and for those who like their happy endings you\u0027ll be pleased to know that Ginger makes a full recovery from the thallium poisoning that had stricken her down. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat\u0027s a relief, she was OK, although you\u0027ve totally blown the ending Henry! That was science writer Henry Nicholls with the story of Thallium. Next time, to the element that suits someone who doesn\u0027t want to blow up the world, maybe just a small bit of it. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen it comes to practical uses, this silvery substance is an excellent neutron emitter. This makes it handy for kick-starting nuclear reactors, where a high neutron flow is required to get the chain reaction going. It also means that, in principle, californium would make effective small scale nuclear weapons, requiring as little as five kilograms of californium 251 to achieve critical mass - about half the amount of plutonium required for a bomb.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat\u0027s the story of Californium, which apart from its use potentially as a nuclear weapon is also useful for finding gold and striking oil. And you can join us on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element to find out how. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Thallium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Tl","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe discovery of thallium was controversial. William Crookes of the Royal College of Science in London was the first to observe a green line in the spectrum of some impure sulfuric acid, and realised that it meant a new element. He announced his discovery in March 1861 in \u003cem\u003eChemical News\u003c/em\u003e. However, he did very little research into it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeanwhile, in 1862, Claude-August Lamy of Lille, France, began to research thallium more thoroughly and even cast a small ingot of the metal itself. The French Academy now credited him its discovery. He sent the ingot to the London International Exhibition of 1862, where it was acclaimed as a new metal and he was awarded a medal. Crookes was furious and so the exhibition committee awarded him a medal as well.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514293,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514293.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":82,"Symbol":"Pb","Name":"Lead","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Lead has been known to, and used by, humans for many centuries. This long history is reflected in the image by the use of an early alchemical symbol for lead and carved Ancient Roman characters.","NaturalAbundance":"Lead is chiefly obtained from the mineral galena by a roasting process. At least 40% of lead in the UK is recycled from secondary sources such as scrap batteries and pipes.","BiologicalRoles":"\u003cdiv\u003eLead has no known biological role. It can accumulate in the body and cause serious health problems. It is toxic, teratogenic (disturbs the development of an embryo or foetus) and carcinogenic. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDaily intake of lead from all sources is about 0.1 milligrams. The average human body stores about 120 milligrams of lead in the bones.\u003c/div\u003e","Appearance":"A dull, silvery-grey metal. It is soft and easily worked into sheets.","CASnumber":"7439-92-1","GroupID":14,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e6p\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":82,"RelativeAtomicMass":"207.2","AtomicRadius":"2.02","CovalentRadii":"1.450","ElectronAffinity":"35.121","ElectroNegativity":"1.8","CovalentRadius":"1.45","CommonOxidationStates":"4, \u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"327.462","MeltingPointK":"600.612","MeltingPointF":"621.432","BoilingPointC":"1749","BoilingPointK":"2022","BoilingPointF":"3180","MolarHeatCapacity":"130","Density":"11.3","DensityValue":"11.3","YoungsModulus":"16.1","ShearModulus":"5.59","BulkModulus":"45.8","DiscoveryYear":"0 ","Discovery":"Ancient","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for the metal, \u0027lead\u0027","CrustalAbundance":"11","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":34,"ProductionConcentrations":44,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":6.2,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThis easily worked and corrosion-resistant metal has been used for pipes, pewter and paint since Roman times. It has also been used in lead glazes for pottery and, in this century, insecticides, hair dyes and as an anti-knocking additive for petrol. All these uses have now been banned, replaced or discouraged as lead is known to be detrimental to health, particularly that of children. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLead is still widely used for car batteries, pigments, ammunition, cable sheathing, weights for lifting, weight belts for diving, lead crystal glass, radiation protection and in some solders. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is often used to store corrosive liquids. It is also sometimes used in architecture, for roofing and in stained glass windows.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Lead.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: lead\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week we\u0027re sinking to new depths as we meet the metal that spawned the plumb line, a rock group, plumbing and even poisoning, not to mention a generation of alchemists who tried in vain to turn this substance into gold. It is of course lead, and here to swing it for us is science writer Phil Ball. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhil Ball \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLead is the Eeyore of metals - slow, dull and heavy. In its Latin form, \u003cem\u003eplumbum\u003c/em\u003e, it enters our vocabulary by virtue of its soft and ponderous character: we once plumbed depths with a suspended grey blob of the stuff, emphatically commanded by gravity, while plumbers have long since traded their malleable lead pipes for plastic. Everything associated with lead tends towards over-burdened gloom: in the ancient scheme of metal symbolism, lead was linked to Saturn, the melancholy planet, personified by the old god also called Cronos who castrated his father and swallowed his children. Even the spark of glamour the metal gets from association with the world\u0027s greatest rock band stems from the Eeyorish prediction that they would sink like a lead balloon or zeppelin. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYes, lead is the original heavy metal, the most notorious offender in that toxic group. Lead damages the brain and the kidneys, it can cause anaemia and a form of gout with the doleful title of saturnine gout. Even the Romans knew about lead poisoning - the doctor Cornelius Celsus warned about the bad effects of lead white, used in paint and cosmetics, while the engineer Vitruvius recommended earthenware pipes over lead ones. Yet we were slow to learn. Lead white, a form of lead carbonate, remained the artist\u0027s best white pigment right up until the nineteenth century, when it was replaced by zinc white. As paint manufacture became industrialized, lead white spread sickness and death among factory workers: a report in the Transactions of the Royal Society in the seventeenth century listed vertigo, dizziness, blindness, stupidity and paralytic affections among the conditions it caused. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd as late as in 2007 the toy manufacturer Mattel was forced to recall millions of toys made in China that had been coloured with lead paint. Meanwhile, a toxic trickle of lead from solder and the electrodes of batteries leaches slowly from landfill sites throughout the world. In 2006 the European Union effectively banned lead from most consumer electronics, but it remains in use elsewhere. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo alchemists, lead was the lowliest of metals - in a sense, it was where all metals started. In talk of base metals, which alchemy tried to turn to silver and gold, there was none so base as lead. The alchemists believed that lead slowly matured into other metals in the ground. But alchemy also offered lead a chance to shake off its grey and graceless image. It does not take much to draw splendid colours out of lead. The ancient technologists blanched the dull metal by placing lead strips in pots with vinegar, and shutting them away in a shed full of animal dung. The vinegar fumes and gas from fermenting dung conspired to corrode lead into lead white. Heat this gently, and it turns yellow: a form of lead oxide known as litharge or, in the Middle Ages, massicot. Heat it some more, and it goes bright red, as you form a different kind of oxide. Both of these substances were used by artists - red lead was, for a long time, their finest red, used for painting many a bright robe in the Middle Ages. It was the signature colour of Saint Jerome. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo the alchemists, those colour changes weren\u0027t just a way to make pigments. They signified some more profound alteration taking place in the metal, bringing it close to the colour of gold. It\u0027s no wonder, then, that their experiments often began with lead. They came no closer to making real gold, but they started to explore the processes of chemical transformation. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLead, however, seems habituated to revealing its true and dirty colours. Exposed to air, it may go on taking up oxygen until it turns black. Red lead has become chocolate brown on paintings throughout the world, from Japan to India to Switzerland. In urban galleries there is another danger, as the sulfurous fumes of pollution react with red lead to from black lead sulphide. There seems to be no getting away from it: lead has a glum and melancholy heart. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePhil Ball plumbing the depths of the scientific story of lead. The next edition of Chemistry in its element promises to be a record breaker. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Peplow \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou can learn a lot about someone by meeting their family and the same is true for the element. That\u0027s how we come to know so much about astatine. Often trumpeted as the rarest naturally occurring element in the world, it\u0027s been estimated that the top kilometre of the earth\u0027s crust contains less than 50 mg of astatine making it Guinness world record\u0027s rarest element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear Mark Peplow telling the tale of the world\u0027s rarest chemical in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening, see you next time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Lead","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Pb","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Australia; China; Russia","TopProductionCountries":"China; Australia; USA","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eLead has been mined for more than 6,000 years, and the metal and its compounds have been used throughout history. Small lead nuggets have been found in pre-Columbian Peru, Yucatan, and Guatemala.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe Greeks mined lead on a large scale from 650 onwards and not only knew how to obtain the metal but how to covert this to white lead. Because of its superb covering power, this was the basis of paints for more than 2000 years, until the middle of the last century.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe Romans employed lead on a large scale, mining it mainly in Spain and Britain, and using it also for water pipes, coffins, pewter tableware, and to debase their silver coinage. While its mining declined in the Dark Ages it reappeared in Medieval times and found new uses, such as pottery glazes, bullets, and printing type. In the last century it was a fuel additive.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4509317,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4509317.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003e30","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"74.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":83,"Symbol":"Bi","Name":"Bismuth","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image includes an alchemical symbol used to represent the element. In the background are drawings of ancient chemistry apparatus.","NaturalAbundance":"Bismuth occurs as the native metal, and in ores such as bismuthinite and bismite. The major commercial source of bismuth is as a by-product of refining lead, copper, tin, silver and gold ores.","BiologicalRoles":"Bismuth has no known biological role, and is non-toxic.","Appearance":"Bismuth is a high-density, silvery, pink-tinged metal.","CASnumber":"7440-69-9","GroupID":15,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e6p\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":83,"RelativeAtomicMass":"208.980","AtomicRadius":"2.07","CovalentRadii":"1.500","ElectronAffinity":"90.924","ElectroNegativity":"1.9","CovalentRadius":"1.50","CommonOxidationStates":"5, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"271.406","MeltingPointK":"544.556","MeltingPointF":"520.531","BoilingPointC":"1564","BoilingPointK":"1837","BoilingPointF":"2847","MolarHeatCapacity":"122","Density":"9.79","DensityValue":"9.79","YoungsModulus":"31.9","ShearModulus":"12.0","BulkModulus":"31.3","DiscoveryYear":"1500","Discovery":"approx 1500","DiscoveredBy":"-","OriginOfName":"The name come from the German \u0027Bisemutum\u0027 a corruption of \u0027Weisse Masse\u0027 meaning white mass.","CrustalAbundance":"0.18","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":75,"ProductionConcentrations":42,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":24.1,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":9,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eBismuth metal is brittle and so it is usually mixed with other metals to make it useful. Its alloys with tin or cadmium have low melting points and are used in fire detectors and extinguishers, electric fuses and solders.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBismuth oxide is used as a yellow pigment for cosmetics and paints, while bismuth(III) chloride oxide (BiClO) gives a pearly effect to cosmetics. Basic bismuth carbonate is taken in tablet or liquid form for indigestion as ‘bismuth mixture’.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Bismuth.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: bismuth\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello! This time we\u0027re turning to the tale of the element that held the key to masking a sun tan, provided engineers with safety valves for their boilers, could make spoons vanish in a hot cup of Victorian tea and continues to cure stomach upsets today. With the story of this remarkable metal, here is Andrea Sella.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBismuth, A few months ago I was struck by a mad but irresistible impulse to cast a bell. A friend of mine lent me a template and I headed out to Tiranti, one of the best sculpting supply shops in London. With an inviting blue entrance, the shelves are cramped with bottles and tins of resins, polymers and initiators. There are tubs of clay anatomical models, trays of weird implements and books that explain how to make silicon moulds of your extremities. I explained to the young woman behind the counter what I wanted to do and she took me to the silicon resin section where she selected some bottles. I was about to pay for my goodies when my eye was drawn to the next shelf. Stacked in neat piles were clear plastic bags of shiny metal slabs. I picked up a pack and was immediately struck by the weight. Bismuth, the woman said, it casts really well and it\u0027s a lot less toxic than lead. I left the shop with a bag of that as well. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBismuth is without doubt a heavy metal; It occurs so low in the periodic table many were puzzled by the fact that it didn\u0027t seem radioactive. In fact its major isotope bismuth-219 was predicted to be so back in 1949. But it wasn\u0027t until 55 years later, when the French physicists finally observed its decay. It has a half of life of 2x10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e years, I would round off as the same as eternity so. The density of the metal is 9.8, little less than lead but like water, the solid expands as it freezes and it floats on the liquid. It can melt quite easily and it can grow stunning little ziggurat like crystals by cooling it slowly from melt. It is easy. Heat some bismuth in an iron ladle or porcelain bowl using a sand bath and a Bunsen burner until it melts. This happens at just 271 degree Celsius. Then turn off the burner so that the metal cools very slowly and when the metal freezes over at the top poke two holes in the solid surface and then pour out the remaining liquid and then leave everything to cool at room temperature. If you now break open the metal mass you will find gorgeous stepped cubes of bismuth with a faintly pink iridescent sheen to them, a colour which arises from the thin layer of oxide that coats the metal. Just be careful, the metal is quite brittle and your precious cubes will shatter if dropped. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBismuth itself is not very reactive; it is sometime found in ore deposits as the native metal. But surprisingly there is little evidence that it was known to the ancients. Aristotle doesn\u0027t list it among his seven metals and Pliny is silent on the matter. Only the Incas seem to be aware of it. The handle of a llama-headed knife found at Machu Picchu is fashioned from a bronze which is 18% bismuth, which sounds like rather more than an accident. Reliable description of bismuth only appeared in Europe in the 15\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e Century. It began to be mined in Schneeberg around 1460 and the metal soon started to be used as a kind of silvery ink or pigment which gave rise to a craze called Wismuth Malerei, bismuth painting. Painters in Italy including Raphael used both bismuth metal and bismuthinite, bismuth trisulphide in their work. But what was it the alchemist Basil Valentine rather confused things by calling it Wismut, White lead. Others thought it was a kind of tin, Stannum Glaciale or étain de glace, icy tin which the French chemist Nicolas Lemery said sniffily in 1697, was just a derivative of tin prepared by the English. Eventually however the mists cleared. And by early 19\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century, John Dalton listed it amongst his atomic symbols as a circle around a capital letter B. Only then was its chemistry systematically explored particularly by the Swedish chemist Berzelius. For example if you dissolved bismuth in nitric acid and then poured the solution into water a brilliant white flaky material precipitates, Pearl white, the basic nitrate which from the 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century was used in cosmetics to whiten the complexion, anything not to look like someone who worked in the sun. French druggist called it blanc de Perle. It had one disadvantage, however. In polluted cities, it had a tendency to pick up sulphur from the air turning the wear a rather bizarre browner shade. But because of its basic properties, the nitrate began to be given for upset stomachs often when mixed with milk of magnesia. Eventually this was superseded by its complex with salicylic acid, that pink sloth called pepto-bismol, a clever combination of a weak inorganic base and an organic anti inflammatory.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut bismuth\u0027s role in metallurgy has us always intrigued. It has been used extensively to make low melting alloys being added to pewter, the alloy of lead and tin to adjust its melting point or to antimony to make type metal, once used in printing presses. Alloys containing bismuth were used for safety valves and boilers, melting if the temperature rose too high and a classic prank invented in Victorian times was to cast spoons from an alloy containing 8 parts bismuth, 5 parts lead and 3 parts tin. Its melting point is low enough for the spoon to vanish into a cup of hot tea to the astonishment of the unsuspecting visitor. So what am I going to do with my bismuth ingots, perhaps I\u0027ll cast a few spoons before I have a go at the bell.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBudding chemist and would be campanologist, Andrea Sella. Next time to the element that gives rise to a girl\u0027s best friend, but ladies just know where it really comes from first. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Holt \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is possible to make any carbon based material into a diamond including hair and even cremated remains. Yes you can turn your dearly departed pet into diamond if you want to. These artificial diamonds are chemically and physically identical to the natural stones and they come without the ethical baggage. However psychologically there remains a barrier, if he really loves you, wouldn\u0027t he buy you a real diamond. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIndeed and Katherine Holt would be explaining why diamonds really are forever on next time\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I do hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith thank you for listening and good bye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Bismuth","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Bi","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"China; Peru; Mexico","TopProductionCountries":"China; Mexico; Japan","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eBismuth was discovered by an unknown alchemist around 1400 AD. Later that century it was alloyed with lead to make cast type for printers and decorated caskets were being crafted in the metal. Bismuth was often confused with lead; it was likewise a heavy metal and melted at a relatively low temperature making it easy to work. Georgius Agricola in the early 1500s speculated that it was a distinctly different metal, as did Caspar Neuman in the early 1700s, but proof that it was so finally came in 1753 thanks to the work of Claude-François Geoffroy.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBismuth was used as an alloying metal in the bronze of the Incas of South America around 1500 AD. Bismuth was not mined as ore but appears to have occurred as the native metal.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4514266,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4514266.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"\u003c10","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"24.1","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":84,"Symbol":"Po","Name":"Polonium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"An image based on Luna E-1, the first spacecraft of the Soviet ‘Luna’ programme. Later Luna spacecraft carried ‘Lunokhod’ rovers to the moon. These were the first rovers to explore the moon’s surface and were powered by polonium.","NaturalAbundance":"Polonium is a very rare natural element. It is found in uranium ores but it is uneconomical to extract it. It is obtained by bombarding bismuth-209 with neutrons to give bismuth-210, which then decays to form polonium. All the commercially produced polonium in the world is made in Russia.","BiologicalRoles":"Polonium has no known biological role. It is highly toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A silvery-grey, radioactive semi-metal.","CASnumber":"7440-08-6","GroupID":16,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e6p\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":84,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[209]","AtomicRadius":"1.97","CovalentRadii":"1.420","ElectronAffinity":"183.3","ElectroNegativity":"2.0","CovalentRadius":"1.42","CommonOxidationStates":"6, \u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e, 2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"254","MeltingPointK":"527","MeltingPointF":"489","BoilingPointC":"962","BoilingPointK":"1235","BoilingPointF":"1764","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"9.20","DensityValue":"9.20","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1898","Discovery":"1898","DiscoveredBy":"Marie Curie","OriginOfName":"Polonium is named after Poland, the native country of Marie Curie, who first isolated the element.","CrustalAbundance":"0.0000000002","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"α-Po, β-Po","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003ePolonium is an alpha-emitter, and is used as an alpha-particle source in the form of a thin film on a stainless steel disc. These are used in antistatic devices and for research purposes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA single gram of polonium will reach a temperature of 500°C as a result of the alpha radiation emitted. This makes it useful as a source of heat for space equipment. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt can be mixed or alloyed with beryllium to provide a source of neutrons.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Polonium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: polonium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week in Chemistry in its element the story of a substance that was named to snub Russia, power space probes keeps paper static free and has even been used as a murder weapon in London. To reveal the secrets of Marie Curie\u0027s element, and that\u0027s polonium, here\u0027s Johnny Ball\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohnny Ball\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePolonium, (element 84), was discovered in 1898 and named after Poland, the homeland of Marie Curie (Ne Sklodowska) who found it with her husband Pierre Curie. This loyalty was a direct affront to Russia who had dominated Poland for so long. The only way she could become educated whilst a teenager, was by risking imprisonment by the Russians by attending secret underground schools, which had to change locations every couple of days. It was only by escaping to Paris, following her older brother and sister, that she was able to forge a career. She was so poor in the early years in Paris, that she sometimes fainted through lack of food. Still she worked tirelessly.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1894 she met Pierre, who had made a name for himself in discovering piezoelectricity and was one of her lecturers. They married in July 1895. She wore a black dress as it would be serviceable for her work in the laboratory. They did not exchange rings, but bought each other a bicycle, on which they honeymooned. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eX rays had been discovered by Roentgen (Nov 95) and uranium radiation by Becquerel (Feb 96) in Paris. Working with him (98), Marie coined the phrase \"radioactivity\" and decided to make this here object of study, because no one else was doing it. They realised that radiation was coming from the very atoms and that this was a sign of the atoms breaking up. Only by studying the break up of atoms through radiation, were scientists able to clearly understand how atoms are made up. For this the Curies and Becquerel shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903.\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e The discovery of polonium (July 98) was no mean task. Pitchbende, a uranium bearing ore, seemed to be far to radio active than could be accounted for by the uranium. The couple got the waste ore free, after the uranium had been removed. They sieved and sorted by hand, ounce by ounce, through tons of pitchblende before tiny amounts of polonium were discovered. With the polonium extracted, there was clearly something far more radioactive left behind and soon they had isolated the much more important element radium in December 1898. Radium was so named as it glowed in the dark. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePierre died in a tragic accident in 1906. In driving rain he seemed to walk in front of a large horse-drawn wagon, and a wheel shattered his head. Some think \u0026nbsp;the pain he was in as a result of radiation burns and sickness may have caused his lack of awareness. Marie was devastated, but her work continued. For discovering polonium and radium, she received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911, becoming the only woman ever to receive two such prizes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, there was still more success due for the family. Her daughter Irene also became a scientist, and in 1934, Marie saw Irene and her husband Frederick Joliot-Curie produce the first ever artificial radioactive element. This led to our modern ability to manipulate almost every element for our specific scientific needs. Irene and Frederick also received the Nobel Prize in 1935, but sadly Marie had now died.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNatural polonium, Po-210, is still very rare and forms no more than 100 billions of a gram per ton of uranium ore. Because it is so rare, polonium is made by first making bismuth (also found in pitchblende). Bismuth-209 is found and then artificially changed to bismuth-210 which then decays to form polonium-210. This process requires a nuclear reactor, so it is not an easy element to source.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was a shocking discovery that the former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with this very radioactive element. The alpha particles it emits are so weakly penetrating it could easily have been carried in a simple sealed container, and would have to be ingested, for example in a cup of tea, to do any serious harm. However, once inside the body, as it continued to disintegrate, it would become fatal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePolonium has a position in the periodic table that could make it a metal, a metalloid or a nonmetal. It is classed as a metal as its electrical conductivity decreases as its temperature rises. Because of this property it is used in industry to eliminate dangerous static electricity in making paper or sheet metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause of its short half life, its decay generates considerable heat (141 W per gram of metal). It can be used as a convenient and very light heat source to generate reliable thermoelectric power in space satellites and lunar stations, as no moving parts are involved. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eJohnny Ball lifting the lid on the radioactive element polonium discovered by Marie Curie and her husband Pierre. Next time on Chemistry in its element we remain radioactive much like the substance itself with earth scientist Ian Farnan.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIan Farnan\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnyone familiar with the iconic image of the mushroom cloud understands the tremendous explosive power of a correctly controlled detonation of plutonium. The energy density is mind-boggling: a sphere of metal 10 cm in diameter and weighing just 8 kg is enough to produce an explosion at least as big as the one that devastated Nagasaki in 1945. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIan Farnan with what promises to be an explosive edition of Chemistry in its element next week. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and see you next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Polonium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Po","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eUranium ores contain minute traces of polonium at levels of parts per billion. Despite this, in 1898 Marie Curie and husband Pierre Curie extracted some from pitchblende (uranium oxide, U\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e8\u003c/sub\u003e) after months of painstaking work. The existence of this element had been forecast by the Mendeleev who could see from his periodic table that there might well be the element that followed bismuth and he predicted it would have an atomic weight of 212. The Curies had extracted the isotope polonium-209 and which has a half-life of 103 years.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBefore the advent of nuclear reactors, the only source of polonium was uranium ore but that did not prevent its being separated and used in anti-static devices. These relied on the alpha particles that polonium emits to neutralise electric charge.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4886482,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4886482.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":85,"Symbol":"At","Name":"Astatine","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based around the familiar radiation hazard symbol and reflects the unstable and reactive nature of the element.","NaturalAbundance":"Astatine can be obtained in a variety of ways, but not in weighable amounts. Astatine-211 is made in nuclear reactors by the neutron bombardment of bismuth-200.","BiologicalRoles":"Astatine has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"Astatine is a dangerously radioactive element.","CASnumber":"7440-68-8","GroupID":17,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e6p\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":85,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[210]","AtomicRadius":"2.02","CovalentRadii":"1.480","ElectronAffinity":"270.2","ElectroNegativity":"2.2","CovalentRadius":"1.48","CommonOxidationStates":"7, 5, 3, 1, \u003cstrong\u003e-1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"300","MeltingPointK":"573","MeltingPointF":"572","BoilingPointC":"350","BoilingPointK":"623","BoilingPointF":"662","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1940","Discovery":"1940","DiscoveredBy":"\u003cdiv\u003eDale R. Corson, Kenneth Ross MacKenzie, Emilio Segrè\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","OriginOfName":"The name comes from the Greek \u0027astatos\u0027, meaning unstable.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThere are currently no uses for astatine outside of research. The half-life of the most stable isotope is only 8 hours, and only tiny amounts have ever been produced. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA mass spectrometer has been used to confirm that astatine behaves chemically like other halogens, particularly iodine.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Astatine.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: astatine\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, a record breaker is the star of the show this week as we meet the chemical whose name means unstable and which is in the famous Guinness book as the world\u0027s rarest elements, but some bright medical future turn this rarity into something in common use. The element is astatine and to tell the story here is Mark Peplow. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Peplow \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou can learn a lot about someone by meeting their family and the same is true for the element. That\u0027s how we come to know so much about astatine. Often trumpeted as the rarest naturally occurring element in the world, it\u0027s only by extrapolating the properties of the other members of the halogen family, fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine the scientists could even begin to look at their obese sibling. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAstatine was the second synthetic element to be conclusively identified just three years after technetium, was isolated by Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segre of the University of Palermo. The element had actually been created in a cyclotron particle accelerator at the University of California in Berkeley where Segre spent the following summer continuing his research. But miles away from Italy Mussolini\u0027s government passed anti Semitic laws which barred Jewish people like Segre from holding University positions; so he stayed where he was, taking up a job at Berkeley and in 1940 he helped to discover astatine along with Dale Corson, he was then a post doc and later went on to become President of Cornell University and grant student Kenneth MacKenzie. They bombarded a sheet of bismuth metal, that\u0027s two doors down from astatine in the periodic table, with alpha particle to produce astatine-211, which has a half life of about 71/2 hours and it neatly filled the gap in the periodic table just beneath iodine. Segre went on to become a group leader for the Manhattan project which built the first atomic weapon. And it was only once the Second World War was over that the trio proposed the name Astatine for their elemental discovery. It was from the Greek word meaning unstable. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAstatine is actually found in nature although it only appears as a minor spur on an obscure pathway in uranium fission. According to Greenwood and Earshaw, the Bible of inorganic chemistry, it\u0027s been estimated that the top kilometre of the earth\u0027s crust contains less than 50 mg of astatine making a Guinness world record\u0027s rarest element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAstatine is the least reactive of the halogens but just like the rest of them it combines with hydrogen to make hydrogen astatide which dissolves in water to make hydroastatic acid; it is just like a weaker version of hydrochloric acid. If you could ever isolate enough of this stuff astatine would be an even darker purple solid than iodine. Overall there are more than 30 isotopes of the element, all radioactive with the longest lived having a half life of just 8 hours. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou might think that something so rare would be completely useless, but perhaps not. Several groups of scientists believe that astatine-211 could be used to treat certain types of cancer. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadioactive Iodine 131 is already used to treat Thyroid cancers for example, because it preferentially accumulates in that organ. This concentrates the dose of radiation and it reduces the exposure of healthy tissue. The trouble is that Iodine 131 like many other therapeutic radioisotopes emit beta particles, fast moving electrons which can penetrate through a few millimetres of tissue. That makes them ideal for tackling substantial solid tumours, but not for the small clusters of cells, because the energy from radioactive decay is spread far outside the boundary of the tumour. Another form of radioactive decay, alpha particles would be much more suitable because these bulky clusters of 2 protons and 2 neutrons, effectively helium nucleus, can only travel about 50 micrometers in tissue. Astatine-211 is not only an alpha emitter, it has also got a very short half life and the fact that it decays to a stable non-radioactive isotope of lead means that the radiation dose is quite brief. It even has a secondary decay pathway that creates a few x-rays which doctors could use to track exactly where the isotope is in the body. The key challenge is though to connect the radioactive astatine atoms to a molecule that will seek out specific cancer cells; then to the chemistry as soon as possible before the radioactivity decays away and to make sure that the astatine doesn\u0027t fall off its targeted molecule once it is injected into the body. This may of course take decades of research to achieve but chemists have already identified rapid ways to make these astatine complexes and there has even been a small but very promising clinical trial at Duke University in North Carolina, testing astatine radiotherapy in 18 brain tumour patients. So if astatine does become a successful medicine there\u0027s every chance that the rarest element might become surprisingly common. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMark Peplow, telling the tale of the world\u0027s rarest element. Well from rare to lethal now and especially if you\u0027re a monk. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhillip Ball\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eValentine admitted that antimony was poisonous. In fact he offered an apocryphal explanation for the name, saying that it derives from anti-monachos, meaning anti-monk in Latin because he once unintentionally poisoned several of his fellow monks by adding it secretly to their food in an attempt to improve their health. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePhil Ball who will be bringing antimony to life for us in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening. See you next time. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo) \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Astatine","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"At","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1939, two groups came near to discovering this element in mineral samples. Horia Hulubei and Yvette Cauchois analysed mineral samples using a high-resolution X-ray apparatus and thought they had detected it. Meanwhile, Walter Minder observed the radioactivity of radium and said it appeared have another element present. He undertook chemical tests which suggested it was like iodine.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElement 85 was convincingly produced for the first time at the University of California in 1940 by Dale R. Corson, K.R. Mackenzie, and Emilio Segré. Their astatine was made by bombarding bismuth with alpha particles. Although they reported their discovery, they were unable to carry on with their research due to World War II and the demands of the Manhattan project which diverted all researchers of radioactive materials towards the making of nuclear weapons.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4573995,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4573995.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":86,"Symbol":"Rn","Name":"Radon","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"An image based around the familiar radiation hazard symbol. The background image reflects the fact that detectable amounts of radon can build up in houses.","NaturalAbundance":"Radon is produced naturally from the decay of the isotope radium-226, which is found in rocks. It was first discovered as a radioactive gas produced from radium as it decayed. There is a detectable amount in the Earth’s atmosphere.","BiologicalRoles":"Radon has no known biological role. It is, however, thought that it may have had a significant role in evolution. This is because it is responsible for much of the Earth’s background radiation that can lead to genetic modifications.","Appearance":"Radon is a colourless and odourless gas. It is chemically inert, but radioactive.","CASnumber":"10043-92-2","GroupID":18,"PeriodID":6,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Xe] 4f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e5d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e6s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e6p\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":86,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[222]","AtomicRadius":"2.20","CovalentRadii":"1.460","ElectronAffinity":"Not stable","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.46","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"-71","MeltingPointK":"202","MeltingPointF":"-96","BoilingPointC":"-61.7","BoilingPointK":"211.5","BoilingPointF":"-79.1","MolarHeatCapacity":"94","Density":"0.009074","DensityValue":"0.009074","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1900","Discovery":"1900","DiscoveredBy":"Friedrich Ernst Dorn","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from radium, as it was first detected as an emission from radium during radioactive decay.","CrustalAbundance":"0.0000000000004","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eRadon decays into radioactive polonium and alpha particles. This emitted radiation made radon useful in cancer therapy. Radon was used in some hospitals to treat tumours by sealing the gas in minute tubes, and implanting these into the tumour, treating the disease in situ. Other, safer treatments are now more commonly used.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn some places, high concentrations of radon can build up indoors, escaping from the ground or from granite buildings. Home testing kits are available which can be sent away for analysis.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Radon.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: radon\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week residents of Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Cornwall, watch out, radon\u0027s about.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Holt\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen I bought my house recently I was intrigued by a comment in the surveyors report which stated \u0027higher than the actionable levels of radioactive radon gas have been found in up to 10% of dwellings in this area of the country and we recommend the property be tested for the levels of radon.\u0027 Well of course in the flurry of activity associated with moving I didn\u0027t think about this for some time but recently I started to read more about this mysterious radioactive gas which may be invading my property! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first reports of problems associated with radon gas in domestic buildings was in the United States in 1984, when an employee at a nuclear power plant began setting off the radiation detector alarms on his way \u003cem\u003einto\u003c/em\u003e work. The problem was eventually traced to his home, where the level of radon gas in his basement was found to be abnormally high. Radon emanates directly from the ground all over the world but especially in regions with high levels of granite or shale in the soil. Uranium, a relatively common constituent of soils, decays to form radium, which in turn decays to produce radon. In fact for most UK residents, naturally occurring radon accounts for half of their annual radiation dosage. However it only really becomes problematic when high levels are produced in confined spaces, for example the ground floor of buildings without adequate ventilation. Some homes in Cornwall, where the ground has high granite content, were found to contain worrying levels of radon. However forced ventilation methods largely remove the problem. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadon is the product of the decay of other unstable, radioactive elements such as radium, thorium and actinium. The colourless, odourless, tasteless gas can be isolated from these sources but soon decays as it has no stable isotopes. The early pioneers in the study of radioactivity, the Curies, had noted that radium appeared to make the surrounding air radioactive. The discovery of radon is credited to a German physicist Friedrich Ernst Dorn, who traced this observed radioactivity to a gas which was given off by radium - a gas which he called \u0027radium emanation\u0027. Similar \u0027emanations\u0027 were isolated from other elements - for example thorium, and eventually the gas was identified as the heaviest of the noble gases, named radon, and given its rightful place in the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNot much research has been carried out on radon, due to its radioactivity, but it is largely un-reactive with few known compounds. Like the other noble gases it has been found to form compounds with fluorine. It is the densest known gas, another reason why it tends to linger in low-lying confined spaces. Below its boiling point it forms a colourless liquid and then at lower temperatures an orange-red solid which glows eerily due to the intense radiation it produces. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadon has a fairly short half-life of only a few days so rapidly decays. Why then should we worry about radon levels in our homes? The problem is, when breathed in, it can decay to form other, longer-lasting, solid radioactive species, which can coat the lungs, leading to continual exposure. These so-called \u0027radon daughters\u0027 include polonium-214, polonium-218 and lead-214 - not family members you\u0027d wish to spend a lot of time with. Prolonged radon exposure is believed to be the second most frequent cause of lung cancer after smoking. The unfortunate gentleman with the basement full of radon had a risk of consequentially developing lung cancer equivalent to smoking 135 packs of cigarettes every day! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo now that I\u0027m comfortable in my freshly decorated new home, all that remains for me to do is to check that my surroundings are as safe as they look. Fortunately that\u0027s easily done these days with radon test kits which you can order online. You place them in the corner of a room for three months and forget about them and then send them away to be analysed. OK, so it costs £30 quid or so - but that\u0027s a small price to pay for peace of mind. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut maybe don\u0027t take a deep breath before you open the results from the lab, just in case. That was UCL Chemist Katherine Holt, with the story of the radio active resident in your basement. Next week from a chemical that kills silently and slowly to an albeit more fearsome beast.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKira Weissman\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe 37-year old technician spilled only a few hundred millilitres or so in his lap during a routine palaeontology experiment. He took the normal precaution in such situations, quickly dowsing himself with water from a laboratory hose, and even plunged into a nearby swimming pool while the paramedics were en route. But a week later, doctors removed a leg, and a week after that, he was dead. The culprit: hydrofluoric acid (colloquially known as HF), and the unfortunate man was not its first victim. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut what killed him, and what about the people who first isolated HF, unaware of its terrible reputation? Well you can find out what happened to them from Kira Weissman on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Radon","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Rn","StateAtRT":"Gas","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1899, Ernest Rutherford and Robert B. Owens detected a radioactive gas being released by thorium. That same year, Pierre and Marie Curie detected a radioactive gas emanating from radium. In1900, Friedrich Ernst Dorn at Halle, Germany, noted that a gas was accumulating inside ampoules of radium. They were observing radon. That from radium was the longer-lived isotope radon-222 which has a half-life 3.8 days, and was the same isotope which the Curies has observed. The radon that Rutherford detected was radon-220 with a half-life of 56 seconds.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1900, Rutherford devoted himself to investigating the new gas and showed that it was possible to condense it to a liquid. In 1908, William Ramsay and Robert Whytlaw-Gray at University College, London, collected enough radon to determine its properties and reported that it was the heaviest gas known.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":23240,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.23240.html","PropertyID":2,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":87,"Symbol":"Fr","Name":"Francium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the ancient cultural ‘Gallic’ iconography of France, the country that gives the element its name.","NaturalAbundance":"Francium is obtained by the neutron bombardment of radium in a nuclear reactor. It can also be made by bombarding thorium with protons.","BiologicalRoles":"Francium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"An intensely radioactive metal.","CASnumber":"7440-73-5","GroupID":1,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 7s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":87,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[223]","AtomicRadius":"3.48","CovalentRadii":"2.420","ElectronAffinity":"44.38","ElectroNegativity":"0.7","CovalentRadius":"2.42","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"21","MeltingPointK":"294","MeltingPointF":"70","BoilingPointC":"650","BoilingPointK":"923","BoilingPointF":"1202","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1939","Discovery":"1939","DiscoveredBy":"Marguerite Perey","OriginOfName":"Francium is named after France.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Francium has no uses, having a half life of only 22 minutes.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Francium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: francium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, we\u0027re hunting for the chemical that was named after France. But you\u0027ll need very good eyesight because there\u0027s less than a kilogram of it across the entire earth. Know what it is yet? Here\u0027s Peter Wothers.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1929, Madame Curie hired a newly-qualified, twenty-year old technician, Marguerite Catherine Perey, to act as her lab assistant. Ten years later, this remarkably skilled woman discovered the much sought after element francium. As a result, she was encouraged to study for a degree, and then for her PhD. Despite the fact that her mother was convinced she would fail, in March 1946 Perey successfully defended her thesis on Element 87. Sixteen years later, she became the first woman to be elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences, an honour not even awarded to her mentor Madame Curie.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut the story of element 87 begins much earlier than its discovery date in 1939. When Mendeleev first proposed his periodic table in 1869 he left gaps for elements not yet discovered, but that he predicted should exist. One such gap was one beneath caesium, a position later found to belong to francium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMore than 40 years later, it was suggested that each element has a unique numbered position in the periodic table, known as its atomic number. Physicist Henry Moseley proved the existence of the \"atomic number\" and also suggested that it represented the number of positively-charged protons in the nucleus of the atom. Once the atomic numbers for all the known elements were assigned, it was clear seven elements were missing from the periodic table between hydrogen with atomic number 1, and uranium, number 92. Francium, number 87, was the last of these elements to be discovered in nature.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFrom its position in the table, it was clear that element 87 would be a reactive alkali metal, the heaviest member of the family lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium. Consequently, many researchers started looking for the new metal in ores which contained these related elements. Many false claims were made before it was realised that the missing element would be radioactive with no stable form. Then the search focused on looking at the decay sequences of other radioactive elements.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTwo simple rules dictate what elements are formed in a decay series. For each alpha particle a radioactive sample emits, the atomic number of the product element formed is two less than the element from which it formed. For each beta particle emitted, the atomic number of the product increases by one. The element with atomic number 89, two places to the right of our 87, is actinium which had been discovered in 1899.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStudying decay products is not an easy task and Perey\u0027s skill allowed her to swiftly purify a sample of an actinium salt so she could observe only the emissions from this element. She eventually realised that most actinium (almost 99% in fact) slowly decays with the emission of a beta particle, forming element 90, thorium. This then decays by emitting an alpha particle to form element 88, radium. However, about 1% of the actinium doesn\u0027t do this and instead emits an alpha particle to form the missing alkali metal element 87. This was made even more difficult to spot by the fact francium has a half life of just 21 minutes, because it quickly emits a beta particle to once again form radium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDuring these initial investigations, Perey referred to her element as actinium-K; a reference to the route by which it is formed. However, she needed a proper name for her element. During her PhD exam, she suggested the name \"catium\" since she thought it would be the metal that most readily loses an electron to form a cation. Fortunately, this name was met with little enthusiasm - one of her examiners even suggested that English-speaking people might think it was named after a cat. Perey then suggested the name Francium, after her native country, and this name was accepted.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhilst it is naturally occurring, or to be more precise, naturally formed - albeit briefly - during radioactive decay of other elements, the amount of francium on earth is tiny. It has been estimated that at any one time there is less than a kilogram of the element in the entire earth\u0027s crust. What\u0027s more, to the surprise of most chemists and going against the well-known trends of the periodic table, it turns out that francium is \u003cem\u003enot\u003c/em\u003e the most reactive metal. On descending a group in the periodic table, on average the outermost electrons get further and further away from the nucleus and as a result, become easier to remove from the atom. This is the trend for the elements lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium. However, for the really heavy elements, the presence of so many positively charged protons in the nucleus has the affect of causing the electrons to move round at incredibly fast speeds approaching the sound of light. As Einstein realised at such speeds strange things being to happen. The electrons become a little closer to the nucleus than expected and they also become slightly harder to remove than expected. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRemarkably considering its short half-life, it has been possible to measure experimentally the energy needed to remove an electron from francium to form a positively charged francium cation. The energy needed is 393 kJ mol -1 some 17 kJ mol-1 more than for caesium. This means that francium is \u003cem\u003enot\u003c/em\u003e the metal that most easily forms a cation, as Perey was suggesting with her proposed name catium; this honour goes to francium\u0027s lighter family member, caesium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo the experiment that we all wanted to do at school and drop a lump of Francium into wouldn\u0027t have actually been that impressive after all. I\u0027ll just stick to caesium then. Next week, you say tomato, I say tomato, but when it comes to element number 13, who\u0027s actually right? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKira Weissman\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSir Humphrey Davy, the Cornish chemist who discovered the metal, called it \u0027aluminum\u0027, after one of its source compounds, alum. Shortly after, however, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (or IUPAC) stepped in, standardizing the suffix to the more conventional \u0027ium\u0027. In a further twist to the nomenclature story, the American Chemical Society resurrected the original spelling in 1925, and so ironically it is the Americans and not the British that pronounce the element\u0027s name as Davy intended.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can catch up with the story of the substance that\u0027s given us super light aircraft and the eponymous drink can on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Francium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Fr","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eMendeleev said there should be an element like caesium waiting to be discovered. Consequently, there were claims, denials, and counterclaims by scientists who said they had found it. During the 1920s and 30s, these claims were made on the basis of unexplained radioactivity in minerals, or new lines in their X-ray spectra, but all eventually turned out not to be evidence of element 87.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFrancium was finally discovered in 1939 by Marguerite Perey at the Curie Institute in Paris. She had purified a sample of actinium free of all its known radioactive impurities and yet its radioactivity still indicated another element was present, and which she rightly deduced was the missing element 87. Others challenged her results too, and it was not until after World War II that she was accepted as the rightful discoverer in 1946.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4886484,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4886484.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":88,"Symbol":"Ra","Name":"Radium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image represents the former use of radium in luminous paint used for clock and watch dials.","NaturalAbundance":"Radium is present in all uranium ores, and could be extracted as a by-product of uranium refining. Uranium ores from DR Congo and Canada are richest in radium. Today radium is extracted from spent fuel rods from nuclear reactors. Annual production of this element is fewer than 100 grams per year.","BiologicalRoles":"Radium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A soft, shiny and silvery radioactive metal.","CASnumber":"7440-14-4","GroupID":2,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":1,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":88,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[226]","AtomicRadius":"2.83","CovalentRadii":"2.110","ElectronAffinity":"9.65","ElectroNegativity":"0.9","CovalentRadius":"2.11","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"696","MeltingPointK":"969","MeltingPointF":"1285","BoilingPointC":"1500","BoilingPointK":"1773","BoilingPointF":"2732","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"5","DensityValue":"5","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1898","Discovery":"1898","DiscoveredBy":"Pierre and Marie Curie","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Latin \u0027radius\u0027, meaning ray.","CrustalAbundance":"0.0000009","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eRadium now has few uses, because it is so highly radioactive.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadium-223 is sometimes used to treat prostate cancer that has spread to the bones. Because bones contain calcium and radium is in the same group as calcium, it can be used to target cancerous bone cells. It gives off alpha particles that can kill the cancerous cells. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadium used to be used in luminous paints, for example in clock and watch dials. Although the alpha rays could not pass through the glass or metal of the watch casing, it is now considered to be too hazardous to be used in this way.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Radium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: radium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week the self illuminating story of element number 88. Here\u0027s Brian Clegg.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere\u0027s something about Radium that is deliciously Victorian. It\u0027s not just that this radioactive element was discovered at the end of the Victorian era in 1898. There\u0027s also something about its early use as a universal restorative that has a peculiarly period feel. It was seen as a source of energy and brightness, it was included in toothpastes and quack potions - it was even rubbed into the scalp as a hair restorer. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut the application of radium that would bring it notoriety was its use in glow-in-the-dark paint. Frequently used to provide luminous readouts on clocks and watches, aircraft switches and instrument dials, the eerie blue glow of radium was seen as a harmless, practical source of night time illumination. It was only when a number of the workers who painted the luminous dials began to suffer from sores, anaemia and cancers around the mouth that it was realized that something was horribly wrong. The women workers would regularly bring their paintbrushes to a point by licking them. This left enough radioactive residue in their mouths to cause cell damage. Eventually over 100 of the workers would die from the effects. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA more famous victim of radium was its discoverer, the double Nobel prize winner Marie Curie, born Maria Sklodowska. Working with her husband Pierre, Marie Curie was studying pitchblende, a mineral from North Bohemia that contained uranium. Pitchblende was mined near what\u0027s now Jachymov in the Czech Republic, and after the uranium had been extracted to be used to colour pottery glazes and tint photographs, the residual slag was dumped in a nearby forest. Without the uranium, the pitchblende proved still to be radioactive - in fact whatever the other radioactive material was, it was much more radioactive than the uranium itself. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMarie Curie wrote to sister Bronia that \u0027The radiation that I couldn\u0027t explain comes from a new chemical element. The element is there and I\u0027ve got to find it! We are sure!\u0027 After working through tonnes of the pitchblende slag, the Curies identified two new elements in the remaining material - polonium and radium. They finally isolated radium in 1902 in its pure metal form. Radium was named for the Latin for a ray and proved to be the most radioactive natural substance ever discovered. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough Marie Curie lived until 1934, her death from aplastic anaemia is almost certainly due to her exposure to radioactive materials, particularly radium. To this day her notebooks and papers have to be kept in lead lined boxes and handled with protective clothing, as they remain radioactive. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadium occurs naturally as uranium decays - though only in very small quantities. It took many tonnes of pitchblende to produce the tenth of a gram of radium that the Curies eventually extracted. It\u0027s classified in the periodic table as an alkaline earth metal - the heaviest of the series - putting it alongside more familiar metals like magnesium and calcium. With atomic number 88, it has four natural isotopes of atomic weight 228, 226, 224 and 223 - though there are a remarkable 21 more artificial isotopes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA later starring role for radium would be as the source of alpha particles - helium nuclei - used by Rutherford in 1909 at the Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge to fire at a thin gold foil. Radium decays to radon, throwing out an alpha particle from its nucleus. Unexpectedly, Rutherford\u0027s assistants Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden found that a very few of the alpha particles bounced back - Rutherford likened it to \u0027firing a 15 inch shell at a piece of tissue paper and having it come back and hit you.\u0027 This behaviour was used to deduce the existence of a compact, dense nucleus in the atom - radium proved the key to unlocking the atom\u0027s structure. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRadium\u0027s main practical use has been in medicine, producing radon gas from radium chloride to be used in radiotherapy for cancer. This was a process started in Marie Curie\u0027s time. The early researchers found they received skin burns from handling the radioactive materials, and when the Curies worked with doctors, they discovered that radiation could be used to reduce or even cure tumours. This became known as Curie therapy, and the Sorbonne in Paris set up a laboratory partly for Curie to continue her research, and partly to study the medical applications of radiation, which would become known as the Radium Institute. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf you were to hold a piece of radium in your hand, it would feel warm. Initially a bright white, it would blacken as it reacted with the air to form radium nitride. It would stay solid - radium doesn\u0027t melt until around 700 degrees Celsius. It would also crackle and spit on the surface of your palm as it reacted with the water on your skin to produce radium hydroxide. Holding radium not something I\u0027d recommend, though. Radium is constantly decaying, producing the alpha particles Rutherford used, beta particles, which are fast electrons, and gamma rays, like high energy X-rays, which would be slamming through your flesh, disrupting the DNA and causing cellular damage. The isotopes of radium vary in half life - the time it takes for half the molecules in a sample to delay - from 1,602 years for the most stable isotope, radium 226, to 11½ days for radium 223. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is an element to be handled with care. Yet for anyone brought up on children\u0027s fiction full of ray guns and in a world were there were still X-ray machines to check your shoe size, it has a nostalgic feel that will ever make it fascinating. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne wonders whether the podcasters of next century will be talking the same way about mobile phones, microwave ovens and MRI scanners. That was Bristol based science writer Brian Clegg with the story of radium. Next week to a metal capable of terrible cruelty to cancer. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatherine Haxton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the early 1960s, Barnett Rosenberg was conducting experiments on bacteria, measuring the effects of electrical currents on cell growth. The \u003cem\u003eE.coli\u003c/em\u003e bacteria were abnormally long during the experiment, something that could not be attributed to the electric current. A number of platinum compounds were being formed due to reaction of the buffer and the platinum electrode. Cisplatin was found to inhibit cell division thus causing the elongation of the bacteria and was tested in was tested in mice for anticancer properties. Cisplatin today is widely used to treat epithelial malignancies with outstanding results in the treatment of testicular cancers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo we\u0027ve got overgrown \u003ci\u003eE.coli\u003c/i\u003e to blame for the discovery of platinum based anti cancer compounds. And you can find out how all of that came about with Keele University\u0027s Katherine Haxton on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and for this week goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Radium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ra","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eRadium was discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. They managed to extract 1 mg of radium from ten tonnes of the uranium ore pitchblende (uranium oxide, U\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e8\u003c/sub\u003e), a considerable feat, given the chemically methods of separation available to them. They identified that it was a new element because its atomic spectrum revealed new lines. Their samples glowed with a faint blue light in the dark, caused by the intense radioactivity exciting the surrounding air.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe metal itself was isolated by Marie Curie and André Debierne in 1911, by means of the electrolysis of radium chloride. At Debierne’s suggestion, they used a mercury cathode in which the liberated radium dissolved. This was then heated to distil off the mercury leaving the radium behind.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":4886483,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.4886483.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":89,"Symbol":"Ac","Name":"Actinium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The Greek symbol ‘alpha’ and metallic ‘rays’ are representative of the element as a source of alpha radiation, and also the origin of its name.","NaturalAbundance":"Actinium used for research purposes is made by the neutron bombardment of radium-226. Actinium also occurs naturally in uranium ores.","BiologicalRoles":"Actinium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"Actinium is a soft, silvery-white radioactive metal. It glows blue in the dark because its intense radioactivity excites the air around it.","CASnumber":"7440-34-8","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":89,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[227]","AtomicRadius":"2.47","CovalentRadii":"2.010","ElectronAffinity":"33.77","ElectroNegativity":"1.1","CovalentRadius":"2.01","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1050","MeltingPointK":"1323","MeltingPointF":"1922","BoilingPointC":"3200","BoilingPointK":"3473","BoilingPointF":"5792","MolarHeatCapacity":"120","Density":"10","DensityValue":"10","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1899","Discovery":"1899","DiscoveredBy":"Andrew Debierne","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027actinos\u0027, meaning a ray.","CrustalAbundance":"0.00000000055","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Actinium is a very powerful source of alpha rays, but is rarely used outside research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Actinium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: actinium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, a glowing element that significantly changed the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Corfield\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen I was a little boy my father used to tell a story about a acquaintance of his who kept a lump of rock in his desk. His party trick - after a few drinks - was to draw the curtains, touch the pebble to the forehead of a volunteer, turn out the light and lead the hilarity as the victim\u0027s face blazed with a ghostly blue light. Eventually my father\u0027s acquaintance died and his executor started to dispose of his possessions. Finding the lump of rock in his desk, and noticing the sourceless dull blue glow that surrounded it he sought advice. Within hours the house had been sealed off and men in white environment suits with tongs and a lead box were relocating the magic pebble to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell in Oxfordshire, the secret hub of Britain\u0027s nuclear research and development industry from the end of the Second World War to the 1990s. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe pebble was, of course, pitchblende; the naturally occurring mineral that Pierre and Marie Curie had used as the source of the radioactive elements that they discovered in the closing years of the 19th century. Pitchblende does not just contain actinium (the topic of this podcast), it also contains radium, radon and polonium; the latter, if we are to believe recent news reports, the Russian assassin\u0027s toxin of choice. Actinium, like radium and polonium, emits an ethereal blue radiance which contributes to pitchblende\u0027s luminescent properties. Although, radium, radon and polonium were observed first, of all the components of pitchblende actinium was the first to be isolated. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eActinium was discovered by Andre-Louis Debierne, a friend of Marie and Pierre Curie who worked with them on isolating the radioactive elements in pitchblende. Although he published descriptions of the element in 1899 and then again in 1900 there is some doubt as to whether his techniques had actually allowed the element to be properly identified. What is clear however, is that the German chemist Friedrich Oskar Giesel was also investigating actinium and, by 1904, had unambiguously isolated it. Because of the glow that emanated from it he named his new element emanium. Giesel was an admirer and loyal supporter of the Curie\u0027s and consequently was not interested in disputing the priority of discovery of a radioactive element that had come out of a lab whose work he admired hugely. Hence when it became clear that Debierne and Giesel were working on the same element Giesel was content to allow the Frenchman\u0027s claim to priority stand, and so today the element is still known by the name Debierne gave it - actinium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhoever discovered it, actinium has an important place in the history of chemistry. It was the first of the non-primordial elements to be discovered. Primordial elements are those that have existed in their current state since before the Earth was formed. In other words their half-life is greater than about 108 years. All stable elements are primordial, as are many radioactive elements. Chemically, actinium, which in its native form is a silvery metal, has similar characteristics to that of the other rare earth elements such as lanthanum. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eActinium has thirty-six isotopes all of which are radioactive. 227Ac, the isotope which comprises all naturally occurring actinium has the longest half-life at 21,773 years. All the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives of the less than ten hours, the majority having half-lives of less than a minute. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e227Ac is about a hundred and fifty times as radioactive as radium making a valuable as the neutron source of energy. Although actinium is found in trace of amounts in uranium ore, more commonly it is synthesised in milligram amounts by the neutron irradiation of radium-226 in a nuclear reactor. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eActinium gives its name to a block of fifteen elements that lie between actinium and lawrencium in the periodic table with atomic numbers 89 through 103. These actinides - or actinoides as they are more correctly known these days - gain their name from the first element in the series, actinium, itself named after the Greek word for ray thus reflecting the element\u0027s - already mentioned - visible radioactivity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe actinoides were the first major addition to be made to Mendeleev\u0027s periodic table. American physicist Glenn T Seaborg was experiencing unexpected difficulty isolating the elements americium and curium during his work with the Manhattan Project during the second world war. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHe found himself wondering if these elements more properly belonged to a different series from the transition metals, which would explain the differing chemical properties of the new elements he was synthesising in the nuclear reactor at Berkeley University in California. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1945, Seaborg formally proposed the actinides and in so doing created the most significant change to the periodic table since Mendeleev\u0027s creation of it in 1869. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEarly in his career, Seaborg was a pioneer in the study of nuclear medicine and developed numerous isotopes of elements with important applications in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, most notably 131Iodine which is used in the treatment of thyroid disease. Actinium also has a role to play in nuclear medicine. 225Ac can be used as the active agent in Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT) a technique for inhibiting the growth of secondary cancers by direct irradiation with nuclear material, in this case 213Bi derived from 225Ac. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd so an element discovered in the same mineral - pitchblende - which kick-started the whole science of nuclear chemistry, today stands at the crossroads of one of the most challenging of all medical disciplines - finding a cure for cancer. The irony is that pitchblende inflicted a dreadful toll on those who worked with it in the early years of the study of radioactivity. Marie Curie suffered terrible radiation burns from handling it, and eventually, in later life, contracted radiation-induced aplastic anaemia from which she died. Even today Marie Curie\u0027s papers from the summit of her career in the 1890s - including her cookbook - are still considered too dangerous to handle, and are kept in lead-lined boxes \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo whilst offering hope for treating the deadly effects of cancer, the element itself had deadly effects on its founders and therefore must be handled with care. That was science writer Richard Corfield with the radio active chemistry of actinium. Now next week we go beyond the actinides. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen the last member of the actinide series, element 103 or Lawrencium, was discovered, I was at school doing my A levels. The isotope found had a mass of 258 and it didn\u0027t hang about for long - it had a half-life of just 3.8 seconds. This was not unexpected as half lives had been getting shorter right along the actinide series. This discovery prompted the scientific community to start asking, are there any elements waiting to be made beyond lawrencium, and if so, where would they fit in the periodic table? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eJoin Simon Cotton to find out how element 104, rutherfordium was discovered and how its place in the periodic table was found, in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Actinium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ac","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThis element was discovered in 1899 by André Debierne at Paris. He extracted it from the uranium ore pitchblende (uranium oxide, U\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e8\u003c/sub\u003e) in which it occurs in trace amounts. In 1902, Friedrich Otto Giesel independently extracted it from the same mineral and, unaware it was already known, gave it the named emanium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eActinium extracted from uranium ores is the isotope actinium-227 which has half-life of 21.7 years. It occurs naturally as one of the sequence of isotopes that originate with the radioactive decay of uranium-235. A tonne of pitchblende contains around 150 mg of actinium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22404,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22404.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":90,"Symbol":"Th","Name":"Thorium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The imagery used here is that associated with Thor, the Norse god connected with thunder. It includes Thor’s hammer (Mjolnir).","NaturalAbundance":"Thorium is found as the minerals thorite, uranothorite and thorianite. It is also found in monazite, which is the most important commercial source. Several methods are used to produce the metal, such as reducing thorium oxide with calcium or electrolysis of the fluoride.","BiologicalRoles":"Thorium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A weakly radioactive, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-29-1","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 6d\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":90,"RelativeAtomicMass":"232.038","AtomicRadius":"2.45","CovalentRadii":"1.900","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.3","CovalentRadius":"1.90","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1750","MeltingPointK":"2023","MeltingPointF":"3182","BoilingPointC":"4785","BoilingPointK":"5058","BoilingPointF":"8645","MolarHeatCapacity":"118","Density":"11.7","DensityValue":"11.7","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1829","Discovery":"1829","DiscoveredBy":"Jöns Jacob Berzelius","OriginOfName":"Thorium is named after Thor, the Scandinavian god of war.","CrustalAbundance":"5.6","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":31,"ProductionConcentrations":80,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":10.8,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":7.6,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eThorium is an important alloying agent in magnesium, as it imparts greater strength and creep resistance at high temperatures. Thorium oxide is used as an industrial catalyst.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThorium can be used as a source of nuclear power. It is about three times as abundant as uranium and about as abundant as lead, and there is probably more energy available from thorium than from both uranium and fossil fuels. India and China are in the process of developing nuclear power plants with thorium reactors, but this is still a very new technology. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThorium dioxide was formerly added to glass during manufacture to increase the refractive index, producing thoriated glass for use in high-quality camera lenses.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Thorium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element - thorium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, the no risk, no fear discovery of elements. Here\u0027s Lars Öhrström:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLars Öhrström\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFrequently after more spectacular chemistry demonstrations, the scientist on stage will warn the audience \u0027not to try this at home\u0027. One person who certainly did not listen to such warnings was Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius. Instead, he and his co-workers performed many groundbreaking experiments in the kitchen of his flat in the corner of Nybrogatan and Riddargatan in Stockholm. In 1815, for example, Berzelius isolated a new element from a mineral sent to him from the Swedish mining town of Falun and named it thorium after the Scandinavian god of thunder, Thor. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOnly to realise a few years later that he was wrong and what he though was a new element was in fact yttrium phosphate. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, in 1828, by then long since world famous and credited with discovering three other elements, he received a strange mineral sample from the reverend Hans Esmark in Norway. In his new laboratory at the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, Berzelius isolated yet another element, and because he liked the name or because of a superficial resemblance of the minerals, this element is what we now call thorium, with the symbol Th. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhile Berzelius did figure out many of the chemical properties of this new element, one crucial characteristic escaped him, its radioactivity. This should not surprise us though, as the phenomenon of radioactivity was not discovered until long after his death by Henri Becquerel in 1896. Today, its radioactivity seems logical as when we look at the periodic table, we find thorium, element 90, just after actinium in the last row of the periodic table known as the actinides, comprising of famous radioactive elements such as uranium and plutonium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the years after its discovery, thorium rested mostly undisturbed on the laboratory shelves until called to duty to light up the streets and homes of the world\u0027s metropoles. This was because of another of its remarkable properties: its oxide ThO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e has the highest melting point of all known oxides. Thus in the fierce heat in the flame of burning gas it would not melt, but glow intensively with a bright white light, making thorium oxide incandescent gas mantles the obvious choice for gaslight devices all over the world. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe importance of gaslight is now forgotten, but arguably this was a greater advance than the invention of the electric light, because for first time in history abundant light was available after sunset. Initially, other metal oxides were used, but besides problems with the melting points, the colour of the light they gave off was not quite right, and so in 1891 Austrian chemist Auer von Welsbach came up with the thorium solution after a first failed attempt with a magnesium, lanthanum and yttrium product in 1885. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow, you may think that this was in fact a poisoned gift and that the upper classes of the late 19th century, after years of radioactive exposure from decaying thorium atoms, suffered from radiation related illnesses. But thankfully this wasn\u0027t so. Thorium decays by emitting alpha particles, and these alpha particles, or helium two plus ions, as they should really be called, do not travel very far and are easily stopped by the glass cover of a gas lantern and even the human skin. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn fact, thorium oxide mantles are still in use today, and you may even have come into contact with them yourself in camping lanterns. They are completely harmless unless you eat them, or inhale the powder from pulverized mantles. However, as the manufacture requires large amounts of thorium oxide, it is preferred to avoid it, and normally, most gas mantles sold in outdoors equipment shops today are advertised as \u0027thorium free\u0027. But the next time you stock up for your camping expedition, by all means, bring your Geiger counter! \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, short from eating it, there are no particular worries in handling such tiny amounts of thorium oxide. However, eating it was just the point when using the x-ray contrast agent thorotrast, a state-of-the-art diagnostic aid in the 1930s and 1940s, depending on thorium\u0027s excellent ability to absorb x-rays. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUndoubtedly, the superior x-ray photographs generated this way saved many lives, so the risk of developing cancer some 20 years later was probably worth taking in serious cases. Thankfully, though, less dangerous contrast agents were soon developed. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThorium thus spent its first sixty years in obscurity, then had fifty years in the limelight. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThorium may be three times more abundant on Earth than uranium, it is difficult to estimate, and can also be used in nuclear reactors. In addition, thorium and uranium deposits do not necessarily occur at the same places, thus countries with large potential uranium resources may well have very little thorium and vice-versa. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe proponents of this so called thorium fuel cycle also claim it has important technical advantages, but it seems hopes for \"burning\" weapon grade plutonium or producing waste with reduced risks of nuclear arms proliferation are largely unfounded. On the contrary, the high melting point of the oxide is a drawback in this application as it makes the preparation of the fuel more difficult. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, although a number of nuclear reactors worldwide have been run on thorium-based fuels the last decades, and some have even been connected to the electrical grid, it may yet be a long time until our houses and streets are again lit up with thorium based technology.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo time will tell if Thorium makes its comeback (with minimal exposure risks, that is). That was Lars Öhrström from the Chalmers tekniska högskola in Sweden, with the radioactive chemistry of Thorium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow next week, an element that lived up to its predictions\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Lindsay\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1879, Lars Nilson isolated the oxide of a new metal from the minerals gadolinite and euxenite. Nilson was a student of the legendary Jacob Berzelius, himself discoverer of many elements. Nilson named this oxide scandia, after Scandinavia. The discovery of this element was especially notable, as, seven years previously, Mendeleev had used his periodic table to predict the existence of ten as yet unknown elements, and for four of these, he predicted in great detail the properties they should have. One of these four, Mendeleev predicted, should have properties very similar to boron, and he named this new element \"ekaboron\", meaning \"like boron\". The metal of this new oxide, scandia, was indeed found to have similar properties to this \"ekaboron\", thus demonstrating the power of Mendeleev\u0027s construct. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd join Reading University\u0027s David Lindsay to find out what these properties of scandium were that resembled boron so closely, as well as its applications, in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham and thank you for listening.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Thorium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Th","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"USA; Australia; India","TopProductionCountries":"India; Brazil; Malaysia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1829, Jöns Jakob Berzelius of the Royal Karolinska Institute, Stockholm extracted thorium from a rock specimen sent to him by an amateur mineralogist who had discovered it near Brevig and realised that it had not previously been reported. The mineral turned out to be thorium silicate, and it is now known as thorite. Berzelius even produced a sample of metallic thorium by heating thorium fluoride with potassium, and confirmed it as a new metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe radioactivity of thorium was first demonstrated in 1898 by Gerhard Schmidt and confirmed by Marie Curie. Thorium, like uranium, survives on Earth because it has isotopes with long half-lives, such as the predominant one, thorium-232, whose half life is 14 billion years.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22399,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22399.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"56.6","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":91,"Symbol":"Pa","Name":"Protactinium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The icon is based on the Japanese monogram for ‘ichi’ – number one. This reflects the origin of the element’s name from the Greek ‘protos’, meaning first.","NaturalAbundance":"Small amounts of protactinium are found naturally in uranium ores. It is also found in spent fuel rods from nuclear reactors, from which it is extracted.","BiologicalRoles":"Protactinium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A silvery, radioactive metal.","CASnumber":"7440-13-3","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":91,"RelativeAtomicMass":"231.036","AtomicRadius":"2.43","CovalentRadii":"1.840","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.5","CovalentRadius":"1.84","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e5\u003c/strong\u003e, 4","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1572","MeltingPointK":"1845","MeltingPointF":"2862","BoilingPointC":"4000","BoilingPointK":"4273","BoilingPointF":"7232","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"15.4","DensityValue":"15.4","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1913","Discovery":"1913","DiscoveredBy":"Kasimir Fajans and Otto Göhring","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the Greek \u0027protos\u0027, meaning first, as a prefix to the element actinium, which is produced through the radioactive decay of proactinium.","CrustalAbundance":"0.0000014","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Protactinium is little used outside of research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Protactinium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: protactinium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we\u0027ve got an element whose origin and location in the periodic table seems to be causing some complications. To tell us more about the mysteries of protactinium here\u0027s Eric Scerri:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1871 the discoverer of the periodic table, Dimitri Mendeleev, made the following prediction among several others. I quote:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"Between thorium and uranium we can further expect an element with an atomic weight of about 235. This element should form a highest oxide X\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003e, like niobium and tantalum to which it should be analogous.\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e The modern atomic weight for the predicted element, or protactinium as it is now known, is close to 231. Even though this seems reasonably accurate, Mendeleev was somewhat unlucky regarding this atomic weight since he was not to know that protactinium is a member of only four \u0027pair reversals\u0027 in the entire periodic table. This situation occurs when two elements need to be reversed contrary to their atomic weights in order to order them correctly.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e When atomic number was discovered it turned out to be a better ordering principle than atomic weight for the elements in the periodic table. All four known pair reversals, including the one concerning protactinium and thorium were suddenly resolved. Even though protactinium has a lower atomic weight than thorium it should be placed after thorium because of its greater atomic number.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e But it appears that Mendeleev\u0027s brief predictions were broadly fulfilled since the element does indeed show an analogy with tantalum in forming Pa\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003e as its highest and most stable oxide. Nevertheless protactinium also shows a strong horizontal analogy with thorium and uranium in also displaying the +4 oxidation state, something that Mendeleev does not seem to have anticipated. Finally, as Mendeleev also correctly predicted protactinium occurs with uranium, and more specifically in the ore called pitchblende.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e But whereas uranium and thorium were isolated in 1789 and 1828 respectively, it was not until the twentieth century before protactinium, was first discovered. Of course it depends on what one really means by the discovery of an element. Does it mean somebody realizing that a mineral contains a new element, or does it mean the first time an element is actually isolated? Depending on what choice is made the discovery of protactinium can be assigned to different scientists. And in the case of protactinium there is an even further complication.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e In the year 1900 the English scientist and inventor Sir William Crookes pointed out that a new radioactive substance was present in some ores of uranium and he called this substance uranium-X. Uranium-X turned out to be two different substances later called UX-1 and UX-2 of which the second, UX-2 was first isolated by the Polish chemist Kasimir Fajans in 1913. This was a very short-lived isotope of \u003csup\u003e234\u003c/sup\u003ePa with a half-life of just over one minute. Fajans called the new element brevium after its short half-life.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e In 1917 the German physicist Lise Meitner isolated a more stable isotope of the element, \u003csup\u003e231\u003c/sup\u003ePa with a vastly longer half-life of about 33,000 years. At this point Fajans withdrew the name brevium since the custom was to name an element according to longest-lived isotope. Meitner than chose the somewhat awkward sounding name of protoactinium which was eventually abbreviated to protactinium. The name she chose refers to the fact that this element is the progenitor of element 89 or actinium, which is formed when protactinium decays via the loss of an alpha particle.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e In the very same year, the same isotope, \u003csup\u003e231\u003c/sup\u003ePa, was independently isolated by Frederick Soddy, who had first coined the term isotope, and his colleague John Cranston when they were working together in Glasgow.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e Protactinium is a highly radioactive and highly toxic element with yet no commercial applications but nevertheless of some scientific interest. For example, a measurement of the ratio of \u003csup\u003e231\u003c/sup\u003ePa and \u003csup\u003e230\u003c/sup\u003eTh in ocean sediments allows scientists to reconstruct the movements of bodies of North Atlantic water that took place during the melting of the last ice-age.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e In 1961 the Atomic Energy Authority in Britain produced a concentrated mass of 125 grams of protactinium after processing 60 tons of radioactive waste. For many years this has remained as the only significant supply of protactinium which has provided samples of the element to labs around the world.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo a highly radio active and toxic element whose origin and isolation had scientists mystified. That was Eric Scerri from the University of California, Los Angeles, with the perplexing tale of protactinium. Now next week an element that\u0027s definitely got one up on the rest when it comes to history. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePerhaps iridium\u0027s best-known claim to fame is as a clue in a piece of a 65 million-year-old Crime Scene Investigation. The concentration of iridium in meteorites is considerably higher than in rocks on the Earth. One class of meteorite, called chondritic (meaning they have a granular structure) still has the original levels of iridium that were present when the solar system was formed.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd join Brian Clegg to find out how Iridium can inform us about life on earth in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Protactinium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Pa","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eMendeleev said there should be an element between thorium and uranium, but it evaded detection. Then, in 1900, William Crookes separated an intensely radioactive material from uranium, but did not identify it. In 1913, Kasimir Fajans and Otto Göhring showed that this new element decayed by beta-emission and it existed only fleetingly. We now know it is a member of the sequence of elements through which uranium decays. It was the isotope protactinium-234, which has a half-life of 6 hours 42 minutes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA longer-lived isotope was separated from the uranium ore pitchblende (uranium oxide, U\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e8\u003c/sub\u003e) in 1918 by Lise Meitner at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute in Berlin. This was the longer-lived isotope protactinium-231, also coming from uranium, and its half-life is 32,500 years.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1934, Aristid von Grosse reduced protactinium oxide to protactinium metal by decomposing its iodide (PaF\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003e) on a heated filament.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22387,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22387.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":92,"Symbol":"U","Name":"Uranium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based around the common astrological symbol for the planet Uranus.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eUranium occurs naturally in several minerals such as uranite (pitchblende), brannerite and carnotite. It is also found in phosphate rock and monazite sands. World production of uranium is about 41,000 tonnes per year. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eExtracted uranium is converted to the purified oxide, known as yellow-cake. Uranium metal can be prepared by reducing uranium halides with Group 1 or Group 2 metals, or by reducing uranium oxides with calcium or aluminium.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Uranium has no known biological role. It is a toxic metal.","Appearance":"A radioactive, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-61-1","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":92,"RelativeAtomicMass":"238.029","AtomicRadius":"2.41","CovalentRadii":"1.830","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.7","CovalentRadius":"1.83","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e6\u003c/strong\u003e, 5, 4, 3","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1135","MeltingPointK":"1408","MeltingPointF":"2075","BoilingPointC":"4131","BoilingPointK":"4404","BoilingPointF":"7468","MolarHeatCapacity":"116","Density":"19.1","DensityValue":"19.1","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1789","Discovery":"1789","DiscoveredBy":"Martin Heinrich Klaproth","OriginOfName":"Uranium was named after the planet Uranus.","CrustalAbundance":"1.3","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":31,"ProductionConcentrations":33,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":61.8,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":5.7,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eUranium is a very important element because it provides us with nuclear fuel used to generate electricity in nuclear power stations. It is also the major material from which other synthetic transuranium elements are made.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNaturally occurring uranium consists of 99% uranium-238 and 1% uranium-235. Uranium-235 is the only naturally occurring fissionable fuel (a fuel that can sustain a chain reaction). Uranium fuel used in nuclear reactors is enriched with uranium-235. The chain reaction is carefully controlled using neutron-absorbing materials. The heat generated by the fuel is used to create steam to turn turbines and generate electrical power.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn a breeder reactor uranium-238 captures neutrons and undergoes negative beta decay to become plutonium-239. This synthetic, fissionable element can also sustain a chain reaction.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUranium is also used by the military to power nuclear submarines and in nuclear weapons.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDepleted uranium is uranium that has much less uranium-235 than natural uranium. It is considerably less radioactive than natural uranium. It is a dense metal that can be used as ballast for ships and counterweights for aircraft. It is also used in ammunition and armour.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Uranium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: uranium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor Chemistry in its element this week, can you guess what connects boat keels, armour piercing weaponry, beautiful coloured glass that you can track down with a geiger counter and more oxidation states than a chemist can shake a glass rod at. If not, here\u0027s Polly Arnold with the answer. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePolly Arnold\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUranium is certainly one of the most famous, or perhaps I should say infamous, elements. It is the heaviest naturally occurring element. It is actually more abundant in the earth\u0027s crust than silver. It is one of eight elements named in honour of celestial objects, but you might not think that uranium deserves to be named after the planet Uranus. The lustrous black powder that the chemist Klaproth isolated from the mineral pitchblende in 1789 - just eight years after Uranus was discovered - was in fact an oxide of uranium. Not until fifty two years later did Eugène Melchior Peligot reduced uranium tetrachloride with potassium, and from these harsher conditions obtained the pure silvery white metal at last. Samples of the metal tarnish rapidly in air, but if the metal is finely divided, it will burst into flames. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUranium sits amongst the actinides, the second shell of metals to fill their f-orbitals with valence electrons, making them large and weighty. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemically, uranium is fascinating. Its nucleus is so full of protons and neutrons that it draws its core electron shells in close. This means relativistic effects come into play that affect the electron orbital energies. The inner core s electrons move faster, and are drawn in to the heavy nucleus, shielding it better. So the outer valence orbitals are more shielded and expanded, and can form hybrid molecular orbitals that generated arguments over the precise ordering of bonding energies in the uranyl ion until as recently as this century.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis means that a variety of orbitals can now be combined to make bonds, and from this, some very interesting compounds. In the absence of air, uranium can display a wide range of oxidation states, unlike the lanthanides just above it, and it forms many deeply coloured complexes in its lower oxidation states. The uranium tetrachloride that Peligot reduced is a beautiful grass-green colour, while the triiodide is midnight-blue. Because of this, some regard it as a \u0027big transition metal\u0027. Most of these compounds are hard to make and characterise as they react so quickly with air and water, but there is still scope for big breakthroughs in this area of chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe ramifications of relativistic effects on the energies of the bonding electrons has generated much excitement for us synthetic chemists, but unfortunately many headaches for experimental and computational chemists who are trying to understand how better to deal with our nuclear waste legacy. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the environment, uranium invariably exists as a dioxide salt called the uranyl ion, in which it is tightly sandwiched between two oxygen atoms, in its highest oxidation state. Uranyl salts are notoriously unreactive at the oxygen atoms, and about half of all known uranium compounds contain this dioxo motif. One of the most interesting facets of this area of uranium chemistry has emerged in the last couple of years: A few research groups have found ways to stabilise the singly reduced uranyl ion, a fragment which was traditionally regarded as too unstable to isolate. This ion is now beginning to show reactivity at its oxygen atoms, and may be able to teach us much about uranium\u0027s more radioactive and more reactive man-made sisters, neptunium and plutonium - these are also present in nuclear waste, but difficult to work with in greater than milligram quantities. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOutside the chemistry lab, uranium is best known for its role as a nuclear fuel. It has been at the forefront of many chemists\u0027 consciousness over recent months due to the international debate on the role that nuclear power can play in a future as a low-carbon energy source, and whether our new generations of safer and efficient power stations are human-proof.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo make the fuel that is used to power reactors to generate electricity, naturally occurring uranium, which is almost all U-238, is enriched with the isotope U-235 which is normally only present in about 0.7 %. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe leftovers, called depleted uranium, or DU, have a much-reduced U-235 content of only about 0.2 %. This is 40 % less radioactive than natural uranium, and the material that we use to make compounds from in the lab. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause it is so dense, DU is also used in shielding, in the keels of boats and more controversially, in the noses of armour-piercing weapons. The metal has the desirable ability to self-sharpen as it pierces a target, rather than mushrooming upon impact the way conventional tungsten carbide tipped weapons do.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCritics of DU weaponry claim it can accumulate around battlefields. Because uranium is primarily an alpha-emitter, its radioactivity only really becomes a problem if it gets inside the body, where it can accumulate in the kidneys, causing damage. However, uranium is also a heavy metal, and its chemical toxicity is of greater importance - it is approximately as toxic as lead or mercury.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut uranium doesn\u0027t deserve it\u0027s image as one of the periodic table\u0027s nasties. Much of the internal heat of the earth is considered to be due to the decay of natural uranium and thorium deposits. Perhaps those looking to improve the public image of nuclear power should demand the relabelling of geothermal ground-source heat pumps as nuclear?\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe reputation of this element would also be significantly better if only uranium glass was the element\u0027s most publicly known face. In the same way that lead salts are added to glass to make sparkling crystal glassware, uranyl salts give a very beautiful and translucent yellow-green colour to glass, although glassmakers have experimented to produce a wide range of gem-like colours. An archaeological dig near Naples in 1912 unearthed a small green mosaic tile dated back to 79 AD, which was reported to contain uranium, but these claims have not been verified. However in the early-19\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e and early 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century it was used widely in containers and wine-glasses. If you think that you own a piece, you can check with a Geiger counter, or by looking for the characteristic green fluorescence of the uranium when held under a UV-lamp. Pieces are generally regarded as safe to drink from, but you are advised not to drill holes in them, or wear them. Fair enough.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOr inadvertently eating it too, presumably. That was Edinburgh University chemist Polly Arnold explaining the softer side of the armour piercing element Uranium. Next week Andrea Sella will be introducing us to some crystals with intriguing properties.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"It\u0027s amazing stuff. You HAVE to see this.\" He pulled out of his pocket a sample vial containing some stunning pink crystals that glinted alluringly. \"Wow!\" I said - you can always impress a chemist with nice crystalline products. \"It gets better.\" he said mysteriously. He beckoned me into a hallway. \"Look\" he said. As the crystals caught the light from the new fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling, the pink colour seemed to deepen and brighten up. \"Wow!\" I said again. We moved the crystals back into the sunlight and the colour faded again, and moving the crystals back and forth they glowed and dimmed in magical fashion. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut what did they contain? Well, the answer\u0027s Erbium and you can hear all about it in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Uranium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"U","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"Australia; Kazakhstan; Canada","TopProductionCountries":"Kazakhstan; Canada; Australia","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn the Middle Ages, the mineral pitchblende (uranium oxide, U\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e8\u003c/sub\u003e) sometimes turned up in silver mines, and in 1789 Martin Heinrich Klaproth of Berlin investigated it. He dissolved it in nitric acid and precipitated a yellow compound when the solution was neutralised. He realised it was the oxide of a new element and tried to produce the metal itself by heating the precipitate with charcoal, but failed.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt fell to Eugène Peligot in Paris to isolate the first sample of uranium metal which he did in 1841, by heating uranium tetrachloride with potassium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe discovery that uranium was radioactive came only in 1896 when Henri Becquerel in Paris left a sample of uranium on top of an unexposed photographic plate. It caused this to become cloudy and he deduced that uranium was giving off invisible rays. Radioactivity had been discovered.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22425,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22425.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"High","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"74.5","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":93,"Symbol":"Np","Name":"Neptunium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The symbol used is a representation of the trident belonging to the Roman god Neptune.","NaturalAbundance":"Neptunium is obtained as a by-product from nuclear reactors. It is extracted from the spent uranium fuel rods. Trace quantities occur naturally in uranium ores.","BiologicalRoles":"Neptunium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A radioactive metal.","CASnumber":"7439-99-8","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":93,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[237]","AtomicRadius":"2.39","CovalentRadii":"1.800","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.3","CovalentRadius":"1.80","CommonOxidationStates":"6, \u003cstrong\u003e5\u003c/strong\u003e, 4, 3","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"644","MeltingPointK":"917","MeltingPointF":"1191","BoilingPointC":"3902","BoilingPointK":"4175","BoilingPointF":"7056","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"20.2","DensityValue":"20.2","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1940","Discovery":"1940","DiscoveredBy":"Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson","OriginOfName":"Neptunium was named after the planet Neptune.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Neptunium is little used outside research. The isotope neptunium-237 has been used in neutron detectors.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Neptunium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: neptunium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, a planetary element that helped create the atomic bomb. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe\u0027re so familiar with uranium and plutonium that it\u0027s easy to miss that they are named after the seventh and ninth planets of the solar system. (At least, Pluto was the ninth planet until it was stripped of its status in 2006.) Between those planets sits Neptune, and the gap between the two elements leaves a space for their relatively unsung cousin, neptunium - element number 93 in the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn June 1940, American physicists Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson, working at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, wrote a paper describing a reaction of uranium that had been discovered when bombarding it with neutrons using a cyclotron particle accelerator. Remarkably, the openly published Berkeley paper would show the first step to overcoming one of the biggest obstacles to building an atomic bomb - a paper published when both sides in the Second World War were searching for a solution to the uranium problem. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe trouble with uranium was that the isotope uranium 235 needed to build a bomb was incredibly difficult to separate from the much less rare uranium 238. They are chemically identical. But if uranium 238 can be encouraged to absorb a slow neutron in a reactor, it becomes the unstable isotope uranium 239. This undergoes the nuclear reaction called beta decay, where a neutron turns into a proton, giving off an electron in the process (for historical reasons, the electron is called a beta particle in such circumstances). \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe result of McMillan and Abelson\u0027s reaction was the production of a new element, one that had never been seen in nature. By the following year, this element was being called neptunium. But neptunium 239 is also unstable and soon generates another electron, adding a second proton to the nucleus to become plutonium. This was the material that would be used to build the world\u0027s first atomic bomb. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor our purposes, though, the important thing here is that neptunium had been called into existence. It was third time lucky for using this name for an element. In 1877 a German chemist named Hermann had found what he believed was a new element in the mineral tantalite and called it neptunium. Then in 1886, another German, Clemens Winkler, had isolated what we now call germanium and intended to call this neptunium until he discovered Hermann had used the name first. But Hermann\u0027s claim was later proved to be a mistake and the neptunium was free again, ready for McMillan and Abelson to deploy. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe real neptunium sits between uranium and plutonium in the actinides, the floating bar on the periodic table that pops out from between radium and lawrencium. A silvery, metallic substance like so many of its neighbours, its most stable form is the isotope neptunium 237 with a half life - the time it takes for half of the original amount to decay - of over 2 million years, and this is the type of neptunium most likely now to be produced as a by product from nuclear reactors. In the original reaction, though, it was neptunium 239 with a half life of just over 2 days that was formed. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough it wasn\u0027t spotted until it had already been made in reactors, neptunium does actually exist in a natural form on the earth, when uranium undergoes the process that takes place in a reactor, capturing a neutron from another uranium atom that has split, and emitting a beta particle to transmute it to neptunium - but this only happens in the tiniest quantities. There\u0027s much more neptunium to be found in the average household. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat\u0027s because many smoke detectors use alpha particles from the element americium 241 to ionize the air in a detection chamber. The americium gradually converts to neptunium as it decays, though thanks to americium\u0027s 432 year half life, there won\u0027t be much produced in the lifetime of a detector. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn practice there is very little use for neptunium. The only significant application is in monitors for high energy neutrons, and even here it is rare. In principle, though, it could have a more deadly use. Where the neptunium 239 produced in 1940 was too unstable to use, quickly transforming into plutonium, Neptunium 237 would be just fine to make an atomic bomb. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGet enough neptunium 237 together and you\u0027ve got a nuclear device. The necessary amount to go critical and produce a nuclear explosion is about 60 kilograms. This isn\u0027t an impractical quantity. Over 50 tonnes of neptunium is produced as waste from nuclear reactors each year. But neptunium has no particular advantage over plutonium or enriched uranium, so has not been deployed. Even so, because of the risk of it falling into the hands of terrorists or rogue states, neptunium waste has to be treated with the same level of security as the traditional ingredients of atomic bombs. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the end, Neptunium has not proved to be the most useful of elements. When it turns up in a nuclear reactor, or as the end product of the decay of americium in smoke detectors, it is regarded as waste, and it\u0027s a particularly long lasting, nasty waste with its immense 2 million year half life. But at least neptunium fans can say that it has a name that trumps even New York. Because neptunium was so good they named it thrice. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd so good that it can produce nuclear explosions. That was Brian Clegg with the explosive and long lasting chemistry of neptunium. Now next week an element that likes to avoid the limelight for itself but helps others to get there instead. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere are lots of everyday applications for yttrium compounds. In its compounds yttrium is always present as the yttrium three plus ion, which means that it is colourless and has no unpaired electrons; therefore it does not have any interesting magnetic or spectroscopic properties of its own. The up side of this is that yttrium compounds make very good host materials for other lanthanides. The most familiar application lies in the red phosphor in cathode ray tubes, as used in traditional colour TV sets. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Simon Cotton will be revealing more of the supporting roles of yttrium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Neptunium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Np","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn early 1934, Enrico Fermi in Italy tried to produce elements 93 and 94 by bombarding uranium with neutrons, and claimed success. Ida Tacke-Noddack questioned Fermi’s claim, pointing out he had failed to do a complete analysis, and all that he had found were fission products of uranium. (Fermi had in fact discovered nuclear fission but not realised it.) In 1938, Horia Hulubei and Yvette Cauchois claimed to have discovered element 93, but the claim was also criticised on the grounds that element 93 did not occur naturally.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNeptunium was first made in 1940 by Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson at Berkeley, California. It came from a uranium target that had been bombarded with slow neutrons and which then emitted unusual beta-rays indicating a new isotope. Abelson proved there was indeed a new element present.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22375,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22375.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":94,"Symbol":"Pu","Name":"Plutonium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is inspired by Robert Oppenheimer’s quote, following the first atomic bomb test in the Nevada desert. ‘We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed...","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe greatest source of plutonium is the irradiation of uranium in nuclear reactors. This produces the isotope plutonium-239, which has a half-life of 24,400 years. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlutonium metal is made by reducing plutonium tetrafluoride with calcium.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Plutonium has no known biological role. It is extremely toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A radioactive, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-07-5","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":94,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[244]","AtomicRadius":"2.43","CovalentRadii":"1.800","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"1.3","CovalentRadius":"1.80","CommonOxidationStates":"6, 5, \u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e, 3","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"640","MeltingPointK":"913","MeltingPointF":"1184","BoilingPointC":"3228","BoilingPointK":"3501","BoilingPointF":"5842","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"19.7","DensityValue":"19.7","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1940","Discovery":"1940","DiscoveredBy":"Glenn Seaborg and colleagues","OriginOfName":"Plutonium, is named after the then planet Pluto, following from the two previous elements uranium and neptunium.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003ePlutonium was used in several of the first atomic bombs, and is still used in nuclear weapons. The complete detonation of a kilogram of plutonium produces an explosion equivalent to over 10,000 tonnes of chemical explosive. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlutonium is also a key material in the development of nuclear power. It has been used as a source of energy on space missions, such as the Mars Curiosity Rover and the New Horizons spacecraft on its way to Pluto.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Plutonium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: plutonium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week on Chemistry in its element a substance that most people think is man made but in fact often turns up in the centres of stars. It also packs a huge nuclear punch when it\u0027s in the right sort of warhead and also has the power to be a super conductor. The only problem is its radio active and that means that when it decays it tends to fall apart. It is of course Plutonium and here to spell it out is Cambridge University\u0027s Ian Farnan.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIan Farnan\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlutonium\u0027s often billed as the \u0027most toxic substance known to man\u0027. Just the word plutonium instils a dread in people\u0027s minds - And it\u0027s the early history of plutonium that established its dark side - and it\u0027s a reputation that\u0027s been hard to shake-off since. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eGlenn Seaborg discovered plutonium at Berkeley in 1940, and in the following spring, when it was found that it could sustain a nuclear chain reaction, he secretly wrote to President Roosevelt, to inform him of that this substance had the potential to be a powerful source of nuclear energy. And from that moment the race was on to produce significant amounts to supply a secret project codenamed the Manhattan Engineering District, the goal of which was to produce a nuclear bomb.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnyone familiar with the iconic image of the mushroom cloud understands the tremendous explosive power of a correctly controlled detonation of plutonium. The energy density is mind-boggling: a sphere of metal 10 cm in diameter and weighing just 8 Kg is enough to produce an explosion at least as big as the one that devastated Nagasaki in 1945. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut apart from military uses like this, plutonium also has one of the richest chemistries of any element. There are six different forms of plutonium, known as allotropes, that all exist at different temperatures and behave differently. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAt room temperature, for instance, the plutonium is very brittle, but heated to around 100 Celsius is transforms to a much more malleable metal. Scientists have found that they can mimic this effect by adding a small amount of gallium, which gives the room temperature metal similar properties to its higher-temperature counterpart, and this makes it much easier to work with.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMixing plutonium with other metals can also produce substances with other interesting properties. For instance, adding some cobalt and gallium can produce a material that behaves as a super-conductor at low temperatures. Its electrons link up into a close-knit arrangement called Cooper pairs, which allow electricity to flow freely with no resistance.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut unfortunately this arrangement doesn\u0027t last very long. Because plutonium-239 self destructs, undergoing radioactive decay by spitting out a highly energetic alpha-particle to produce Uranium-235. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut as the alpha-particle leaves it causes the uranium nucleus to recoil like a gun that\u0027s just been fired, and this damages the structure of the material, disrupting the paired electrons and slowly destroying the superconductivity. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo in this sense plutonium is its own worst enemy. Its radioactivity means that it\u0027s very difficult to exploit the richness of its chemistry in many compounds, and as its reputation precedes it, plutonium would also have trouble gaining acceptance as a technological material. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut despite its tarnished reputation, some people quite literally have a place in their hearts for plutonium because one of its isotopes, plutonium-238, generates so much heat when it decays, that it was used as a long-lasting thermoelectric generator in early heart pacemakers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNowadays it\u0027s been replaced by better batteries, but it\u0027s still popular with space scientists who use it to power probes sent to explore distant planets far from the Sun, like Cassini, that was sent to Saturn, and New Horizons, which is on its way to Pluto.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePlutonium\u0027s in a part of the periodic table called the actinide series alongside its neighbours thorium and protoactinium. Seaborg christened the actinides, rearranging the periodic table in the process, on the basis of the unusual arrangements of their electrons, which give these substances unusual magnetic properties, as well as the ability to have multiple oxidation states. Plutonium, for instance, has five, giving it the ability to form an unusually wide range of compounds that scientists are only just beginning to get to grips with.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome say that plutonium\u0027s an evil element created by man, but it\u0027s actually a natural element produced by a process known as nucleosynthesis, which takes place in supernova explosions, when dying stars blow themselves to pieces. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere isn\u0027t much of it on the earth naturally, because the majority of its isotopes have such short half-lives. And in the 4.6 billion years since our solar system began to form, most of them have decayed away to infinitesimally tiny amounts. What there is mostly comes from reactors and nuclear tests.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere are severe hazards associated with plutonium, but as with most dangerous materials, these can be mitigated by careful handling and rigorous safeguards. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut whatever you think about plutonium, its history, however chequered, has revealed some fascinating chemistry. Although the mushroom cloud remains its best-known image.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIan Farnan, unpacking Plutonium. Next time on Chemistry in its Element the toxic chemical that saves thousands of lives every year. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn his list of the then known elements, Lavoisier included the term azote meaning the absence of life, but the compound used to explosively fill car air bags with gas is sodium azide, a compound of just Sodium and Nitrogen. When triggered this compound explosively decomposes freeing the Nitrogen gas, which inflates the bags. Far from destroying life, this azotic compound has been responsible for saving thousands.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePeter Wothers talking nitrogen on what promises to be an explosive edition of Chemistry in its element next week. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening, see you next time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Plutonium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Pu","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003ePlutonium was first made in December 1940 at Berkeley, California, by Glenn Seaborg, Arthur Wahl, Joseph Kennedy, and Edwin McMillan. They produced it by bombarding uranium-238 with deuterium nuclei (alpha particles). This first produced neptunium-238 with a half-life of two days, and this decayed by beta emission to form element 94 (plutonium). Within a couple of months element 94 had been conclusively identified and its basic chemistry shown to be like that of uranium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo begin with, the amounts of plutonium produced were invisible to the eye, but by August 1942 there was enough to see and weigh, albeit only 3 millionths of a gram. However, by 1945 the Americans had several kilograms, and enough plutonium to make three atomic bombs, one of which exploded over Nagasaki in August 1945.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22382,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22382.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":95,"Symbol":"Am","Name":"Americium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects both the origin of the element’s name and its presence in domestic smoke alarms.","NaturalAbundance":"\u003cdiv\u003eAmericium occurs naturally in uranium minerals, but only in trace amounts. The main source of the element is the neutron bombardment of plutonium in nuclear reactors. A few grams are produced in this way each year.\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is also formed when nuclear weapons are detonated.\u003c/div\u003e","BiologicalRoles":"Americium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"Americium is a silvery, shiny radioactive metal.","CASnumber":"7440-35-9","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":95,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[243]","AtomicRadius":"2.44","CovalentRadii":"1.730","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.73","CommonOxidationStates":"6, 5, 4, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1176","MeltingPointK":"1449","MeltingPointF":"2149","BoilingPointC":"2011","BoilingPointK":"2284","BoilingPointF":"3652","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"12","DensityValue":"12","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1944","Discovery":"1944","DiscoveredBy":"Glenn Seaborg and colleagues ","OriginOfName":"Americium is named for America where it was first made.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"\u003cdiv\u003eAmericium is commonly used in smoke alarms, but has few other uses. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt has the potential to be used in spacecraft batteries in the future. Currently plutonium is used but availability is poor so alternatives are being considered.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is of interest as part of the decay sequence that occurs in nuclear power production.\u003c/div\u003e","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Americium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: americium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to\u0026nbsp;Chemistry in its element\u0026nbsp;brought to you by\u0026nbsp;\u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the\u0026nbsp;Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElementary envy tops the bill this week with a substance that was christened to compete with Europium. It was announced to the world via the slightly unorthodox route of a kids\u0027 radio show, but this stuff is none the less worth its weight in gold, in fact its worth more than that, 60 times as much in fact, because its gone on to save thousands of lives and homes around the world since. And to tell us how here\u0027s Brian Clegg:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eKeeping up with the neighbours is rarely a concern in the periodic table. Nitrogen doesn\u0027t care much what carbon and oxygen are up to, and rarely casts covetous glances at phosphorous. But there\u0027s at least one substance in the periodic table that was named in response to a nearby element, and that\u0027s americium, the element that looks as if it should be pronounced [AMER-ICK-IUM].\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt sits in the seventh position in the actinides, those mostly artificial substances that inhabit the second of the periodic table\u0027s floating bars of elements, and directly above it, in the parallel list of lanthanides, you will find europium. Americium\u0027s name, according to its discoverers, is \u0027suggested on the basis of its position. analogous to europium\u0027 - but let\u0027s face it, you could equally blame its name on continent envy. However it was dreamed up, it\u0027s an improvement on the provisional names given to americium and curium (discovered at the same time) - originally they were pandemonium and delirium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAmericium didn\u0027t exist until Glen T. Seaborg and his colleagues, working on the Manhattan Project in the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago, produced it in 1944. It feels strange to say that Seaborg took out a patent on this \u0027element 95\u0027. Seaborg\u0027s team would isolate a total of 10 new elements, re-arranging the structure of the periodic table.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first hint the world had of the existence of americium came not in a paper for a distinguished journal, but on a children\u0027s radio quiz in 1945. Seaborg appeared as a guest on NBC\u0027s \u003cem\u003eQuiz Kids\u003c/em\u003e show, where one of the participants asked him if they had produced any other new elements as well as plutonium and neptunium. As Seaborg was due to formally announce the discovery of americium five days later, he let slip its existence, along with element 96, later called curium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first isotope of americium produced was americium 241, still the most commonly used form. The Manhattan Project was busy creating plutonium to be used in nuclear weapons, and some plutonium 239 went through a process of capturing extra neutrons to become 240 and then 241, which gave off an electron from the nucleus to turn into americium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNone of americium\u0027s isotopes are truly stable - the longest lasting, americium-243, has a half-life of 7370 years, while many of the 18 isotopes produced only hang around for minutes. Like many of the actinides, Americium is silver-white in appearance, and reasonably heavy with a density similar to that of lead. It\u0027s a solid at room temperature - you\u0027d need to heat it to over 1,000 degrees Celsius to melt it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut americium has one unique quality. It\u0027s the only artificial element - and the only radioisotope - that is routinely found in the home.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eActually, I ought to qualify that. We all have traces of \u003cem\u003enatural\u003c/em\u003e radioactive elements in our houses. If you live somewhere like Cornwall with a high preponderance of granite, you will have more than your fair share, for instance, of radon about the place, giving a background radiation level of three times that experienced in London. But americium is the only radioisotope you are likely to go down to the supermarket and buy - what\u0027s more, you will have been encouraged to do so by the government.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat\u0027s because americium is used in many smoke detectors. A tiny quantity - less than a millionth of a gram - of americium 241 oxide will be sitting in there, beaming out radiation as it slowly transforms to neptunium with a half life of 432 years. The alpha particles flowing from the americium (it\u0027s a better alpha source than radium) pass through a small compartment where they ionize the air, allowing a tiny electrical current to cross the chamber. If smoke particles get in there, they absorb the alpha particles before they can create ions, stopping the current flowing and setting off the alarm.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEvery now and then someone will panic when they discover that not only is there a radioactive material in household smoke detectors, but it could, in principle, be used to produce a nuclear weapon. Assemble enough of that americium-241 and it would go critical. But before any terrorist groups try to corner the market in smoke detectors it\u0027s worth pointing out that it would take around 180 billion of them to have sufficient americium-241 assembled to go critical - and even then it wouldn\u0027t be enough to put the detectors together in the same place, you would have to painstakingly extract each of those 180 billion specks of the element and mould them together, an effort that would take thousands of years.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAmericium has also found other uses for its radioactive emissions, as a source of both alpha particles and gamma rays for medical applications and in industry - but its use is limited to jobs where only a small quantity is required, as it is expensive to produce. The americium oxide used in smoke detectors costs around $1500 per gram - compare this with the current gold price of around $30 per gram. There\u0027s a nice irony that the element named after the world\u0027s richest, most consumption-oriented nation is only typically used in \u003cem\u003every\u003c/em\u003e small quantities. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne of my favourite books in my youth was Isaac Asimov\u0027s \u003cem\u003eFoundation\u003c/em\u003e. In this book, tiny, walnut sized atomic generators are commonplace. This was one of science fiction\u0027s dreams that never came true - and many people would now be horrified at the thought of personal use of nuclear power. Yet this one element, americium, is the radioactive heart that helps keep our homes safe.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBrian Clegg with the element that was born out of envy, but I\u0027m not sure if its compounds are green though. But next week\u0027s element certainly is, the discoverer named Thallium after the Greek word thallos, meaning \"green shoot\". But don\u0027t get distracted by its colour, because this stuff is deadly, sufficiently nasty in fact for Agatha Christie to have written a murder mystery about it. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHenry Nicholls\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI slammed back the receiver, then took it off again. I dialled the number and was lucky enough this time to get Lejeune straight away. \"Listen\" I said, \"is Ginger\u0027s hair coming out by the roots in handfuls?\" \"Well as a matter of fact I believe it is. High fever I suppose.\" \"Fever my foot\" I said \"what Ginger\u0027s suffering from, what they\u0027ve all suffered from is Thallium poisoning, please God may we be in time.\"\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd you can hear how Ginger gets on from Henry Nicholls on next week\u0027s Chemistry in its Element, do try and join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Americium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Am","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"This element was in fact discovered after curium, the element which follows it in the periodic table. However, it did once exist on Earth having been produced for millions of years in natural nuclear reactors in Oklo, Gabon. These ceased to function a billion years ago, and as the longest lived isotope is americium-247, with a half-life of 7370 years, none has survived to the present day. Americium was first made late in 1944 at the University of Chicago by a team which included Glenn Seaborg, Ralph James, Leon Morgan, and Albert Ghiorso. The americium was produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons in a nuclear reactor. This produced isotope americium-241, which has a half-life of this is 432 years.","CSID":22405,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22405.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":96,"Symbol":"Cm","Name":"Curium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image shows a satellite in orbit around the Earth, reflecting the use of curium in satellite technology.","NaturalAbundance":"Curium can be made in very small amounts by the neutron bombardment of plutonium in a nuclear reactor. Minute amounts may exist in natural deposits of uranium. Only a few grams are produced each year.","BiologicalRoles":"Curium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A radioactive metal that is silver in colour. It tarnishes rapidly in air.","CASnumber":"7440-51-9","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":96,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[247]","AtomicRadius":"2.450","CovalentRadii":"1.680","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.68","CommonOxidationStates":"4, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1345","MeltingPointK":"1618","MeltingPointF":"2453","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"13.51","DensityValue":"13.51","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1944","Discovery":"1944","DiscoveredBy":"Glenn Seaborg and colleagues","OriginOfName":"Curium is named in honour of Pierre and Marie Curie.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Curium has been used to provide power to electrical equipment used on space missions.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Curium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: curium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week\u0027s element launches us deep into outer space. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard Corfield\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCurium is a member of a group of elements, the transuranic elements, that - with the exception of plutonium and neptunium - do not occur naturally on Earth. Curium is a hard, brittle, silvery radioactive metal that tarnishes slowly and which can only be produced in nuclear reactors. The isotope 242Cu was produced in 1944 by Glenn T Seaborg, Ralph A James and Albert Ghioso by bombarding 239Pu with alpha particles in the 60-inch Cyclotron at Berkeley University in the US. Like another synthetic element, americium, the discovery of curium was intimately bound up with the work of the Manhattan Project which Seaborg and his team were working on at the time of their discovery. This meant that neither curium nor americium could be announced to the world until after the end of the war. Seaborg revealed their discovery in November 1945 on the American TV show Quiz Kids just five days before the official unveiling of the new elements at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCurium is named in honour of Pierre and Marie Curie, who pioneered the study of radioactivity in the final days of the 19th century. Nineteen radioisotopes of curium are known to exist, the first of which, 242Cu was isolated in the hydroxide form in 1947 and in its elemental form in 1951. The most stable radioisotope is 247Cm which has a half-life of 1.56 × 107 years. 248Cm has a half-life of 3.40 × 105 years, 250Cm a half-life of 9000 years, and 245Cm a half-life of 8500 years. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives with a duration that less than 30 years, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than a month. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCurium has two main uses: as a fuel for Radioisotope Thermal Generators (RTGs) on board satellites, deep space probes, planetary surface rovers and in heart pacemakers, and as a alpha emitter for alpha particle X-Ray spectrometry, again particularly in space applications. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRTGs are electrical generators which produce power from radioactive decay. Usually heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material is converted into electricity by the Seebeck effect -where an electrical current is generated at the junctions between two different metals - using an array of thermocouples. However, in some cases such as the Mars Exploration Rovers, the power is used directly to warm the vehicle. For spaceflight use, the fuel must be radioactive enough to produce large quantities of energy per unit of mass and volume. 242Cu produces about 3W of heat energy from radioactive decay per gram which compares favourably with the plutonium and americium sources commonly used in other Radioisotope Thermal Generator applications. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometers (APXS) are devices that analyse the chemical element composition of a sample from back-scattered alpha particles. Using Rutherford\u0027s calculations of the conservation of nuclear energy and linear momentum it is possible to calculate the mass of the nucleus hit by the alpha particle and from this the energy spectrum of the material being analysed. Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometers tend to be confined to chemical analyses required during space missions since, although curium is both compact and power efficient, it is also a hazardous radioactive material. APXSs have a long history in space exploration being first used during the later Surveyor (Surveyor 5-7) missions that immediately preceded the Apollo Moon landings. Since the days of Surveyor alpha particle analysers have been included on many other missions including Mars Pathfinder, Mars 96, the Rosetta mission to the comet Comet 67 P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko and the Mars Exploration Rovers. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBack on Earth most curium found in the environment today was generated by the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, which ceased worldwide by 1980. More localised pockets of curium contamination have occurred through accidents at weapons production facilities. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs already mentioned, curium is hazardous. It becomes concentrated in bone marrow and because of its significant alpha activity can induce cancers. Despite its rarity and hazards it seems appropriate that an element first synthesised during a global conflict that saw the development of the vehicles that would one day take us to the Moon and beyond is now so pivotal to space exploration, providing our robotic pioneers not only with power but also the ability to analyse extraterrestrial materials as well. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, a crucial element in the field of space exploration. That was science writer Richard Corfield bringing us the radio active chemistry of curium. Now next week, the element named after the creator of the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHayley Birch\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBrought up in Russia, Mendeleev was the sort of person who, it seems, was incapable of sticking to one discipline and as well as serving as the director of the Russian institute for weights and measures, had a hand in developing the Russian oil industry. Given all this, it\u0027s perhaps less surprising than it ought to be that he conceived of the periodic table on the same day that he was supposed to be inspecting a cheese factory. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, quite the multi tasker. And to find out the creation, chemistry and history of the Element named after Mendeleev, Mendelevium, join Hayley Birch in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Curium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Cm","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"Curium was first made by the team of Glenn Seaborg, Ralph James, and Albert Ghiorso in 1944, using the cyclotron at Berkeley, California. They bombarded a piece of the newly discovered element plutonium (isotope 239) with alpha-particles. This was then sent to the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago where a tiny sample of curium was eventually separated and identified. However, news of the new element was not disclosed until after the end of World War II. Most unusually, it was first revealed by Seaborg when he appeared as the guest scientist on a radio show for children on 11 November 1945. It was officially announced the following week.","CSID":22415,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22415.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":97,"Symbol":"Bk","Name":"Berkelium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"An abstract metal symbol is against a background of vibrant colours representing the creation of the element in nuclear reactors.","NaturalAbundance":"Less than a gram of berkelium is made each year. It is made in nuclear reactors by the neutron bombardment of plutonium-239.","BiologicalRoles":"Berkelium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"Berkelium is a radioactive, silvery metal.","CASnumber":"7440-40-6","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":97,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[247]","AtomicRadius":"2.44","CovalentRadii":"1.680","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.68","CommonOxidationStates":"4, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"986","MeltingPointK":"1259","MeltingPointF":"1807","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"14.78","DensityValue":"14.78","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1949","Discovery":"1949","DiscoveredBy":"Stanley Thompson, Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn Seaborg","OriginOfName":"Berkelium was named after the town Berkeley, California, where it was first made.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Because it is so rare, berkelium has no commercial or technological use at present.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Berkelium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: berkelium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, no prizes for guessing where this element\u0027s name comes from. Eric Scerri.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElement 97 in the periodic table is one of only two elements named after a university, namely the University of California at Berkeley. The other such element is number 110 called darmstadtium after the University of Darmstadt in Germany. The university and the city of Berkeley were in turn named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher, Bishop George \u0027B\u003cu\u003ea\u003c/u\u003erkeley\u0027. The pronunciation changed from B\u003cu\u003ea\u003c/u\u003erkeley to Berkeley when the name crossed the Atlantic ocean in 1869, the year that the city and university were both founded. Incidentally this was the same year in which Dimitri Mendeleev published the first mature periodic system and began to predict the existence of new elements.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut let me get back to berkelium. It was the fifth element in the periodic table after the last naturally occurring element, uranium, to be artificially synthesised. Berkelium was first made some 60 years ago by Stan Thomson, Al Ghiroso and Glen Seaborg by bombarding the isotope americium-241 with alpha particles. The half-life of the first isotope of berkelium to be produced in this way was a healthy 4.5 hours. Subsequently discovered isotopes have included berkelium-249 with a half-life of as much as 314 days. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne of the discoverers, Glen Seaborg, was a member of various teams that synthesised a total of 10 elements over a period of many years. His success led to a proposal that he should have an element named after him. But the official governing body, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, refused to accept this, on the basis that no living scientist had ever been honoured in this way, although actually the element fermium was proposed when the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi was still living and was indeed accepted. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFinally after much campaigning by chemists around the world, IUPAC relented and element 106 was duly named seaborgium while he was still alive. This led to an amusing situation whereby people could try to send letters or postcards to Seaborg by using nothing but a sequence of symbols of various elements in the following order. First of all one could write Sg for element 106 or Seaborg\u0027s name. The second line consisted of Bk for this week\u0027s element 97 or the University at which Seaborg worked. The third line was Cf for element 98, or californium, or the state in which the university stands. Finally, if writing from abroad, the correspondent could add Am for element 95, or americium, or the country of America to complete the address. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo the credit of several postal systems around the world a handful of people did indeed succeed in getting letters and messages of congratulations to Seaborg in this cryptic fashion.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMany compounds of element 97, berkelium, have been prepared. Unlike the extremely short half-lives possessed by the superheavy elements like 117 and 118 that have been in the news recently, experiments on berkelium are relatively easy to perform and its chemistry has been studied in some detail. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe existence of weighable amounts of berkelium-249 have made it possible to determine some of its properties using macroscopic quantities. Although the pure element has not yet been isolated, it is predicted to be a silvery metal that would easily oxidise in air at high temperatures and would be soluble in dilute mineral acids.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eX-ray diffraction techniques have been used to identify various berkelium compounds such as berkelium dioxide (BkO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e), berkelium fluoride (BkF\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e), berkelium oxychloride (BkOCl), and berkelium trioxide (BkO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e). The oxidation states seen so far are +3 and +4 in accordance to its position below terbium in the periodic table.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1962 visible amounts of berkelium chloride were isolated, weighing 3 billionth of a gram. This was the first time that visible amounts of a pure berkelium compound had been produced.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLike other actinides, berkelium accumulates in skeletal tissue and is therefore highly toxic to humans. The element has not found any uses yet outside of basic research and plays no known biological role. Nevertheless its discovery was an important step towards the synthesis of the superheavy elements and has served to test theories of nuclear physics as well as showing that the predictions of the periodic table are fulfilled well beyond the elements for which it was originally devised. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSp playing a pivotal role in fundamental chemistry and physics, while also testing the chemical knowledge of postal services worldwide. That was scientist and author Eric Scerri from UCLA with the discovery of Berkelium. Now next week, an element that requires a magic touch - as long as you don\u0027t get too close.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeter Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe next exciting thing about caesium, is that my love is not unrequited, it responds to my touch. Strictly speaking, it\u0027s the warmth from the hand that melts it, given that its melting point is only 28.4 °C. So just holding its container converts the crystalline solid into liquid gold. Liquid metals are always fascinating - everyone loves mercury; just imagine playing with liquid gold!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut here\u0027s the snag that adds to my fascination with this metal - it has a rather fiery temper. In fact, you can\u0027t actually touch the metal itself since it spontaneously bursts into flames in the presence of air and reacts explosively with water. Awkward indeed. My caesium is sealed inside a glass tube under an atmosphere of the chemically inert gas argon. So to play with it, you have to hold the glass tube, knowing that if you accidentally crushed it, or dropped it, all hell would break loose.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd as well as a possible adrenalin rush, join Cambridge University\u0027s Peter Wothers for more exciting facts about the liquid gold element that is caesium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then thank you for listening, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Berkelium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Bk","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eBerkelium was first produced in December 1949, at the University of California at Berkeley, and was made by Stanley Thompson, Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn Seaborg. They took americium-241, which had first been made in 1944, and bombarded it with helium nuclei (alpha particles) for several hours in the 60-inch cyclotron. The americium itself had been produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe Berkeley team dissolved the target in acid and used ion exchange to separate the new elements that had been created. This was the isotope berkelium-243 which has a half-life of about 5 hours. It took a further nine years before enough berkelium had been made to see with the naked eye, and even this was only a few micrograms. The first chemical compound, berkelium dioxide, BkO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, was made in 1962.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22409,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22409.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":98,"Symbol":"Cf","Name":"Californium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is based on the state flag of California and features a grizzly bear (a symbol of great strength) and a lone star.","NaturalAbundance":"Californium did not exist in weighable amounts until ten years after its discovery. It is prepared, in milligram amounts only, by the neutron bombardment of plutonium-239.","BiologicalRoles":"Californium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"Californium is a radioactive metal.","CASnumber":"7440-71-3","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":98,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[251]","AtomicRadius":"2.45","CovalentRadii":"1.680","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.68","CommonOxidationStates":"4, \u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"900","MeltingPointK":"1173","MeltingPointF":"1652","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"15.1","DensityValue":"15.1","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1950","Discovery":"1950","DiscoveredBy":"Stanley Thompson, Kenneth Street, Jr., Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn Seaborg","OriginOfName":"Californium is named for the university and state of California, where the element was first made.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Californium is a very strong neutron emitter. It is used in portable metal detectors, for identifying gold and silver ores, to identify water and oil layers in oil wells and to detect metal fatigue and stress in aeroplanes.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Californium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: californium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, let\u0027s go surfing. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat comes to mind when you think of California? Surfing and the Beach Boys? Hollywood and Governor Schwarzenegger? The University of California at Berkeley has ensured that California also has its place in the periodic table with element 98, the tenth of the actinides, californium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough it seems perfectly sensible to celebrate the location where it was discovered, californium\u0027s name was, in fact, a failure for the team behind its production. Glen T. Seaborg and his co-workers had named \u003cem\u003eamericium\u003c/em\u003e to parallel the lanthanide above it in the periodic table, europium. They went on to name curium and berkelium in a way that was also derived from the equivalent lanthanide. So, for instance, the actinide berkelium was named after Berkeley because the lanthanide above it, terbium, was named after the Swedish village Ytterby where it was quarried. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen it came to californium, an artificial element first produced in 1950, the equivalent lanthanide would be dysprosium, which comes from the Greek for \u0027hard to get.\u0027 After some head-scratching, Seaborg and his team gave up on the search for an equivalent and just went for the location of the lab. They had already discarded a list of names including cyclotronium and cyclonium, after the device used in producing the first californium, along with the more than a little cheesy radlabium, reflecting the team\u0027s origins as part of the radiation laboratory or rad lab.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThey did, though, manage a neat bit of rationalization, arguing that they paralleled dysprosium\u0027s \u0027hard to get\u0027 meaning because \u0027the searchers for another element a century ago found it difficult to get to California.\u0027 This referred to the state\u0027s inaccessibility during the nineteenth century gold rush.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe first isotope of californium produced was californium 245, with a half life of just 44 minutes. The team battered a target of curium with alpha particles using a cyclotron, an early type of particle accelerator still in use today, particularly in medical applications. The cyclotron accelerates charged particles using electrodes that switch rapidly between attracting and repelling as the particles spiral around a circular chamber until they collide with a target. In this case the collision produced californium and a spare neutron. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe most stable of californium\u0027s 20 or so produced isotopes is californium 251, which has a half life of 898 years, though many of the isotopes have half-lives measured in minutes. It\u0027s most often made now by starting with berkelium 249 and adding neutrons in a nuclear reactor. Although this is a purely artificial element here on earth, it may exist in space as one of the many by-products of supernovas.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen it comes to practical uses, this slivery substance is an excellent neutron emitter. This makes it handy for kick-starting nuclear reactors, where a high neutron flow is required to get the chain reaction going. It also means that, in principle, californium would make effective small scale nuclear weapons, requiring as little as five kilograms of californium 251 to achieve critical mass - about half the amount of plutonium required for a bomb - but in practice it is so fiddly to produce that even at this scale it is unlikely to be used.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs well as providing the starter for reactors, small amounts of californium have also found their way into a number of devices requiring a flow of neutrons, whether it is specialist detectors or radiotherapy, as a last resort for some cancer treatments where gentler sources have failed. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePerhaps californium\u0027s most common application is in moisture gauges used in potential oil wells. These detectors fire fast neutrons through the material to be tested. Hydrogen nuclei, typical of those in water and oil, tend to slow down the neutrons, so a slow neutron detector can be used to search for telltale hydrogen. The neutrons from californium can also be used in prospecting for silver and gold, using a technique called neutron activation analysis which bombards an area to be tested with neutrons and searches for the gamma rays emitted from the bombarded substance, with a characteristic signature.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the end, though, it\u0027s californium\u0027s name that remains most significant. Perhaps, to parallel dysprosium\u0027s \u0027hard to get\u0027, it should have been lethium, from the latin for \u0027lying hidden\u0027 - but maybe that sounds too like lithium. Shortly after californium was first produced, the name was the subject of a running joke between its discoverers and the New Yorker magazine.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe magazine observed that the discoverers had missed a trick. It commented that \u0027California\u0027s busy scientists will undoubtedly come up with another atom or two one of these days, and the university might well have anticipated that. Now it has lost forever the chance of immortalizing itself in the atomic tables with some such sequence as universitium (97), offium (98), californium (99), berkelium (100).\u0027 Spelling out \u0027University of California, Berkeley,\u0027 across the table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe discoverers fired back that the problem with calling elements 97 and 98 universitium and offium was the appalling possibility that some New Yorker could discover 99 and 100 and name them newium and yorkium. The New Yorker staff claimed already to be at work on these elements. but as yet all the journalists had achieved was to think up the names. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs it is, we can never be quite sure if \u0027californium\u0027 refers to the state or the university - and it \u003cem\u003eis\u003c/em\u003e hard to produce - so in these respects, at least, californium parallels dysprosium as an element that\u0027s \u0027hard to get\u0027.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWell in that case, if we\u0027re naming things after other things that are hard to get hold of, how about a taxi in rush hourium or, worse still perhaps, what about a James Blunt CD you can tolerateium? That would be my suggestion. That was Brian Clegg, with this week\u0027s element Californium. Next time, it\u0027s over to Sarah Staniland. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSarah Staniland\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI always find the question \u0027what\u0027s your favourite element\u0027 a difficult one. There are several front runners for vastly varying reasons; however, always a top contender has to be cobalt because it excels in several important character traits: Cobalt has amazing beauty and strength, as well as great cooperation. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI thought she was talking about me for a minute there. That\u0027s Sarah Staniland from Leeds University who will be here next week with the story of cobalt. Do try and join us. Thanks for listening, I\u0027m Chris Smith, and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Californium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Cf","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"Californium was first made in 1950 at Berkeley, California, by a team consisting of Stanley Thompson, Kenneth Street Jr., Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn Seaborg. They made it by firing helium nuclei (alpha particles) at curium-242. The process yielded the isotope californium-245 which has a half-life of 44 minutes. Curium is intensely radioactive and it had taken the team three years to collect the few milligrams needed for the experiment, and even so only a few micrograms of this were used. Their endeavours produced around 5,000 atoms of californium, but there was enough to show it really was a new element.","CSID":22433,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22433.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":99,"Symbol":"Es","Name":"Einsteinium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The design is inspired by the work of Albert Einstein and images collected from early particle accelerators, such as those at Cern and Fermilab. The arrows are from one of these annotated (and unattributed) images indicating the direction of collisions. An abstracted ‘collider’ pattern is shown in the background.","NaturalAbundance":"Einsteinium can be obtained in milligram quantities from the neutron bombardment of plutonium in a nuclear reactor.","BiologicalRoles":"Einsteinium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A radioactive metal, only a few milligrams of which are made each year.","CASnumber":"7429-92-7","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":99,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[252]","AtomicRadius":"2.45","CovalentRadii":"1.650","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.65","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"860","MeltingPointK":"1133","MeltingPointF":"1580","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1952","Discovery":"1952","DiscoveredBy":"Albert Ghiorso and colleagues","OriginOfName":"Einsteinium is named after the renowned physicist Albert Einstein.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Einsteinium has no uses outside research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Einsteinium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: einsteinium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, there\u0027s no need to even guess who this element is named after, but it\u0027s more than fame that got this element its name - Brian Clegg \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAt first glance there\u0027s nothing odd about naming element 99 in the periodic table \u0027einsteinium\u0027. After all, Einstein is the most famous scientist that has ever lived. Yet fame is not usually a good enough reason to make it into the exclusive club of the elements. Although the likes of Lawrence, Rutherford, Seaborg and Bohr have been honoured, there\u0027s no Newton or Laplace, Dalton or Feynman. Not even the new saint of science, Darwin. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe clue to Einstein\u0027s position here is that many of those with elements named after them played a fundamental role in our understanding of atomic structure. There is the odd highly doubtful case - but Einstein isn\u0027t one of them. He\u0027s not on the table because he\u0027s famous, but because he was responsible not only for relativity but for laying some of the foundations of quantum theory, which would explain how atoms interact. What\u0027s more, his study of Brownian motion was the first work to give serious weight to the idea that atoms existed at all. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor such a great figure, einsteinium verges on being an also-ran. It\u0027s one of the actinides, the second of the floating rows of the periodic table that are numerically squeezed between radium and lawrencium. Although only tiny amounts of it have ever been made, it\u0027s enough to determine that like its near neighbours in the table it is a silvery metal. Around twenty isotopes have been produced with half lives - that\u0027s the time it takes half of the substance to decay - ranging from seconds to over a year, though the most common isotope, einsteinium 253 only has a 20 day half life. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eApart from its name, what makes einsteinium stand out is the way it was first produced. When the Soviet Union developed its own atomic bomb, America felt it had to have something even more powerful to keep ahead. Using an atomic bomb as a trigger, the new type of device, referred to as a \u0027Super\u0027 would apply so much heat and pressure to the hydrogen isotope deuterium that the atoms would fuse together, just as they do in the Sun. It was to be the first thermonuclear weapon. The H bomb. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAfter months of technical testing of components, the first thermonuclear bomb was ready to be tried out at a remote island location, Elugelab on the Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific. Like the innocently named Little Boy and Fat Man - the bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - this bomb had a nickname. It was called \u0027the sausage\u0027 because of its long cylindrical shape. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen the bomb exploded on November the first, 1952, it produced an explosion with the power of over 10 million tonnes of TNT - five hundred times the destructive power of the Nagasaki explosion, totally destroying the tiny island. This was very much a test device - weighing over 80 tons and requiring a structure around 50 feet high to support it, meaning that it could never have been deployed - but it proved, all too well, the capability of the thermonuclear weapon. And in the moments of that intense explosion it produced a brand new element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs part of the aftermath of the test, tonnes of material from the fallout zone were sent to Berkeley, the home of created elements, for testing. There among the ash and charred remains of coral were found a couple of hundred atoms of element 99, later to be called einsteinium. Such was the secrecy surrounding the test, the element\u0027s discovery was not made public for three years. It was in Physical Review of August the first 1955 that the discoverer Albert Ghiorso and his colleagues first suggested the name einsteinium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the intense heat and pressure of the explosion, some of the uranium in the fission bomb that was used to trigger the thermonuclear inferno had been bombarded with vast numbers of neutrons, producing a scattering of heavier atoms. At the same time, neutrons in the newly formed atoms\u0027 nuclei underwent beta decay, producing an electron and a proton. So instead of just getting heavier and heavier uranium isotopes, the result was an alchemist\u0027s delight of transmutation, ending up with einsteinium 253. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNot surprisingly, this production method is not the norm. Now, when einsteinium is required, plutonium is bombarded with neutrons in a reactor for several years until it is has taken on enough extra neutrons in the nucleus to pump it up to einsteinium. This only produces tiny amounts - in fact after its discovery it took a good 9 years before enough einsteinium had been produced to be able to see it. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn part the tiny quantities of einsteinium that have been made reflect the difficulty of producing it. But it also receives the sad accolade of having no known uses. There really isn\u0027t any reason for making einsteinium, except as a waypoint on the route to producing something else. It\u0027s an element without a role in life. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe started by thinking of why Einstein might be honoured by appearing in the periodic table. It\u0027s true that Albert Einstein made a huge contribution to the understanding of atoms and atomic structure. But it\u0027s hard not to see his presence in einsteinium being more because of the application of his iconic equation E=mc\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e that he hated. The conversion of mass to energy in the world\u0027s most destructive weapons. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf Einstein can be considered the father of the nuclear explosion, then einsteinium will always be the child of the bomb. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat\u0027s quite a birth to come from an atomic bomb. That was Brian Clegg with the explosive origins of einsteinium. Now next week we\u0027ve got a very useful element with many roles in life, including multiple ways of protecting our health. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is also used in sunscreens, since it is a very opaque white and also very good at absorbing UV light. When UV light falls upon it, it generates free electrons that react with molecules on the surface, forming very reactive organic free radicals. Now you don\u0027t want these radicals on your skin, so the TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e used in sunscreens is coated with a protective layer of silica or alumina. In other situations, these radicals can be a good thing, as they can kill bacteria. You can put very thin coatings of TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e onto glass (or other substances like tiles); these are being tested in hospitals, as a way of reducing infections. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Simon Cotton will be bringing us more of the uses and properties of titanium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Einsteinium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Es","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eEinsteinium was discovered in the debris of the first thermonuclear explosion which took place on a Pacific atoll, on 1 November 1952. Fall-out material, gathered from a neighbouring atoll, was sent to Berkeley, California, for analysis. There it was examined by Gregory Choppin, Stanley Thompson, Albert Ghiorso, and Bernard Harvey. Within a month they had discovered and identified 200 atoms of a new element, einsteinium, but it was not revealed until 1955.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe einsteinium had formed when some uranium atoms had captured several neutrons and gone through a series of capture and decay steps resulting in einsteinium-253, which has a half-life of 20.5 days.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBy 1961, enough einsteinium had been collected to be visible to the naked eye, and weighed, although it amounted to mere 10 millionths of a gram.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22356,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22356.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":100,"Symbol":"Fm","Name":"Fermium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image aims to suggest a self-propagating nuclear chain reaction, such as occurs in nuclear reactors and atomic bombs.","NaturalAbundance":"Fermium can be obtained, in microgram quantities, from the neutron bombardment of plutonium in a nuclear reactor.","BiologicalRoles":"Fermium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"A radioactive metal obtained only in microgram quantities.","CASnumber":"7440-72-4","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":100,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[257]","AtomicRadius":"2.45","CovalentRadii":"1.670","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.67","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1527","MeltingPointK":"1800","MeltingPointF":"2781","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1953","Discovery":"1953","DiscoveredBy":"Albert Ghiorso and colleagues","OriginOfName":"Fermium is named after the nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Fermium has no uses outside research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Fermium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: fermium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, all rise for element 100. Here\u0027s Brian Clegg:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe number 100 is a very significant one for human beings. It\u0027s partly because our number system is based on ten - so ten tens seems to have a special significance. In years, it\u0027s around the maximum lifetime of a human being, making a century more than just a useful division in the historical timeline. But in the natural world, 100 isn\u0027t quite so important. There\u0027s nothing about being element 100 that makes fermium stand out - the periodic table doesn\u0027t attach any significance to base 10. But it\u0027s hard not to think that fermium must be special in some way.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLike element 99 (einsteinium), fermium was first made in the hydrogen bomb test on Elugelab Island on the Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific. The test bomb exploded on the first of November 1952*, blasting vast quantities of material into the atmosphere that drifted down as fallout. The team from the University of Berkeley at California that tested tonnes of ash and coral debris found around 200 atoms of element 100.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis had been created from uranium 238. Fusion in the hydrogen bomb was triggered by a conventional atomic bomb, and the remnants of that trigger\u0027s uranium fuel absorbed a swathe of neutrons, some of which then changed to protons as they underwent beta decay, finally producing fermium 255.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe discoverers aptly named the element after Enrico Fermi, the Italian-born physicist whose work at the University of Chicago was crucial to the development of nuclear explosives. This work took place under the bleachers of a dusty, disused football stadium. The site hadn\u0027t been used for three years since the president of Chicago University closed down the football team as a distraction from academic work. In a claustrophobic space beneath the stands was an old squash court. Here, in 1942, Fermi and his team built the world\u0027s first manmade nuclear reactor, literally an atomic pile of carbon bricks where materials for the atomic bomb would be produced. Fermi, who won the Nobel Prize in 1938, also worked in quantum mechanics and particle physics, making him an ideal candidate for an elementary name.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe element was almost named centurium, however. In 1953, scientists at the Nobel Institute in Stockholm had produced fermium 250 by bombarding uranium with oxygen nuclei. At the time, the discoveries from the hydrogen bomb were classified, so the Swedes, who tentatively came up with the centurium name for one hundred, could have got in first, had fermium not been rapidly de-classified. It might be no coincidence that the Berkeley team allowed the Nobel Institute\u0027s name nobelium for element 102 to continue to be used when the Swedes\u0027 claim for discovering that element proved dubious. There could have been a certain amount of guilt for sneaking in fermium under their noses.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFermium is an actinide, part of the floating bar of elements that is squeezed out from between actinium and lawrencium. Perhaps its greatest claim to fame on the periodic table is that it defines the start of the most obscure of the artificial elements - those above 100 are referred to as the transfermium elements. It is certainly the highest numbered element that has had a practical use identified. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough not yet deployed, fermium 255 is a strong alpha particle emitter with a half life - the time it takes half the material to undergo nuclear decay - of around 20 hours. In medical radioactive applications this is a good combination, where alpha sources are used in radiotherapy for cancer. This is a convenient half-life as it means the alpha particles - nuclei of helium atoms with two protons and two neutrons - are produced long enough for the source to be deployed, but the waste matter becomes a low level hazard very quickly.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFermium is usually produced using accelerators like cyclotrons now, although it has a special place in the periodic table as the highest numbered element that can be produced in a nuclear reactor, rather than by smashing atoms together in an accelerator. This is something of a useless capability, however. The fermium produced in reactors seems a good, useable product. It\u0027s fermium 257, which has a very practical half life of 100 days. But there\u0027s never a chance to use it. Inside a reactor there are plenty of loose neutrons floating about - this is how the chain reaction of the reactor works. Fermium 257 is great at absorbing neutrons and immediately become fermium 258. This has a tiny half life of less than a millisecond. So before you can get your hands on the fermium produced in a reactor it has disappeared.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLike its transfermium colleagues, fermium has only been made in relatively tiny quantities. This means that no one has produced a big enough sample of fermium to be able to see it, though the expectation is that like other similar elements it would be a silvery-grey metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFermium has limited value, but anything numbered 100 inevitably feels a little special. And perhaps fermium \u003cem\u003eis\u003c/em\u003e, at least when it\u0027s made in a nuclear reactor. You can see fermium as a sneaky element. As we\u0027ve seen, this is a product that you can make, that should last 100 days before half of it has disappeared, yet in practice it vanishes after milliseconds. Perhaps what makes fermium special is that it\u0027s an element with a wicked sense of humour.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo the element that scientists are trying - and failing - to get their hands on. That was Brian Clegg, with the disappearing properties of fermium. Now next week, and element that we can see, and it\u0027s a lanthanide with a diverse range of applications.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLutetium and its compounds have found some applications, the most important of these is the use of the oxide in making catalysts for cracking hydrocarbons in the petrochemical industry. But there are other more specialist uses, such as using the radioactive lutetium-177 isotope in cancer therapy. Lutetium ions were also used to dope gadolinium gallium garnet to make magnetic bubble computer memory that was eventually replaced by modern-day hard drives. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLutetium triflate has also been found to be a very effective recyclable catalyst for organic synthesis in aqueous systems - it avoids the use of organic solvents giving it green credentials.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out the chemistry and properties of lutetium that make it so widely applicable, join Simon Cotton in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham and thank you for listening.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cem\u003e*The correct date is 1952, not 1942 as in the podcast audio file\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Fermium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Fm","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eFermium was discovered in 1953 in the debris of the first thermonuclear explosion which took place on a Pacific atoll on 1 November 1952. In this a uranium-238 bomb was used to provide the heat necessary to trigger a thermonuclear explosion. The uranium-238 had been exposed to such a flux of neutrons that some of its atoms had captured several of them, thereby forming elements of atomic numbers 93 to 100, and among the last of these was an isotope of element 100, fermium-255. News of its discovery was kept secret until 1955.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeanwhile a group at the Nobel Institute in Stockholm had independently made a few atoms of fermium by bombarding uranium-238 with oxygen nuclei and obtained fermium-250, which has a half-life of 30 minutes.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":22434,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22434.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":101,"Symbol":"Md","Name":"Mendelevium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is inspired by, and based on, a photograph of Dimitri Mendeleev and an early version of the periodic table.","NaturalAbundance":"Mendelevium does not occur naturally. It is made by bombarding einsteinium with alpha particles (helium ions).","BiologicalRoles":"Mendelevium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been created.","CASnumber":"7440-11-1","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":101,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[258]","AtomicRadius":"2.46","CovalentRadii":"1.730","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.73","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"827","MeltingPointK":"1100","MeltingPointF":"1521","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1955","Discovery":"1955","DiscoveredBy":"Albert Ghiorso and colleagues","OriginOfName":"Mendelevium is named for Dmitri Mendeleev who produced one of the first periodic tables.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Mendelevium is used only for research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Mendelevium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: mendelevium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week\u0027s element pays tribute to the creator of the periodic table. Here\u0027s Hayley Birch:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHayley Birch\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1933, Albert Einstein was visiting a friend at the University of California, Los Angeles, when he was introduced to an aspiring scientist by the name of Glenn Theodore Seaborg. Seaborg was studying chemistry and was only an undergraduate, but Einstein took the time to talk to him and encourage him in his scientific endeavours. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis meeting seems to have had a profound effect on the young Seaborg, who went on, like Einstein, to become a Nobel Prize winner and wrote in a tribute many years later that he had been much impressed by the great man\u0027s modesty and kindness. He also remarked upon Einstein\u0027s dedication to peace and was perhaps inspired by him in his own attitude to war. Despite playing a central role in the creation of the atomic bomb by helping to separate plutonium from uranium, he is said to have remained a pacifist and believed that nuclear energy should be used only for good. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBy what appears to have been pure coincidence, it was on the day of Einstein\u0027s death - the 18 April 1955 - that the American Physical Society received a paper from Seaborg and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, announcing the discovery of a new radioactive element that was to become known as mendelevium. At its most stable atomic weight of 258, it is considered one of the \u0027superheavy\u0027-weights of the periodic table. Like most of the heavier elements, it\u0027s so large that it has trouble sticking itself together and usually decays after just a couple of hours - which is why Seaborg and his colleagues had to create it synthetically. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eConsidering his contribution to the Manhattan project, mendelevium was certainly not Seaborg\u0027s most significant achievement. It was not even his first element: he was part of a team based at the Radiation Laboratory that had already announced the discovery of americium and curium, as well as berkelium and californium, named after his own university. Four years previously he had been awarded the Nobel Prize, along with Edwin McMillan, for these very achievements, lumped together under what they called the trans-uranium elements - because they had atomic numbers higher than uranium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAt atomic number 101, mendelevium was a different type of element: the first of the trans-fermium elements. But to make it, Seaborg employed the same piece of equipment - the particle accelerator that had been used to chemically identify plutonium after it was discovered by Enrico Fermi during the Second World War. The \u002760-inch Cyclotron\u0027, as it was called, was built according to the design of Ernest Lawrence, another of Seaborg\u0027s colleagues from the Manhattan project, and had already been in operation for well over a decade. When it was finally decommissioned in 1962, it was hailed as the \u0027most productive atom-smasher in history\u0027. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo make their synthetic element, Seaborg\u0027s team began with a tiny amount of another element, one which had first shown up in the fallout of a nuclear test carried out by the US in 1952. This other element was later to become einsteinium but it appears in the mendelevium paper as simply \u002799\u0027, accompanied by its isotope number, 253. The team used the cyclotron to smash helium ions into their \u0027element 99\u0027 and produce just a few atoms - 17, to be precise - of mendelevium. Even since its discovery, so little mendelevium has ever been produced that scientists haven\u0027t had a chance to find a use for it. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the \u003cem\u003ePhysical Review\u003c/em\u003e paper announcing their discovery, Seaborg and his colleagues paid tribute to yet another great scientist. As they wrote: \"We would like to suggest the name mendelevium... in recognition of the pioneering role of the great Russian chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev, who was the first to use the periodic system of the elements to predict the chemical properties of undiscovered elements.\" \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd perhaps there is no more fitting time in this\u003cem\u003e \u003c/em\u003e series to pay our own tribute to Mendeleev, who is, after all, the man responsible for the periodic table on which the Chemistry in its element podcast is based. Brought up in Russia, Mendeleev was the sort of person who, it seems, was incapable of sticking to one discipline and as well as serving as the director of the Russian institute for weights and measures, had a hand in developing the Russian oil industry. Given all this, it\u0027s perhaps less surprising than it ought to be that he conceived of the Periodic Table on the same day that he was supposed to be inspecting a cheese factory. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd so, in mendelevium, Mendeleev got his element and, eventually, so did Seaborg, whom element 106 is named for. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, both Mendeleev and Seaborg got their elements in the end. That was science writer Hayley Birch, bringing us the atom-smashing chemistry of mendelevium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow, next week, continuing along the lines of smashing atoms, we go one step further and experience elemental warfare.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the days of the Cold War, America and Russia rivalled each other in all sorts of ways. Never mind thermonuclear bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles to deliver them, they competed in putting men and women into space; who could win the most medals in the Olympic Games; and in making new chemical elements. In the case of element 105, the controversy went on for nearly 30 years and was part of the so-called \u0027Transfermium Wars\u0027, when no blood was spilt but a great deal of ink was.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the Red corner, the Soviet team at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna, near Moscow, led by Georgy Flerov. In the Blue corner, the American team at the University of California at Berkeley, led by Albert Ghiorso.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out which side came through with the chemistry (and name) of element 105, dubnium, join Simon Cotton for next week\u0027s chemistry in its element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham and thank you for listening.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Mendelevium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Md","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"Seventeen atoms of mendelevium were made in 1955 by Albert Ghiorso, Bernard Harvey, Gregory Chopin, Stanley Thompson, and Glenn Seaborg. They were produced during an all-night experiment using the cyclotron at Berkeley, California. In this, a sample of einsteinium-253 was bombarded with alpha-particles (helium nuclei) and mendelevium-256 was detected. This had a half-life of around 78 minutes. Further experiments yielded several thousand atoms of mendelevium, and today it is possible to produce millions of them. The longest lived isotope is mendelevium-260 which has a half-life of 28 days.","CSID":22385,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22385.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":102,"Symbol":"No","Name":"Nobelium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Nobelium is named after Alfred Nobel. The image features a Japanese ideograph (or virtue word) with various meanings including ‘master teacher’ and ‘noble’ - a pun on the origin of the element’s name. The background features imagery suggestive of particle ‘trails’ like those produced when radiation passes through a cloud chamber.","NaturalAbundance":"Nobelium is made by bombarding curium with carbon in a device called a cyclotron.","BiologicalRoles":"Nobelium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity.","Appearance":"Nobelium is a radioactive metal. Only a few atoms have ever been made. Its half-life is only 58 minutes.","CASnumber":"10028-14-5","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":102,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[259]","AtomicRadius":"2.46","CovalentRadii":"1.760","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.76","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e, 2","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"827","MeltingPointK":"1100","MeltingPointF":"1521","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1963","Discovery":"1963","DiscoveredBy":"Georgy Flerov and colleagues and at Dubna, near Moscow, Russia, and independently by Albert Ghiorso and colleagues at Berkeley, California, USA","OriginOfName":"Nobelium is named for Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel prize.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Nobelium has no uses outside research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Nobelium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: nobelium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week \u0027Oh, how to name an element?\u0027 Especially when several groups claim its discovery. And, once named, how to say it? No\u003cu\u003ebell\u003c/u\u003eium? No\u003cu\u003ebee\u003c/u\u003elium? To clarify, here\u0027s Brian Clegg. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027d think it was pretty straightforward to decide what an element is called. But element 102 has had more than its fair share of misunderstandings and arguments. To begin with there\u0027s the matter of how to pronounce its current name - no\u003cu\u003ebell\u003c/u\u003eium (because it comes from the same root as the Nobel Prize) or no\u003cu\u003ebee\u003c/u\u003elium modelled on the way we say helium. Even the Royal Society of Chemistry\u0027s representatives had a raging discussion on this when I asked them, before plumping for nobeelium. And that\u0027s just the pronunciation - the name itself took a fair amount of sorting out. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElement 102 is one of the more stable of the short-lived artificial transfermium elements with a half life of 58 minutes for nobelium 259. But how did it get that name? Element names follow four rough patterns. Some - gold, for instance - had their names before we even knew what an element was. Others, like einsteinium, were named after a famous scientist who had a significant role to play in our understanding of atoms, while a third group are named after the place where they were discovered - take californium, for example. Finally, there are the odds and sods. The elements that don\u0027t fit anywhere else.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNobelium can be seen as one of these. Some would argue that Alfred Nobel was a famous scientist. It\u0027s true that he was technically a chemist, but I challenge anyone to come up with a scientific discovery that Nobel is famous for. Born in Stockholm in 1833, Nobel was the son of an engineer. He worked in Paris with the inventor of nitroglycerine, a highly explosive but also very unstable substance, and dedicated a number of years to finding a way to make it usable, finally, in 1867, patenting the substance that would make his fortune, dynamite.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNobel was responsible for the invention of a number of explosives and other chemical products, but was very much an industrial chemist, not the sort of person an element gets named after. The name, you might imagine, instead derives from the Nobel Prize, instituted in Nobel\u0027s will, where he declared (somewhat to the surprise of his family) that his fortune would be spent on a foundation to provide prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. But thinking nobelium got its name from the Nobel Prize would be incorrect as well. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn all fairness, it should never have been given this name. The element was first produced in 1956, at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna, then in the USSR. The discoverers named it joliotium after Irene Joliot-Curie, Pierre and Marie Curie\u0027s daughter. They seem at the time to have been totally ignored by the international community. It was only in 1997 that the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the body that polices the naming of elements, admitted that the Russian lab did first create element 102. But by then it was too late. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eJust two years after the creation of joliotium in Dubna, nobelium was made at the Heavy Ion Linear Accelerator at Berkeley, California, by bombarding curium with carbon ions. This experiment was undertaken by the team including Albert Ghiorso and Glenn T. Seaborg, who were responsible for isolating so many elements at Berkeley. Yet they didn\u0027t give the element its name. It had already been called nobelium for a year.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is because a team at the Nobel Institute of Physics in Stockholm had announced the discovery of a new element the year before in 1957. Using a cyclotron to undertake a similar reaction, they \u003cem\u003ethought\u003c/em\u003e they had produced an isotope of element 102 with a half-life of ten minutes. Not unnaturally they wanted to call the element nobelium. But their experiment could not be verified - such an isotope has never been shown to exist. So nobelium is a one-off, fitting somewhere between groups three and four. It\u0027s an element that is named after the place it was \u003cem\u003ethought\u003c/em\u003e that it was first isolated, but really it wasn\u0027t. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLike most of the short-lived artificial elements, we don\u0027t know a huge amount about nobelium, though it has been produced in a range of ten different isotopes. It\u0027s expected from its position in the table that it would be a grey or silver metal, but there has not been enough made to check this. We do know a little about its chemistry. Unlike most of the actinides, the floating bar of elements that should be squeezed between actinium and lawrencium, which tend to have stable ions with a valency of 3 - that\u0027s to say, three electrons\u0027 worth of positive charge - nobelium\u0027s most stable ions are of valency 2.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLike all the artificial transfermium elements, nobelium is neither use nor ornament. Producing it was an achievement, but it has no practical value, nor is it ever likely to gain one. Although there was initially doubt over the naming of nobelium, perhaps it is only right that the name that finally stuck is associated with the Nobel Prize. It has been suggested that Alfred Nobel, influenced by his friend the peace campaigner Bertha von Suttner, set up the Nobel Prize as an apology for the harm caused by explosives. Out of the negative arose something very positive. In the same way, the Dubna laboratory might have missed out on the initial glory but now they are recognized as discoverers and linked forever to a name that has so much more impact than joliotium could ever have managed.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo in the end, there was victory all round. That was Brian Clegg with the non-explosive chemistry of nobelium. Now, next week, an element that seems to be misunderstood.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eQuentin Cooper\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMistaken-identity history, it\u0027s miscredited discoverer, its misleading and often mis-spelled name, all add to the aura of comedy and confusion around molybdenum.....and yet it\u0027s an element that\u0027s right at the root of life - not just human life, but pretty much all life on the planet: yes you\u0027ll find tiny amounts of it in everything from the filaments of electric heaters to missiles to protective coatings in boilers, and its high performance at high temperatures mean it has a range of commercial applications.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat are those applications, you ask? Well, to find out join Quentin Cooper for next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham and thank you for listening.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Nobelium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"No","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThis element’s history is one of controversy. In 1956, a team led by Georgy Flerov at the Institute of Atomic Energy, Moscow, synthesised element 102 by bombarding plutonium with oxygen and got atoms of element 102, isotope-252. However, they did not report their success.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1957, the Nobel Institute of Physics in Stockholm announced isotope-253 which had been made by bombarding curium with carbon. Then in 1958, Albert Ghiorso at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) claimed isotope-254, also made by bombarding curium with carbon. These claims were challenged by the Russians.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1962-63, the Russian Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, based at Dubna, synthesised isotopes 252 to 256. Ghiorso still insisted his group were the first to discover element 102, and so began years of recrimination, finally ending in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists deciding in favour of the Russians being the discoverers.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":23207,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.23207.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":103,"Symbol":"Lr","Name":"Lawrencium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The element is named after Ernest Lawrence, who invented the cyclotron particle accelerator. This was designed to accelerate sub-atomic particles around a circle until they have enough energy to smash into an atom and create a new atom. This image is based on the abstract particle trails produced in a cyclotron.","NaturalAbundance":"Lawrencium does not occur naturally. It is produced by bombarding californium with boron.","BiologicalRoles":"Lawrencium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A radioactive metal of which only a few atoms have ever been created.","CASnumber":"22537-19-5","GroupID":20,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":4,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e7p\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":103,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[262]","AtomicRadius":"2.46","CovalentRadii":"1.610","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.61","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"1627","MeltingPointK":"1900","MeltingPointF":"2961","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1965","Discovery":"1965","DiscoveredBy":"Georgy Flerov and colleagues and at Dubna, near Moscow, Russia, and independently by Albert Ghiorso and colleagues at Berkeley, California, USA","OriginOfName":"Lawrencium is named after Ernest O. Lawrence the inventor of the cyclotron.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"Lawrencium has no uses outside research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Lawrencium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: lawrencium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week it\u0027s our final chemical element, and it doesn\u0027t seem to know its place. Eric Scerri.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElement 103 in the periodic table is called lawrencium. It was first synthesised in 1961 at what was then called the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, situated close to San Francisco. The synthesis was carried out by a team of scientists led by Albert Ghiorso. The element was named after Ernest Lawrence, the inventor of the cyclotron particle accelerator that was used in the synthesis of many transuranium elements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStarting in 1969 the chemical properties of lawrencium began to be explored. In the gas phase the element forms a trichloride. Studies of its aqueous phase also show that it displays trivalency. You might think that these experiments and others like it would have settled the precise position of lawrencium in the periodic table, but this has not been the case. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn recent years there has been an ongoing debate concerning the placement of lawrencium, and also element 71 or lutetium. Some periodic tables place lutetium and lawrencium one above the other, as the last of the lanthanides and the actinides respectively. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, on a significant number of more recent periodic tables you will find lutetium and lawrencium classified as transition metals and placed directly underneath scandium and yttrium in group 3 of the periodic table. How can such disagreement still persist at the end of the first decade of the 21st century? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe answer is that electronic configurations of atoms are not sufficient to settle this question, just as they do not fully settle the question of where hydrogen and helium should be placed in the periodic table, a point I will return to later. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe elements placed directly under scandium and yttrium in older periodic tables are lanthanum and actinium, but on the basis of electronic configurations lutetium and lawrencium have as much right to occupy these two places.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe trouble began when yet another element, ytterbium, the one before lutetium, was assigned a revised electronic configuration of 4f14 6s2 as its two outer most orbitals. The configuration of lutetium did not change and since it consisted of 4f14 5d1 6s2 this meant that lutetium could now be considered as the first element in the third row of the d-block, and ytterbium as the final member of the lanthanide series. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOne possible resolution comes from considering the long-form or 32 column wide periodic table, as compared with the more usual 18 element wide or medium-long form. If one tries to construct the long-form table it is lutetium and lawrencium that fall more naturally under scandium and yttrium in group 3. If one insists on placing lanthanum and actinium in group 3 the atomic number ordering becomes highly irregular. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut this fact has not convinced everyone and nor have the numerous chemical and physical similarities that exist when lutetium and lawrencium are considered as homologues of scandium and yttrium. To make matters worse, the configuration of this week\u0027s element, lawrencium, has now been revised as a result of some calculations that include quantum relativistic effects. Although it has not been possible to make even indirect observations of this configuration, the calculations strongly suggest that the most energetic electron in the atom of lawrencium is in a 7p orbital and not 6d orbital as previously believed. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe official governing body, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has so far refused to take sides on the question of which elements make up group 3. They maintain that they only preside over questions regarding the discovery of new elements and the assigning of new names to elements. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeanwhile the debate has been waged rather vigorously in the pages of the Journal of Chemical Education where several authors, including myself, have aired their opposing views. It is strange to think that even today the placement of not just one, but two elements remains in doubt. And this is not to mention the related debates in which some experts argue, rather plausibly, that hydrogen should be placed at the top of the halogen group and helium should be moved to the head of the alkaline earth metals. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eClearly the periodic table, and the elements, still hold many surprises in store for us. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo although that\u0027s it for the chemicals currently found in the periodic table, there may still be changes and additions to look out for in the future. That was UCLA scientist and author with the undecided chemistry of lawrencium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow that\u0027s it for this series of Chemistry in its element, bringing you the discovery, tales and chemistry of course of the chemical elements. But don\u0027t fear, we\u0027re back next week with a whole new series looking into the exciting and complex world of chemical compounds. So join us then to find out more. But until the new series, thank you for listening. I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Lawrencium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Lr","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThis element had a controversial history of discovery. In 1958, the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) bombarded curium with nitrogen and appeared to get element 103, isotope-257. In 1960, they bombarded californium with boron hoping to get isotope-259 but the results were inconclusive. In 1961, they bombarded curium with boron and claimed isotope-257.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1965, the Soviet Union’s Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) successfully bombarded americium with oxygen and got isotope-256. They also checked the LBL’s work, and claimed it was inaccurate. The LBL then said their product must have been isotope-258. The International Unions of Pure and Applied Chemistry awarded discovery to the LBL.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":28934,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.28934.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":104,"Symbol":"Rf","Name":"Rutherfordium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The abstract metallic symbol and background are inspired by imagery from early and modern particle accelerators.","NaturalAbundance":"Rutherfordium is a transuranium element. It is created by bombarding californium\u003csup\u003e-249\u003c/sup\u003e with carbon\u003csup\u003e-12\u003c/sup\u003e nuclei.","BiologicalRoles":"Rutherfordium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A radioactive metal that does not occur naturally. Relatively few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"53850-36-5","GroupID":4,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":104,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[267]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.570","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.57","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1964","Discovery":"1964","DiscoveredBy":"Georgy Flerov and colleagues and at Dubna, near Moscow, Russia, and independently by Albert Ghiorso and colleagues at Berkeley, California, USA","OriginOfName":"Rutherfordium is named in honour of New Zealand Chemist Ernest Rutherford, one of the first to explain the structure of atoms.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Rutherfordium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: rutherfordium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we find out how the elements beyond the actinides were discovered. Revealing the chemistry of the first transactinide rutherfordium, here\u0027s Simon Cotton. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen the last member of the actinide series, element 103 or lawrencium, was discovered, I was at school doing my A-levels, and I remember reading about it in the magazine Scientific American. The isotope found had a mass of 258 and it didn\u0027t hang about for long - having a half-life of just 3.8 seconds. This was not unexpected as half lives had been getting shorter right along the actinide series. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis discovery prompted the scientific community to start asking, are there any elements waiting to be made beyond lawrencium? And if so, where would they fit in the periodic table? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn those days, scientific competition between Russia and America was intense, and over the next few years both Russian and American nuclear scientists had a bash at element 104. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBoth of them used the nuclear equivalent of a shooting gallery. They fired nuclear bullets, the positive ions of light atoms at targets. The targets weren\u0027t moving ducks, but stationary targets of very heavy nuclei. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat they had to do was to overcome the repulsion between the positive nucleus of the target atom and the positive projectile, so that the two nuclei fused together to make the new heavier atom. And both groups took different approaches. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe Russians went first, firing neon-22 ions at a target of plutonium-242. The reaction products were immediately chlorinated, and the team claimed they had made a new element which had formed a volatile chloride, though they were not clear about which isotope they might have made, or even its half-life.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThree years later, an American team bombarded californium-249 with carbon-12 ions, and were confident they had made rutherfordium-257, identifying its alpha-decay product, an isotope of nobelium. This was confirmed by a different American team in 1973. Subsequently rutherfordium was also made in 1985 by a German team at Darmstadt, who bombarded a lead-208 target with titanium-50 ions, in other words a lighter target but a heavier projectile.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSince it wasn\u0027t clear who the true \u0027discoverer\u0027 was, both the Americans and the Russians suggested names for element 104. The Americans called it rutherfordium, after Ernest Rutherford, who pioneered the planetary model of the atom and discovered nuclear fission, whilst the Russians chose kurchatovium after Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov, a pioneering Russian nuclear physicist who led the project to make the first Russian atom bomb. After much dispute, IUPAC, the institute who officially names new elements, selected the name Rutherfordium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSeveral isotopes of rutherfordium have half-lives in the order of seconds, making chemical experiments possible before the atoms decay. Rutherfordium-261 has a half-life of just over a minute; rutherfordium-263 has a half-life of 10 minutes and rutherfordium-267 may have a half life of over an hour, but so far the experiments have to be carried out with the lighter isotopes that are easier to make, like rutherfordium-261. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause it has been around for longer and its isotopes are better known, more is known about the chemistry of rutherfordium than of any succeeding element. Working with rutherfordium requires specialist methods and knowledge, as it involves working with tiny quantities of very short-lived, radioactive atoms. This means that as soon as a new atom has been made, it has to be whipped away from the action before it decays. So new atoms of rutherfordium have to be collected as soon as they recoil from the target, and then be transported by an aerosol before being chlorinated and chromatographed before passing to a detector. It has been found that in solution, rutherfordium behaves very similarly to zirconium and hafnium, but unlike the trivalent actinides, leading chemists to concluded that rutherfordium belongs in the same group as Zr and Hf, rather than being a kind of super-actinide. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt also forms quite strong chloride complexes in solution, again resembling zirconium and hafnium rather than the actinides or Group I and II metals. Rutherfordium chloride is believed to be RfCl4. It condenses around 220°C, similar to zirconium chloride but more volatile than hafnium chloride and much more volatile than the actinide tetrachlorides. Similarly rutherfordium bromide is more volatile than hafnium bromide. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo even though it is extremely unlikely that enough of any rutherfordium compound is going to be isolated in visible quantities, we do know enough to see which family rutherfordium belongs in. That\u0027s another triumph for our understanding of the periodic table. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTriumph indeed when the half lives of the isotopes involved are a matter of seconds. That was Uppingham School\u0027s Simon Cotton with the chemistry of the first transactinide rutherfordium. Now next week an element that some may unfairly consider useless when it certainly does have its uses. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFor a long time thulium was a Cinderella substance. There was nothing you could do with thulium that couldn\u0027t be done better and cheaper with one of the other elements. It\u0027s notable that one science writer has said of thulium \u0027the most surprising thing about it is there\u0027s nothing surprising about it.\u0027 But that\u0027s a little unfair. Thulium 170 with a half life of 128 days, produced by bombarding thulium in a nuclear reactor, has proved a good portable source of X-rays. It was first suggested for this role in the 1950s and has frequently turned up since in small scale devices, such as those used in dentist\u0027s surgeries, but also find it cropping up in engineering, where the X-rays can be used to hunt for cracks in components. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd join Brian Clegg to find out how this rare earth element was discovered and why it\u0027s considered more valuable than platinum in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Rutherfordium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Rf","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1964, a team led by Georgy Flerov at the Russian Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, bombarded plutonium with neon and produced element 104, isotope 259. They confirmed their findings in 1966.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1969, a team led by Albert Ghiorso at the Californian Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) made three successful attempts to produce element 104: by bombarding curium with oxygen to get isotope-260, californium with carbon to get isotope-257, and californium with carbon to get isotope-258.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA dispute over priority of discovery followed and eventually, in 1992, the International Unions of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) concluded that both the Russian and American researchers had been justified in making their claims. IUPAC decided element 104 would be called rutherfordium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":11201447,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.11201447.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":105,"Symbol":"Db","Name":"Dubnium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image features a stylised Cyrillic character version of ‘Dubna’, the Russian town after which the element is named. It is set against an abstracted ‘fractal particle’ background.","NaturalAbundance":"Dubnium does not occur naturally. It is a transuranium element created by bombarding californium-249 with nitrogen-15 nuclei.","BiologicalRoles":"Dubnium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"53850-35-4","GroupID":5,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":105,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[268]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.490","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.49","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1968","Discovery":"1968-1970","DiscoveredBy":"Scientists at both Berkeley, California, USA, and Dubna, near Moscow, Russia","OriginOfName":"Dubnium is named for the Russian town Dubna.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Dubnium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: dubnium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week: warfare, as the US and Russia fight to find new elements. Simon Cotton:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the days of the Cold War, America and Russia rivalled each other in all sorts of ways. Never mind thermonuclear bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles to deliver them, they competed in putting men and women into space; who could win the most medals in the Olympic Games; and in making new chemical elements. In the case of element 105, the controversy went on for nearly 30 years and was part of the so-called \u0027Transfermium Wars\u0027, when no blood was spilt but a great deal of ink was.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the Red corner, the Soviet team at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna, near Moscow, led by Georgy Flerov. In the Blue corner, the American team at the University of California at Berkeley, led by Albert Ghiorso.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1968, the Soviet team bombarded an americium-243 target with neon-22 and claimed to have made isotopes of mass 260 or 261 of element 105. First round to Russia. Two years later, the Berkeley group reported bombarding californium 249 with nitrogen-15, and claimed they had made an isotope of element 105 of mass 260 with a half life of around 1.5 seconds. They showed its alpha-decay product was element 103, lawrencium. They gave it the name hahnium, after Otto Hahn, who received the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear fission. Lise Meitner, a collaborator of Hahn, who had predicted fission, did not get even a mention from the Nobel committee, but more on this later. Also in 1970, the Russians reported more results, with more convincing data. They named it nielsbohrium, after the Danish physicist who was awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize for Physics for his researches on atomic structure and radiation.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs time went on, studies from both laboratories continued, and evidence mounted that element 105 resembled niobium and tantalum, being a member of a 6d transition series. In 1986, the Transfermium Working Group was set up to determine firstly, the criteria that must be satisfied for the discovery of a new chemical element to be recognised and secondly to apply these criteria to the discovery of the transfermium elements. For the time being, in view of the conflicting claims, they kicked for touch and proposed a temporary name of unnilpentium (symbol Unp) while they decided who had synthesised and characterised this element. In 1994, they suggested the name joliotium (Jl), after the French physicist Frederic Joliot-Curie, but this did not find acceptance. Finally in 1997, the working group recognised that both Berkeley and Dubna had made \u0027significant contributions\u0027 to the discovery of elements 104 and 105, and said that since the Berkeley contributions were recognised in the names of elements 104 and 106 (rutherfordium and seaborgium), element 105 should be given the name dubnium, symbol Db, after the town the Russian scientists came from.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAlthough only a few atoms have ever been made, we know a bit about the chemistry of dubnium. We think that its aqua ion adopts the +5 oxidation state, as the dubnium aqua ion is adsorbed onto glass from solution, just like niobium and tantalum above it in Group 5 - but unlike +3 and +4 ions of lanthanide and actinide metals. Attempts to form fluoride complexes in solution suggest that Db resembles niobium more than tantalum. Chemists have also made some chlorides and bromides, though they may possibly have been studying oxyhalides.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElement 105 has had five names in total, being reinvented almost as often as Madonna. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI mentioned earlier that the American team called it hahnium until 1997; well, now it has been rejected, this name can never be used for the name of an element, whereas in 1997 meitnerium was adopted as the name for element 109. That\u0027s right, Otto Hahn got a Nobel prize but no element named after him, whereas Lise Meitner, his co-worker, got no Nobel prize, but an element named after her. In the words that William Shakespeare puts into the mouth of a clown in Twelfth Night \u0027the whirligig of time brings in his revenges\u0027.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo all is fair in the world of chemistry, kind of. That was Uppingham School\u0027s Simon Cotton bringing us the competitive discovery of dubnium. Now, staying with the transactinides, and the much deserved recognition of Lise Meitner; next week, we discover the chemistry of meitnerium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNik Kaltsoyannis \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeitnerium and the other transactinide elements do not exist in ature. They are all man made and have been synthesised in only fantastically small quantities, by combining the atoms of two lighter elements. They are all highly radioactive, with very short half lives, severely limiting the practical chemistry that can be performed on them. Indeed, entirely new experimental techniques, collectively known as \"atom at a time\" methods, have been developed to study these elements. In these experiments we are not working with moles of atoms, or even recognisable fractions of moles, but literally with single atoms.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingham\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out how these techniques can be performed with such precision, join UCL\u0027s Nik Kaltsoyannis in next week\u0027s chemistry in its element\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e Until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingham and thank you for listening!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Dubnium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Db","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1968, a team led by Georgy Flerov at the Russian Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) bombarded americium with neon and made an isotope of element 105. In 1970, a team led by Albert Ghiorso at the American Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) bombarded californium with neon and obtained isotope 261. They disputed the claim of the JINR people. The two groups gave it different names. The Russians called it neilsbohrium, while the Americans called it hahnium, both being derived from the names of prominent nuclear scientists.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEventually, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) decided it should be called dubnium.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":106,"Symbol":"Sg","Name":"Seaborgium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The icon is an abstracted atomic symbol. The background is inspired by imagery from early and modern particle accelerators.","NaturalAbundance":"Seaborgium is a transuranium element. It is created by bombarding californium\u003csup\u003e-249\u003c/sup\u003e with oxygen\u003csup\u003e-18\u003c/sup\u003e nuclei.","BiologicalRoles":"Seaborgium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A radioactive metal that does not occur naturally. Only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54038-81-2","GroupID":6,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":106,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[269]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.430","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.43","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1974","Discovery":"1974","DiscoveredBy":"Albert Ghiorso and colleagues","OriginOfName":"Seaborgium is named for Glenn T. Seaborg, who was instrumental in producing several transuranium elements.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Seaborgium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: seaborgium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cb\u003eChris Smith \u003c/b\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHello, this week we\u0027re meeting a chemical that you won\u0027t find much of because at the most scientists have only ever managed to make just a handful of its atoms. It\u0027s named after the man who discovered plutonium and with it the fact that by crashing atoms into one another we can make entirely new elements. But this week\u0027s element is a controversial chemical and to explain why here\u0027s Phil Ball:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhil Ball \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSeveral elements are named after people. Many of the pioneers of nuclear physics and chemistry feature in the list of heavy, radioactive elements discovered since the mid-twentieth century: Ernest Rutherford, Marie Curie, Enrico Fermi, Niels Bohr. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut only two elements have been named after living people. One is element 99, einsteinium. The other is element 106, called seaborgium in honour of the American chemist Glenn Seaborg. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSeaborg\u0027s career spans from the age when scientists were only just beginning to understand what atoms are made of, to the quarks and gluons, superstrings and supercolliders of today. He was one of the select band of scientists who first glimpsed the awesome energies that lurked inside the atomic nucleus, which could be released slowly and controllably to power entire cities, or quickly to destroy them. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen Seaborg began his scientific career at the University of California at Berkeley in 1930s, the periodic table of elements was thought to stop at element 92, uranium. Scientists had discovered that elements could be transmuted in a kind of modern alchemy by firing subatomic particles at them in particle accelerators. Some particles might stick; others might break the nucleus into fragments. Either way, the number of protons in the target nucleus could change, making it a different element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEnrico Fermi was the first to realise that this could offer a way to make new elements heavier than uranium. Such an element, neptunium or element 93, was identified in 1940, and in that same year Seaborg was one of a team at Berkeley that created the next in line: plutonium, element 94. The challenge was to separate the tiny quantities of these new, artificial elements from the rest of the debris, and Seaborg pioneered chemical methods for doing this. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1944 Seaborg and his colleagues added elements 95 and 96 to the list, and, after the Second World War, elements 97 and 98. It began to seem that there was no end to the new elements one could make in atom-crashing experiments. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut Seaborg wanted to know what they were like chemically. To judge from where they seemed to sit in the periodic table, the elements after number 89, actinium, should behave like transition metals. But Seaborg found that they didn\u0027t really do that, and in 1945 he suggested that they formed an entirely new series which he called the actinides. Several of his colleagues were scepticial, but he was right. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSeaborg\u0027s skill in developing essential chemical separation methods for these super-heavy human-made elements, along with the chemical intuition that allowed him to rewrite the Periodic Table, made him an obvious candidate for honouring with the name of a new element. That opportunity came when the Berkeley radiochemists established their priority to element 106. They had made it back in 1974 by firing oxygen ions at element 98, californium. But a Russian team claimed to have made it earlier that same year. It was not until 1993 that the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) decided that the Berkeley claim was stronger. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd so they got to name element 106, and proposed to call it seaborgium. But you can\u0027t do that, IUPAC said, because it is simply not done to name elements after living people. Don\u0027t be absurd, replied the American Chemical Society, which insisted that as far as it was concerned, element 106 was now seaborgium. In the face of such determination, IUPAC was forced to relent, and seaborgium went into Periodic Tables on the walls of chemistry labs worldwide. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd what\u0027s it like? In a marvellous experiment in 1997, an international team did Seaborg\u0027s legacy proud by finding out what kind of chemical compounds seaborgium forms. The two isotopes they studied decay radioactively with a half-life of no more than half a minute. And the nuclear collisions used to make them created only about one atom per hour. Yet, with just seven fleeting atoms of seaborgium to work with, the researchers figured out that it is a metal comparable to molybdenum and tungsten. In such virtuoso experiments we can see the Periodic Table continuing to exert its pattern even among the elements that nature never glimpsed. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePhil Ball on seaborgium, the cheeky element that broke with tradition and dared to call itself after someone that wasn\u0027t dead. Next week we\u0027ll be finding out why a balloon bobbing on a string can reduce a chemist to tears. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePete Wothers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe are all familiar with the lighter-than-air gas helium, but whenever I see a balloon floating on a string, I feel a little sad. It\u0027s not because I\u0027m a miserable old so-and-so - it\u0027s just because, unlike the happy child on the other end of the string, I am aware of the valuable resource that\u0027s about to be lost forever. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Smith\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd Peter Wothers will be bringing us down to earth with the story of helium, next time. I do hope you can join us. I\u0027m Chris Smith, thank you for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Seaborgium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Sg","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1970, a team led by Albert Ghiorso at the Californian Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) bombarded californium with oxygen and was successful in producing element 106, isotope 263. In 1974, a team led by Georgy Flerov and Yuri Oganessian at the Russian Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) bombarded lead with chromium and obtained isotopes 259 and 260.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn September 1974, a team led by Ghiorso at LBNL produced isotope 263, with a half-life of 0.8 seconds, by bombarding californium with oxygen. Several atoms of seaborgium have since been made by this method which produces one seaborgium atom per hour.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":107,"Symbol":"Bh","Name":"Bohrium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The abstracted symbol and patterns are based on the, now iconic, atomic model proposed by Niels Bohr in 1913.","NaturalAbundance":"Bohrium does not occur naturally and only a few atoms have ever been made. It will probably never be isolated in observable quantities. It was created by the so-called ‘cold fusion’ method. This involved the bombardment of bismuth with atoms of chromium.","BiologicalRoles":"Bohrium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"Bohrium is a highly radioactive metal.","CASnumber":"54037-14-8","GroupID":7,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":107,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[270]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.410","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.41","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1981","Discovery":"1981","DiscoveredBy":"Peter Armbruster, Gottfried Münzenberg and colleagues","OriginOfName":"Bohrium is named for the Danish atomic physicist Niels Bohr","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, bohrium is of research interest only.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Bohrium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: bohrium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we are fusing nuclei. Erric Scerri.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA total of 25 transuranium elements have now been artificially synthesised, starting with neptunium element 93 and ending with the as yet unnamed element 118. This includes the most recently announced element of all, element 117 that was synthesised in April 2010. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis podcast is about one of these elements, number 107 in the periodic table, called bohrium. Transuranium elements are essentially made by slamming atoms of different elements into each other at very high speeds in the hope that such collisions will allow nuclei to fuse together to form atoms of a new element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe few atoms that ever form in this way are very unstable and typically decay with half-lives of seconds or fractions of a second. Lay persons often wonder why such experiments are important since practical applications of the elements that are man-made are generally out of the question. The answer is that the experiments are of scientific importance since they allow one to verify theoretical predictions. Element 107 has had a special role to play in this respect and I will return to this in a moment. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBohrium is also special in another respect, as the first element to be synthesised by a cold - rather than hot - fusion process between two nuclei. The idea is to make two nuclei collide at low excitation energies and consequently to capitalise on the reduced tendency of such combined atoms to disintegrate. Incidentally, this kind of cold fusion has no connection to the alleged cold-fusion that was announced in 1989 by Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons who reported that they had produced fusion in a tabletop experiment using heavy water.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe successful cold fusion synthesis of bohrium was first achieved in 1981 in Darmstadt, Germany, by the fusion of bismuth-209 with chromium-24 to form bohrium-262 with a half life of about 85 milliseconds. Since then many other isotopes of bohrium have been produced, including the longest lived isotope so far bohrium-270, with a half life of 61 seconds. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe element\u0027s discoverers wanted to call it nielsbohrium after the great 20th century Danish physicist. But Iupac, the official body that governs the naming of elements, ruled against this name on the grounds that no element had ever been given the full name of a scientist. Instead they proposed bohrium, which became the officially recognised name in 1997. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn the periodic table bohrium lies below chromium, technetium and rhenium in group 6. However, the application of the theory of relativity to calculations involving very heavy atoms like bohrium leads to predictions of anomalous behaviour which suggests that they do not behave as typical members of the groups that they lie in. For example, the discovery of elements 104 and 105, rutherfordium and dubnium respectively, and chemical experiments conducted on them, strongly suggested that relativistic effects were causing these elements to behave in anomalous ways and not as expected according to their places in the periodic table. It began to look as if the periodic law, of which the periodic table is a graphic representation, had met its match. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt was only when the chemistry of elements 106 and 107, or seaborgium and bohrium respectively, were examined that it became clear that the periodic law was not being over-turned by relativistic effects. Quantitative experiments on the properties of the oxychloride of bohrium, in particular, showed that the element was behaving almost exactly that one would have predicted from its position below technetium and rhenium in the periodic table. In fact an article describing the chemistry of bohrium that appeared in the journal \u003cem\u003eNature\u003c/em\u003e with the title \u0027Boring bohrium\u0027, referring to the fact that bohrium was behaving as expected and not showing the exotic signs of relativistic effects. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt is quite remarkable that the periodic law that was discovered over 140 years ago has not been overturned by quantum mechanics or by the theory of relativity which date from more recent times and which one might suppose to have penetrated into the secrets of nature to a greater degree. Or perhaps it is just that the phenomenon of chemical periodicity as embodied by the periodic table represents a completely universal and fundamental principle of nature. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo the impressive accuracy of chemical periodicity. That was UCLA scientist and author Eric Scerri with the lawful chemistry of bohrium. Now next week we flash back to a memorable decade. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnna Lewcock\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDo you remember the 80s? The leg warmers, the big hair, the shoulder pads? Many fashion crimes were committed and statements made as a generation fought to carve out its identity.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLooking back on those photos a couple of decades down the line, some might wish they hadn\u0027t fought so hard. But it\u0027s not just rebellious teenagers or disillusioned 40-somethings that suffer identity crises - elements can too.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to discover the crises that face the element hassium join the RSC\u0027s Anna Lewcock in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then thank you for listening, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Bohrium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Bh","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1975 a team led by Yuri Oganessian at the Russian Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, bombarded bismuth with chromium and produced element 107, isotope-261. They published the results of their successful run in 1976 and submitted a discovery claim.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1981, a team led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg at the German nuclear research institute the Geselleschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) bombarded bismuth with chromium and they succeeded in making a single atom of isotope 262. Now followed a period of negotiation to establish who discovered elements 107 first and thereby had the right to name it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) said that the GSI should be awarded the discovery because they had the more credible submission, but that the JINR were probably the first to make it.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":108,"Symbol":"Hs","Name":"Hassium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image is inspired by the coat of arms for the German state of Hesse, which gives the element its name.","NaturalAbundance":"Hassium does not occur naturally and it will probably never be isolated in observable quantities. It is created by bombarding lead with iron atoms","BiologicalRoles":"Hassium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54037-57-9","GroupID":8,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":108,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[269]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.340","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.34","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1984","Discovery":"1984","DiscoveredBy":"Peter Armbruster, Gottfried Münzenberg","OriginOfName":"The name is derived from the German state of Hesse where Hassium was first made.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Hassium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: hassium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003cem\u003eChemistry World\u003c/em\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we are going back in time to resolve an identity crisis. Here\u0027s Anna Lewcock.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnna Lewcock\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDo you remember the 80s? The leg warmers, the big hair, the shoulder pads? Many fashion crimes were committed and statements made as a generation fought to carve out its identity.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eLooking back on those photos a couple of decades down the line, some might wish they hadn\u0027t fought so hard. But it\u0027s not just rebellious teenagers or disillusioned 40-somethings that suffer identity crises - elements can too.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1984, alongside the introduction of the first Apple Mac computers, GCSEs and the discovery of the Aids virus, a team of researchers in Germany managed to synthesise element 108 for the very first time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElement 108, today known as hassium, is one of the transactinides and it\u0027s most stable isotope - hassium-277 - has a half life of around 12 minutes. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBy bombarding lead with iron ions in a linear accelerator, a team lead by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenber at the Heavy Ion Research Laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany, managed to make three atoms of hassium-265, an isotope with the princely half-life of about 2 milliseconds. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere are only a handful of research centres that have the appropriate equipment to make these superheavy elements, and on occasion more than one institution would claim to be the first to have made an element, and therefore claim the right to name it. Unfortunately, this caused a fair amount of arguing and confusion when several elements ended up with more than one name.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePerhaps most controversial were the American suggestion for element 106 - seaborgium - which was initially objected to on the grounds that Glenn Seaborg, the Nobel prize-winning chemist the element was to be named after, was still alive (which is against the rules according to element naming guidelines) - and then there was the Russian proposal of kurchatovium for element 104, named after nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov, who led the Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo deal with this, Iupac, the international body responsible for naming elements, decided that elements from atomic number 104 onwards would have temporary names to act as place holders while the wrangling over the official names was sorted out.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThese temporary names were based on the Latin for the relevant atomic number - so unnilquandium for 104, unnilpentium for 105 and so on. Element 108 was therefore known as unniloctium. The element\u0027s German discoverers wanted the new element to be called hassium, after the Latin name for the German state of Hesse, where their research centre was based.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHowever, after much talk, Iupac in 1994 decided to call element 108 Hahnium, after Nobel-prize winning chemist Otto Hahn. Hahnium had in fact been the American suggestion for element 105 (now known as dubnium - which had itself been a previous suggestion for element 104). I told you it got messy.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut, by 1997 Iupac had changed its mind again, finally deciding to go with hassium for element 108 around the time of the discovery\u0027s 13th anniversary. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs we tipped over into the 21st century the first measurements of hassium\u0027s chemical properties were finally reported. By this time the discovery was approaching its 18\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e birthday, and as an unstable element that reinvented itself in next to no time, it proved just as hard to characterise as any teenager.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAny lingering hard feelings over the naming process were put to one side as an international team of researchers from across the globe (including scientists from Russia, Germany and the US) came together to try and figure out what hassium was all about. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBy bombarding curium-248 with energetic magnesium-26 ions, the team formed seven hassium atoms, generated as \u003csup\u003e269\u003c/sup\u003eHs and \u003csup\u003e270\u003c/sup\u003eHs. These two isotopes have half lives of around 10 seconds and 4 seconds respectively - long enough for the researchers to get a good look at some of its chemical properties.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTheoretical calculations suggested that hassium should have similar chemical properties to the group 8 elements such as osmium and ruthenium, for example quickly reacting with oxygen to form hassium tetroxide. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen the researchers tested this theory with their seven atoms, they found that they did indeed immediately oxidise to form seven molecules of hassium tetroxide, providing strong evidence that the element has similar properties to osmium, and cementing its position in the periodic table.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo it turns out hassium doesn\u0027t have an identity crisis after all - it knew where it would fit all along.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo elements, like people, like to fit in as well. And hassium it seems has a firm place in the periodic table. That was \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e\u0027s Anna Lewcock with the reassuring chemistry of hassium. Now next week, an element whose placing is still in question.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric Scerri\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eStarting in 1969 the chemical properties of lawrencium began to be explored. In the gas phase the element forms a tri-chloride. Studies of its aqueous phase also show that it displays tri-valency. You might think that these experiments and others like it would have settled the precise position of lawrencium in the periodic table but this has not been the case.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out how the positioning of lawrencium was decided and whether it stayed that way, join UCLA scientist and author Eric Scerri for the last of our chemical elements. But not to worry, after the elements we\u0027ll be bringing you the exciting chemistry of compounds in a brand new series of Chemistry in its element. But until next week\u0027s finale, thank you for listening, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Hassium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Hs","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThere are 15 known isotopes of hassium with mass numbers 263 to 277, with isotope-276 having the longest half-life of 1.1 hour. The first attempt to synthesize element 108 took place in 1978 at Russia’s Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, where a team headed by Yuri Oganessian and Vladimir Utyonkov bombarded radium with calcium and got isotope 270. In 1983, they obtained other isotopes: by bombarding bismuth with manganese they got isotope 263, by bombarding californium with neon they got isotope 270, and by bombarding lead with iron they got isotope 264.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1984, at Germany’s Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, a team headed by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg bombarded lead with iron and synthesised isotope 265. Their data which was considered more reliable than that from JINR and so they were allowed to name the element which they did, basing it on Hesse, the state in which the GSI is located.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":109,"Symbol":"Mt","Name":"Meitnerium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"This abstract image is inspired by magnified images of atomic particles.","NaturalAbundance":"Fewer than 10 atoms of meitnerium have ever been made, and it will probably never be isolated in observable quantities. It is made by bombarding bismuth with iron atoms.","BiologicalRoles":"Meitnerium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54038-01-6","GroupID":9,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":109,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[278]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.290","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.29","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1982","Discovery":"1982","DiscoveredBy":"Peter Armbruster, Gottfried Münzenberg and colleagues","OriginOfName":"Meitnerium is named for the Austrian physicist Lise Meitner.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Meitnerium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: meitnerium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e (Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week an element not found in nature, but that\u0027s created atom by atom. And named after a well respected scientist. Here\u0027s Nik Kaltsoyannis. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNik Kaltsoyannis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eA flick through older chemistry textbooks, and even a quick look in some university chemistry lecture theatres, reveals a periodic table with only three rows of transition elements. These periodic tables typically stop at element 103 - lawrencium - which is the final element in the actinide, or 5f series. Toward the end of the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e century, however, the extension of the periodic table beyond lawrencium, which had been well under way since the 1970s, was increasingly well recognised in the chemical community, and modern periodic tables feature a new row of elements situated in their rightful place at the foot of the transition metals. These transactinide, or 6d elements, begin with element 104, rutherfordium, which lives in group 4 under hafnium, and extend to element 112, very recently named copernicum, situated below mercury. Meitnerium, the topic of this podcast, with the symbol Mt and atomic number 109, sits in the middle of this band in group 9 underneath cobalt, rhodium and iridium. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeitnerium and the other transactinide elements do not exist in Nature. They are all man-made and have been synthesised in only fantastically small quantities, by combining the atoms of two lighter elements. They are all highly radioactive, with very short half-lives, severely limiting the practical chemistry that can be performed on them. Indeed, entirely new experimental techniques, collectively known as \"atom-at-a-time\" methods, have been developed to study these elements. In these experiments we are not working with moles of atoms, or even recognisable fractions of moles, but literally with single atoms. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeitnerium was named after the Austrian physicist Lise Meitner, born in Vienna in 1878. She managed, in very difficult circumstances, to graduate in physics with the equivalent of a PhD and in 1907 moved to the Kaiser Willhelm Institute in Berlin, to begin researching in the new field of radiochemistry. It was there that she met chemist Otto Hahn, with whom she had a long and productive scientific collaboration. In the 1930s, they worked together on irradiating uranium with neutrons, but before they were able to complete their studies the rise of Nazism forced Meitner, a Jew, to flee Germany in 1938. She moved to Stockholm and continued to communicate with Hahn frequently by letter. They were puzzled by the observation that barium was produced upon irradiation of uranium with neutrons, and it was not until Christmas of 1938 that Meitner, whilst walking with her nephew Otto Frisch, realised what was happening. The neutrons were causing the uranium nuclei to split, generating barium, an element with atoms a little over half the size of those of uranium. Meitner and Frisch predicted that krypton must be the other product of this fission reaction, and soon afterwards Frisch, upon returning to Copenhagen, verified this prediction. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeitner spent the second world war in Sweden. It was an unhappy time for her, as there was little local interest in nuclear physics, and she clashed with her host, the Nobel prize winner Manne Siegbahn. She was horrified to learn of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the terrifying culmination of her discovery of nuclear fission. Shortly afterwards she received a different type of shock, when she heard that the 1944 Nobel prize for chemistry had been awarded solely to her long term collaborator Hahn. There is little doubt that her disagreements with host Siegbahn, together with her sex and religion, counted against her in the eyes of the committee. Although Hahn privately acknowledged her contribution by giving her half of the Nobel prize money, he refused to do so publicly, a further source of pain to her. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRecognition did eventually come to Meitner, including the 1946 US \"Woman of the Year\" award, and the prestigious Enrico Fermi award from the US atomic energy commission in 1966. She died in 1968, and is buried in Hampshire, for she spent her final years in England, to be near her nephew Frisch in Cambridge. In 1997 her scientific contributions were immortalised with the official adoption of the name meitnerium for element 109. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMeitnerium was first discovered in 1982 in Darmstadt, in what was then West Germany. A single atom was made by bombarding a target of bismuth with accelerated nuclei of iron, to make the isotope meitnerium-266, which has 157 neutrons in its nucleus, together with the 109 protons which define the element. No chemical experiments have ever been performed on meitnerium, because a sufficiently stable isotope has yet to be made. Meitnerium-266 has a half-life of just 1.7 milliseconds, and even the most stable known isotope, meitnerium-276, has a half-life of less than 1 second. Theoretical predictions tell us that meitnerium-271, which could be produced by reaction of uranium with chlorine, or berkelium with magnesium, may well have a sufficiently long half-life so as to allow atom-at-a-time chemistry to be performed, but meitnerium-271 has yet to be made. There is little doubt, however, that given the skill and ingenuity of the atom-at-a-time scientists, meitnerium will gain a chemistry, and that these achievements will be a fitting tribute to the remarkable woman who\u0027s name the element bears. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd a much deserved tribute indeed. That was University College London\u0027s Nik Kaltsoyannis with the unstable chemistry of meitnerium. Now in contrast, next week we have an element with some very long lived isotopes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSamarium has several isotopes, four of which are stable and several of which are unstable. The half-lives of many of these are very short - on the order of a few seconds, but three - samarium-147, samarium-148 and samarium-149 have extremely long half-lives. Samarium-147 has a staggeringly long half-life - 1.76 x 10\u003csup\u003e11 \u003c/sup\u003e years, or in real money 106 billion years. Even by geological standards this gigantic figure is incomprehensible, especially if we remember that the earth itself is only a little under 14 billion years old.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd join science writer Richard Corfield to find out the uses of the long-lived isotopes of samarium as well as its shorter term ones in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam from thenakedscientist dot com, thanks for listening and goodbye. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Meitnerium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Mt","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"There are 7 isotopes of meitnerium with mass numbers in the range 266 to 279. The longest lived is isotope 278 with a half-life of 8 seconds. Meitnerium was first made in 1982 at the German nuclear research facility, the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI), by a group headed by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg. They bombarded a target of bismuth with accelerated iron ions. After a week, a single atom of element 109, isotope 266, was detected. This underwent radioactive decay after 5 milliseconds.","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":110,"Symbol":"Ds","Name":"Darmstadtium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Darmstadtium is highly radioactive, so the image is based on an abstracted atomic model and trails of sub-atomic particles.","NaturalAbundance":"A man-made element of which only a few atoms have ever been created. It that is formed by fusing nickel and lead atoms in a heavy ion accelerator.","BiologicalRoles":"Darmstadtium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54083-77-1","GroupID":10,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":110,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[281]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.280","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.28","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1994","Discovery":"1994","DiscoveredBy":"\u003cdiv\u003eSigurd Hofmann, Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg\u003c/div\u003e","OriginOfName":"Darmstadtium is named after Darmstadt, Germany, where the element was first produced.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Darmstadtium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: darmstadtium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week, an element that brings fleeting moments of wonder. Here\u0027s Brian Clegg.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI\u0027ve a coffee cup on my desk, a Christmas present from my niece, inscribed with the periodic table. There, at element 110 beneath platinum, is the clumsy and practically unpronounceable ununnilium - just a fancy way of saying \u0027one one oh - ium\u0027. A range of artificial elements were originally given placeholder names like this back in 1979 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the body that controls the naming of chemical elements.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOften this was because there was a dispute over just who had discovered the element and got the honour of naming it, but now, I\u0027m glad to say, element 110 has a more manageable name, darmstadtium and my mug is out of date.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is one of the transfermium elements, the discontinuous block above element 100 that takes in a couple of the actinides and the row that continues after the actinides with lawrencium. If there is one thing that typifies darmstadtium it\u0027s that it is an element of speed. The first isotope discovered, darmstadtium 269, has a minuscule half life of just 270 microseconds. Before you can cry out in triumph \u0027We\u0027ve made darmstadtium!\u0027 it is long gone.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis brevity contributed to the disputes over who first made element 110. It was claimed by both the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia in 1987 and by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in 1991, but there was considerable doubt about both claims. Darmstadtium was to get its name after the location of the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung, roughly translating as the \u0027centre for heavy ion research\u0027. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUsually contracted to the more easily pronounced GSI, and part of the impressively named German government group of establishments the Hermann von Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren, the GSI is located at Darmstadt in Germany. The alternative name of wixhausium was briefly considered for the element, after Wixhausen, the part of Darmstadt where the institute is located, but darmstadtium was considered to have a better ring to it.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1994, at the GSI, an international team slammed high energy nickel ions into a lead target. The group, led by Sigurd Hofmann, included German physicists Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg, a pair who between them have brought six of the transfermium elements into existence. Despite throwing in 3 trillion ions per second, just 3 atoms of darmstadtium 269 were produced, decaying to hassium, seaborgium and rutherfordium in the blink of an eye.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo date, a handful of other isotopes have been made, all blinking out of existence before there\u0027s a chance to investigate their properties. There is some dispute over just what the half-lives are, but the longest is probably darmstadtium 281 at 11 seconds. The expectation, if we could study a piece of darmstadtium is that this would be a silvery metal, not unlike platinum in behaviour - but short of slowing down time, no one is going to get a chance to see.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s worth taking a closer look at just how darmstadtium was brought into being. Like all the elements heavier than uranium, it does not exist at all in nature. Up to around the element 100 mark, the heavier elements can be produced by pumping in neutrons, which undergo beta decay, giving off an electron, to add extra protons to the nucleus. But for heavier atoms still, like darmstadtium, it is necessary to slam particles like the nickel ions used here into a nucleus at velocities around 10 per cent of the speed of light, giving them enough energy to overcome the powerful electromagnetic repulsion of the nucleus, and allowing fusion to take place.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe nickel ions were accelerated by UNILAC, short for \u0027universal linear accelerator\u0027 a 120 metre long straight acceleration chamber at the GSI where a series of powerful electromagnets blast charged particles along at higher and higher speeds. The vast majority of collisions fail, but just occasionally the nuclei fuse, typically losing a small number of neutrons and settle down to a short-lived new element. In the case of darmstadtium, the nucleus soon emits alpha particles - helium nuclei consisting of two protons and two neutrons bound together - which transforms the darmstadtium into its longer-lived decay products.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWith so many trillions of particles being shot down the accelerator, it is a difficult task to separate the very few products where fusion has taken place. This is the job of a second piece of technology called SHIP, the Separator for Heavy Ion reactor Products. SHIP acts as a filter - by balancing electric and magnetic fields very precisely, only the particular heavy reaction products, in our case, darmstadtium, that are selected for get through without being deflected out of the way.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRather confusingly, despite its short-lived nature, you may find yourself taking a visit to Darmstadtium or even holding a meeting there. This is because the town of Darmstadt took the name from the element for its science and meetings building - in essence a convention centre - opened in 2008.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf elements were insects, darmstadtium would be the mayfly of the chemical world. It exists for the most fleeting time before it transforms to something else. Darmstadium is never going to have a practical use - but its sheer brevity of existence gives it a wistful fascination.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo its lack of application is made up for by the wistful wonder of its chemistry. That was science writer, Brian Clegg, with the fast paced chemistry of darmstadium.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow next week, we get minty fresh.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLars Ohrstrom\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf you chew gum, you will most likely encounter another result of rhodium catalysis, menthol. Originally extracted from different species of mint plants, the demand for this substance, with its characteristic minty scent, far exceeds the natural sources and it is now produced in several thousand tonnes a year in the process devised by Japanese Nobel Prize winner Ryoji Noyori.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd for other uses of the rare element, rhodium, join Lars Ohrstrom in next weeks Chemistry in its element and until then, I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Darmstadtium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ds","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThere are 15 known isotopes of darmstadtium, isotopes 267-281, and the heaviest is the longest-lived, with a half-life of 4 minutes.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere were several attempts to make element 110 at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) at Dubna in Russia, and at the German Geselleschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) at Darmstadt, but all were unsuccessful. Then Albert Ghiorso and his team at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), California, obtained isotope 267 by bombarding bismuth with cobalt, but they could not confirm their findings.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn 1994, a team headed by Yuri Oganessian and Vladimir Utyonkov at the JINR made isotope-273 by bombarding plutonium with sulfur. The same year, a team headed by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Munzenberg at the GSI bombarded lead with nickel and synthesised isotope 269. The latter group’s evidence was deemed more reliable and confirmed by others around the world, so they were allowed to name element 110.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":111,"Symbol":"Rg","Name":"Roentgenium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Roentgenium is named after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the discoverer of x-rays. The image is based on an early x-ray tube. The background design is inspired by x-ray astronomy and particle accelerators.","NaturalAbundance":"A man-made element of which only a few atoms have ever been created. It is made by fusing nickel and bismuth atoms in a heavy ion accelerator.","BiologicalRoles":"Roentgenium has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54386-24-2","GroupID":11,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":111,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[280]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.210","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.21","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1994","Discovery":"1994","DiscoveredBy":"Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg","OriginOfName":"The name roentgenium (Rg) was proposed by the GSI team in honour of the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, and was accepted as a permanent name on November 1, 2004","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Roentgenium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: roentgenium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week an element that needs just the right conditions in order to get a successful collision. Here\u0027s Simon Cotton:\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI used to be able to go into my chemistry lab, look the pupils in the eye, and say \u0027U-U-U\u0027. And they would say \u0027What have I done, Sir?\u0027 \u0027You\u0027ve done nothing wrong\u0027 I would reply, \u0027I am talking about Element 111, unununium, symbol Uuu\u0027. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo I was a bit sad when in 2004 a joint working party of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and International Union of Pure and Applied Physics recommended that the name of element 111 be changed to roentgenium, symbol Rg. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRoentgenium was in fact discovered 10 years earlier on December 8, 1994, by a team of 13 nuclear physicists working at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung at Darmstadt in Germany carried out an experiment, bombarding a target of 209Bi with 64Ni ions. The idea was to make the nickel ions penetrate the bismuth nucleus, so that the two nuclei would fuse together, making a bigger atom. The energy of the collision had to be carefully controlled, because if the nickel ions were not going fast enough, they could not overcome the repulsion between the two positive nuclei, would just fly off the bismuth on contact. However, if the nickel ions had too much energy, the resulting \u0027compound nucleus\u0027 would have so much excess energy that it could undergo fission and just fall apart. The trick was, like Goldilocks\u0027 porridge, to be \u0027just right\u0027, so that the fusion of the nuclei would occur, just. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSuccessful collisions would not occur very often, as most of an atom is empty space. The scientists were however able to observe three successful collisions, forming atoms of atomic number 111 and mass 272. They were very short-lived, with a half-life of around 1 ½ milliseconds. The new atoms were identified by following what happened to them when they decayed - they underwent alpha decay successively forming atoms of elements 109, 107, 105 and 103. In further experiments carried out in 2000, the team carried out more bombardments and observed another three more atoms of element 111. This time they followed the decay chains even further, right down to mendelevium-252, element 101. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe discovery of this new element was first announced in a paper published early in 1995. It was given a temporary name of unununium, derived from its atomic number, and the symbol Uuu. No permanent name was assigned to element 111, as independent confimation of its existence was needed, and this did not happen until 2003, when a team at the RIKEN Linear Accelerator facility in Japan made 14 atoms of this isotope. The workers at Darmstadt were then given the honor of proposing proposed the name roentgenium, in recognition of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, who discovered X-rays in 1895. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNo one knows for sure what roentgenium looks like, but it has been placed under copper, silver and gold in the Periodic Table. Theoretical chemists have had fun predicting its properties, and they think that if anyone ever sees any roentgenium metal, it is likely to be silver in colour and it will be very unreactive. Its chemistry is predicted to involve the +3 and +5 oxidation states. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen scientists made element 115 back in 2004, they identified in its decay chain a roentgenium isotope of mass 280 with a half life of about 3.6 seconds. So if it can be made directly, there is the possibility of real chemical reactions being studied. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo, ladies and gentlemen, that is roentgenium, which looks like being a very precious metal, albeit only for a few seconds. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo blink and you may just miss the magic. That was Uppingham School\u0027s Simon Cotton with the speedy yet precise chemistry of roentgenium. Now next week we\u0027ve got a two-faced element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTim Harrison\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChlorine is what you might describe as a Jekyll and Hyde element; it is the friend of the synthetic chemist and has found a use in a number of \u0027nice\u0027 applications such as the disinfecting of drinking water and keeping our swimming pools clean. It also has an unpleasant side, being the first chemical warfare agent and taking some of the blame for the depletion of the Earth\u0027s ozone layer. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo is it friend or is it foe? Join Bristol University\u0027s Tim Harrison to find out in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Roentgenium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Rg","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"There are seven known isotopes of the element: 272, 274 and 278-282. The longest lived is isotope 281 which has a half-life of 22.8 seconds. In 1986, physicists at the Russian Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), bombarded bismuth with nickel hoping to make element 111, but they failed to detect any atoms of element 111. In 1994, a team led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfred Munzenberg at the German Geselleschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI), were successful when they bombarded bismuth with nickel and they obtained few atoms of isotope 272. It had a half-life of 1.5 milliseconds.","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":112,"Symbol":"Cn","Name":"Copernicium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"Although copernicium was only recently ‘discovered’, it is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, an influential 16th century astronomer. This image brings together a 17th century star chart, concentric rings inspired by the solar system, a silvery metallic form, and the ground plan of the heavy ion accelerator where the element was first created.","NaturalAbundance":"Copernicium is a man-made element of which only a few atoms have ever been made. It is formed by fusing lead and zinc atoms in a heavy ion accelerator.","BiologicalRoles":"It has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made. It is thought to be unreactive and more like a noble gas than a metal.","CASnumber":"54084-26-3","GroupID":12,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":3,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":112,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[285]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.220","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.22","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1996","Discovery":"1996","DiscoveredBy":"Sigurd Hofmann and colleagues","OriginOfName":"Copernicium is named for the Renaissance scientist Nicolaus Copernicus","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Copernicium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: copernicium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week an element so new that it\u0027s yet to be given an official name and it\u0027s discovery all began with a question. Here\u0027s Sigurd Hofmann. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSigurd Hofmann\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOur question is simple, but difficult to answer. What we want to know is how many elements are there or where is the end of the periodic table? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe elements beyond uranium (those with an atomic number greater than 92) are not found in nature because they have short half-lives, meaning they exist for only very short periods of time before they decay. So, if we want to know how many of these elements, called the transuranium elements exist we have to try and make them in the laboratory. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eMy team at the Institute for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany are one of many groups worldwide involved in \u0027searching\u0027 for more man-made elements and in 1996 we set about producing element 112, inside a particle accelerator. We bombarded a lead target - that has 82 protons - with a zinc beam containing 30 protons for one week, and were able to detect a single atom of an element with 112 protons - element 112. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs is standard for these types of experiments, we used isotopes of zinc and lead with high numbers of neutrons. Our zinc nuclei had 40 neutrons and our lead nuclei had 126 neutrons, so that the nucleus of our new element had 112 protons and 166 neutrons, meaning that it had 278 nucleons or, as it is more commonly described, an atomic mass of 278. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut like many chemical reactions this nuclear fusion reaction is exothermic and the newly created nucleus is hot. So, it cools down by emission of one neutron and the nucleus which we were able to study had the atomic mass number 277. We were only able to make a single atom of this element at this time, because the immensely strong electric forces acting the zinc and lead mean they are much more likely to fly apart than fuse together. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn a second experiment in 2000 we were able to measure a second atom of element 112, and then in 2004 scientists working at RIKEN in Japan produced another two atoms of this element. After confirmation by the Japanese group, IUPAC - the association who ratify newly found elements - officially recognised my team as the discoverers of this element and in April 2009 we were asked to suggest a name for it, as it currently goes by the IUPAC systematic name Ununbium. We selected a name through email correspondence between the 21 researchers from four nations involved in the experiments. Also seriously considered were suggestions from students and scientists, posted on the Chemistry World blog site, within four weeks, we selected the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus to give his name to element 112. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNicolaus Copernicus lived in the period of the transition from the middle ages to modern times. His work had exceptional influence on the political and philosophical thinking of people and on the rise of modern science based on the results of experiments. Nicolaus Copernicus developed a conclusive model for the complex astronomical observations of the movements of Sun, Moon, planets and stars on Heaven\u0027s Sphere. The first two of the laboratory created transuranium elements, neptunium and plutonium, received their names like uranium from the planets. So, to honour the father of the planetary system we suggested that element 112 was named after Copernicus. The name we suggested to IUPAC in July this year is \u0027copernicium\u0027, with the abbreviation Cn. Apparently IUPAC are also currently discussing modifying the name to \u0027copernicum\u0027, as it is easier to say in many languages. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemically copernicium is located in group 12 of the Periodic Table - below zinc, cadmium and mercury and the first experiments using the adsorption of a few atoms of the element on a cold gold surface showed that copernicium behaves chemically like mercury, although it is possibly a little bit more volatile. We also believe that it will be liquid at room temperature. So far element copernicium has not found any practical uses, because of the problems associated with making it and the fact it decays within milliseconds or seconds. However, its detection has paved the way to finding heavier elements still, the so called super heavy elements. For these elements theory predicts longer lifetimes and higher stability. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo watch this space to find out if element 112 is indeed named copernicium and if any more super heavy elements will be added to the Periodic Table. That was Sigurd Hofmann from the GSI Helmolt Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany. Now staying on the theme of elemental discoveries, next week we hear about Palladium whose discoverer William Hyde-Wollaston announced his finding in a very unusual manner. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSimon Cotton\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen he isolated this metal in 1802, he did something quite unique. Instead of announcing it in a reputable scientific journal, he described its properties in an anonymous leaflet, displayed in the window of a shop in Gerrard Street, Soho in April 1803. Entitled Palladium; or New Silver, this handbill described properties of the new element. No one was able to refute Wollaston\u0027s claim for a new element, but it was not until 1805 that he published his discovery in a scientific journal. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSimon Cotton will be explaining more about the discovery, chemistry and properties of palladium in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e(End promo)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Copernicium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Cn","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThe first atoms of element 112 were announced by Sigurd Hofmann and produced at the Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) at Darmstadt, Germany, in 1996. Isotope-277 had been produced by bombarding lead for two weeks with zinc travelling at 30,000 km per second. Isotope-277 had a half-life of 0.24 milliseconds.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSince then, other isotopes of copernicium have been made. Isotope-285 was observed as part of the decay sequence of flerovium (element 114) produced at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) at Dubna, Russia, as was isotope-284 which was observed as part of the decay sequence of livermorium (element 116).\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":1,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":113,"Symbol":"Nh","Name":"Nihonium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the naming of the element and uses the traditional Japanese kanji characters ‘ni’ and ‘hon’ that make up Japan\u0027s name meaning ‘sun origin’. The image also features the sun emblem from the Japanese flag and various schematics representing particle accelerator structure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/br\u003e","NaturalAbundance":"Unknown","BiologicalRoles":"It has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54084-70-7","GroupID":13,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e7p\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":113,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[286]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.360","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.36","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"2004","Discovery":"2004","DiscoveredBy":"Scientists from RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) in Japan","OriginOfName":"The name refers to the Japanese name for Japan.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"","PodcastText":"","MurrayImageName":"Nihonium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Nh","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"IUPAC confirmed the discovery (by scientists from RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) in Japan) in 2015. This entry will be updated when more information is available.\u003cbr\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":4,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":114,"Symbol":"Fl","Name":"Flerovium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image features an abstracted form inspired by the colonnade of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), where the element was discovered. The two main colours represent the creation of the element from calcium and plutonium. The background features abstracted particle trails and sections from the ground plan of the accelerator at JINR.","NaturalAbundance":"Flerovium can be formed in nuclear reactors.","BiologicalRoles":"It has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54085-16-4","GroupID":14,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003cSUP\u003e1\u003c/SUP\u003e\u003cSUP\u003e4\u003c/SUP\u003e6d\u003cSUP\u003e1\u003c/SUP\u003e\u003cSUP\u003e0\u003c/SUP\u003e7s\u003cSUP\u003e2\u003c/SUP\u003e7p\u003cSUP\u003e2\u003c/SUP\u003e","AtomicNumber":114,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[289]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.430","ElectronAffinity":"\u003c0","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.43","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"1999","Discovery":"1999","DiscoveredBy":"Scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, USA.","OriginOfName":"Named after the Russian physicist Georgy Flerov who founded the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research where the element was discovered.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cBR\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Flerovium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: flerovium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSince this podcast was first published, the name of this element has been ratified as flerovium (symbol Fl) by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (Iupac). The name recognises Russian physicist Georgiy Flerov, who discovered the spontaneous fission of uranium. Flerov also gives his name to the laboratory at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, where the element was first made.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week we are element spotting with Brian Clegg.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian Clegg\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s easy to accuse the scientists who produce new, very heavy elements of being chemistry\u0027s train spotters. Just as train spotters spend hours watching for a particular locomotive so they can underline it in their book, it may seem that these chemists laboriously produce an atom or two of a superheavy element as an exercise in ticking the box. But element 114 has provided more than one surprise, showing why such elements are well worth investigating.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is one of the elements that is still waiting to have a proper name assigned to it, so it remains for the moment ununquadium (just one-one-four-ium in truncated Latin), with the symbol Uuq, until it receives a more aesthetically pleasing label.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eElement 114 sits in an island of stability, a position in the periodic table where a spherical nuclear configuration suggests that half lives should be relatively long. That word \u0027relatively\u0027 is important. Where, for instance, darmstadtium, which precedes the island of stability, has a typical half life measured in microseconds, element 114\u0027s isotope with atomic mass 289 stays around for seconds at a time.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn principle, there is an isotope of element 114 that should do even better. The expectation, long before 114 was even produced, was that ununquadium 298 should be particularly stable. The nucleus of this isotope would have 114 protons and 184 neutrons, which should provide complete energy levels in the nucleus and hence unusual stability. Ununquadium 298 has a predicted half life that could reach into thousands of years - remarkable for the transfermium elements, which are generally the mayflies of the periodic table.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eTo date we haven\u0027t been able to test this thesis, because no isotope 298 has been produced. The first sighting of element 114 was in 1998 at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna in Russia. This doesn\u0027t mean that we can look forward to dubnium as a name for the element, this is already assigned to element 105.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUsing a plutonium 244 target, produced by Kenton Moody at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, the team lead by Yuri Oganessian and Vladimir Utyonkov in Dubna took aim with a stream of high energy calcium 48 ions. This rare, but naturally occurring isotope of calcium was blasted into the plutonium for 40 days, during which 5 million trillion ions were shot down the accelerator. Just one, single atom of the isotope 289 of element 114 was discovered, which took 30.4 seconds to decay.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe team at Dubna have since produced tiny quantities of isotopes 286, 287 and 288. Interestingly the half life of 30 seconds for that first atom has never been reproduced - all subsequent ununquadium 289 has had a half life of around 2.6 seconds, leading to speculation that the first experiment produced a special excited state of the nucleus called a nuclear isomer, a state which typical has an extra-long half life.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eUnlike many transfermium elements, element 114 was predicted to fit well into its group in the periodic table. It is positioned in group 14, underneath lead. The first great success of the periodic table was Mendeleev\u0027s prediction of the existence of elements that had yet to be discovered. There were gaps in his table where he placed elements that he named after the element immediately above. He constructed the names by adding the prefix eka, which is Sanskrit for the number \u0027one\u0027. So, Mendeleev said, we should have eka-boron, eka-aluminium, eka-manganese and eka-silicon.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEka-silicon, for instance, is now called germanium and measured up well to Mendeleev\u0027s predictions. Similarly, for a long time it was assumed that element 114 would be eka-lead, with properties like that metal. Remarkably, however, although atoms have only been produced in ones and twos, there is some evidence that ununquadium behaves more like a noble gas than a metal.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis concept, still to be fully explored, is based on experiments where the element 114 atoms are passed down a tube with an inner coating of gold. Along the length of the tube, the temperature gradually decreases, dropping from 15 degrees Celsius to a chilly minus 185 degrees, gradually reducing the energy of the atoms passing along, making them easier to capture. The prediction is that a metal with lead-like properties should bind onto the gold easily, so will not get far down the tube. But a noble gas would have to be significantly chilled to undergo adsorption from the weak van der Waals force.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eRather than behaving like lead, element 114 seems to make it to the cold end of the tube before being captured, its position detected when it decays after a second or two. This experiment, conducted by Heinz Gäggeler of the Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen, Switzerland, but working at Dubna is still only provisional, but the noble gas behaviour may be a result of relativistic effects.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eEinstein\u0027s special relativity predicts that particles will get heavier and heavier as their velocity gets closer to the speed of light. A particle accelerated to around 42 per cent of the speed of light, for instance, will have a 10 per cent increase in mass. The expectation is that with an unusually high number of protons in the nucleus, the electrons will be moving fast enough to have relativistic effects that change the profile of their orbit, and hence the element\u0027s chemical properties.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWith such few atoms to experiment with, the result is not yet certain. But something we do know for sure is that ununquadium is not just of interest to chemical train spotters.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThat was science writer and chemical spotter Brian Clegg with the chemistry of element 114. Now next week, a dangerous yet useful element. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause it\u0027s so volatile, you need to be really careful when you handle it since if you inhale it, it will decompose releasing poisonous carbon monoxide and dumping metallic nickel into your lungs. So it\u0027s very dangerous indeed. But in a way, that\u0027s the beauty of it: nickel carbonyl is incredibly fragile. If you heat it up it shakes itself to pieces, and you get both the nickel and the carbon monoxide back. So what Mond had was a deliciously simple way to separate and purify nickel from any other metal. And what is more, he could recycle the carbon monoxide.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out the uses and chemistry of the pure form of nickel, as well as its compounds, join UCL\u0027s Andrea Sella in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element. Until then I\u0027m Meera Senthilingam and thank you for listening.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Flerovium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Fl","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eThere are four known isotopes of flerovium with mass numbers 286-289. The longest-lived is 289 and it has a half-life of 2.6 seconds. Nuclear theory suggests that isotope 298, with 184 neutrons, should be much more stable but that has yet to be made.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDespite several attempts to make element 114, it was only in 1998 that a team led by Yuri Oganessian and Vladimir Utyonkov at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Russia produced it by bombarding plutonium with calcium. It needed 5 billion billion (5 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e) atoms of calcium to be fired at the target to produce a single atom of flerovium, in an experiment lasting 40 days. A few more two atoms were produced the following year.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":4,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":115,"Symbol":"Mc","Name":"Moscovium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the naming of the element in that it employs abstracted details of traditional architecture from the Moscow region featuring both onion dome forms and other architectural features. The image also features abstracted particle trails.","NaturalAbundance":"Unknown","BiologicalRoles":"It has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54085-64-2","GroupID":15,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e7p\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":115,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[289]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.620","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.62","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"2010","Discovery":"2010","DiscoveredBy":"Scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA","OriginOfName":"The name refers to the Moscow region, where the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research is based.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"","PodcastText":"","MurrayImageName":"Moscovium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Mc","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"IUPAC confirmed the discovery (by scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA) in 2015. This entry will be updated when more information is available.\u003cbr\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":4,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":116,"Symbol":"Lv","Name":"Livermorium","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image features an abstract form inspired by images from NIF Target Chamber at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The two colours in the image represent the two elements that collide to form livermorium – calcium and curium.","NaturalAbundance":"Livermorium does not occur naturally. It is made by bombarding curium atoms with calcium. The most stable isotope has a half-life of about 53 milliseconds.","BiologicalRoles":"It has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54100-71-9","GroupID":16,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e7p\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":116,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[293]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.750","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.75","CommonOxidationStates":"\u003cBR\u003e","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"2000","Discovery":"2000","DiscoveredBy":"Scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, USA.","OriginOfName":"Named after the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Livermorium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: livermorium\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSince this podcast was first published, the name of this element has been ratified by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (Iupac). It is to be called Livermorium (symbol Lv) in honour of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, home of the US end of the collaborative team and a stalwart of nuclear and heavy-element research.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week the chemist\u0027s that are seeking fame. Here\u0027s Andrea Sella \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe live in an age when everyone is just gagging to be \u0027famous\u0027. Andy Warhol, of course, pointed out that everyone was likely to be famous for 15 minutes. But the real question is, if you\u0027re a chemist, or a scientist generally, what does it take to become famous? How do earn the adulation of the masses? And if not the masses, at least of your peers? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027d think a Nobel prize would do it. But you\u0027d be surprised how few of them anyone can actually remember, apart from a few early 20th\u003csup\u003e \u003c/sup\u003e century heroes. And to have an element named after you need to be dead. So that seems quite pointless.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat if you discovered a new element? For about 70 years, ever since plutonium slipped out of a nuclear reaction, the search has been on to make ever heavier and more exotic elements to add to our periodic table. And I emphasise the word \u0027make\u0027 because it is no longer a question of finding a rock and extracting from it some mysterious substance that does not fit the description of anything that has come before. No, you actually have to make it from scratch. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo how do you make an element? Well new atoms of, admittedly old, elements, are being made all the time. Nuclear fusion of hydrogen is the fundamental process that powers stars. But as stars age and steadily run out of hydrogen they gradually start fusing heavier nuclei and it is then possible to make ever heavier atoms. It\u0027s brutally difficult because you have to get past the huge positive charges of the two nuclei to get them to fuse. Stars can do this nucleosynthesis up to iron. Unfortunately that\u0027s where things end. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAfter that the way to make anything heavier is by adding neutrons. Because the neutron has no charge it can sneak quietly into the nucleus. The neutron can then add to the total mass count, and the nucleus can then decay by spitting out an electron to give you something that is one place higher along in the periodic table. And repeating this process laboriously - one step forward, one step back - will take you all the way out towards uranium, which at atomic number 92 is about as high as one can find lying around in universe. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut can one go beyond? The answer turns out to be yes. Teams in the US, Germany, Japan and Russia have been hard at work doing it. And the process is incredibly difficult. Essentially what they do is strip atoms down to their nuclei and then accelerate them to phenomenal speeds using a particle accelerator, and then slam these ions into a target. So for example the element lawrencium was made by bashing a californium target with naked boron nuclei. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is not work for the lone experimenter working in a shed somewhere. These are experiments of extraordinary subtlety and complexity. And the problem is not just making the new element but also figuring out what you\u0027ve got at the end. The problem is that you only make a few atoms at a time and these products tend to be spectacularly unstable so you sometimes have only a few milliseconds in which to work out what you\u0027ve got. It\u0027s complex. It\u0027s expensive. And very, very clever. And each new atom really is a whole new chemical world to explore. Can it be any wonder that it attracts fortune seekers?\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn June 1999 the Lawrence Berkeley Lab in California, one of the few places in the world that does this sort of work announced in the journal \u003cem\u003ePhysical Review Letters\u003c/em\u003e that they had succeeded in making ununhexium and ununoctium, which in plain English means elements 116 and 118, by bashing a lead target with krypton nuclei. Huge excitement followed because these were by far the heaviest elements ever made. It seemed a real breakthrough. The method they had used was also a departure from previous work - a new strategy that had gone spectacularly well. The secretary of energy, whose department had funded the work noted that four of the senior members of the team were foreign said \u0027this stunning discovery which opens the door to further insights into the structure of the atomic nucleus also underscores the value of foreign visitors and what the country would lose if there were a moratorium on foreign visitors at our national labs. Scientific excellence doesn\u0027t recognise national boundaries, and we will damage our ability to perform world-class science if we cut off our laboratories from the rest of the world.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe problem was however, that no one else could repeat the work. Labs in Germany and Russia reported that they got different results. A major process of soul-searching started in California and the data began to be picked over in great detail. A painful investigation concluded that one of the team leaders Victor Ninov, a Bulgarian national, had fabricated the crucial data. Confronted with the evidence, Ninov denied everything. But in Germany, irregularities came to light in the data associated with an earlier discovery he had been involved with - that of elements 111 and 112. Ninov was fired. The Berkeley led group were then forced to do the unthinkable - to publish a retraction, the author list being one name shorter than the original paper. It was the scientific equivalent of hara kiri.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut did element 116 really not exist? In 2000, the rival group in Russia reported having made a single atom of element 116 and within 3 years had succeeded in making more atoms of two different isotopes of this element. 118, on the other hand, had to wait until 2002 for successful synthesis by a route that differed from that used by the Americans. So 116 and 118 are real, and their properties are slowly being mapped out even as we speak. But does anyone remember the names of the people who are the rightful discoverers? Does the name Oganessian ring a bell? Probably not.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s more likely that you remember the name of Victor Ninov, the man at the centre of the storm. Perverse, isn\u0027t it? But it\u0027s the way of the world. Fame, even in science, is a fickle mistress. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePerhaps the net aim then, rather than finding an element could be to find a way to preserve these legacies. Just a thought. That was University College London\u0027s Andrea Sella with the fundamental not famous chemistry of elements 116 and 118. Now next week a two faced element.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Read\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSodium, like most elements in the periodic table could be said to have a dual personality. On one side it is an essential nutrient for most living things, and yet, due to its reactive nature is also capable of wreaking havoc if you happen to combine it with something you shouldn\u0027t.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs such sodium is found naturally only in compounds and never as the free element. Even so it is highly abundant, accounting for around 2.6 per cent of the earths crust by weight.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out some of the beneficial, as well as lethal roles of sodium - as well as the mystery behind it being given the symbol Na, join David Read from the University of Southampton in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Livermorium","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Lv","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"\u003cdiv\u003eFour isotopes of this element have been produced and they have mass numbers 290-293. The longest-lived is 293 with a half-life of 61 milliseconds.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThere were several attempts to make element 116 but all were unsuccessful until 2000 when researchers at the Joint International Nuclear Research (JINR) in Russia, led by Yuri Oganessian, Vladimir Utyonkov, and Kenton Moody observed it. Because the discovery was made using essential target material supplied by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the USA, it was decided to name it after that facility.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn1999, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California had announced the discovery of element 116 but then it was discovered that evidence had simply been concocted by one of their scientists, and so the claim had to be withdrawn.\u003c/div\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":4,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":117,"Symbol":"Ts","Name":"Tennessine","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the naming of the element in that it employs an abstracted version of the Tennessee state flag which features three white stars on a blue and red background. The image also features abstracted particle trails and various graphics representing particle accelerator structure.","NaturalAbundance":"Unknown","BiologicalRoles":"It has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"87658-56-8","GroupID":17,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e7p\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":117,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[294]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.650","ElectronAffinity":"","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.65","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"2010","Discovery":"2010","DiscoveredBy":"Scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA","OriginOfName":"The name refers to the US state of Tennessee.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"","PodcastText":"","MurrayImageName":"Tennessine","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Ts","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"IUPAC confirmed the discovery (by scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, US, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, US) in 2015. This entry will be updated when more information is available.","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":4,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false},{"ElementID":118,"Symbol":"Og","Name":"Oganesson","ElectronDotDiagramPath":"","CrystalStructurePath":"","ImageExplanation":"The image reflects the naming of the element after scientist Yuri Oganessian who is considered the world\u0027s leading researcher in superheavy elements and islands of stability. The image features a graphic interpretation of the island of stability based on a 3D graphic of nuclear shell structure which also features in the image.","NaturalAbundance":"Unknown","BiologicalRoles":"It has no known biological role.","Appearance":"A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.","CASnumber":"54144-19-3","GroupID":18,"PeriodID":7,"BlockID":2,"ElectronConfiguration":"[Rn] 5f\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e6d\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003e7s\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e7p\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e","AtomicNumber":118,"RelativeAtomicMass":"[294]","AtomicRadius":"","CovalentRadii":"1.570","ElectronAffinity":"5.403","ElectroNegativity":"","CovalentRadius":"1.57","CommonOxidationStates":"","ImportantOxidationStates":"","MeltingPointC":"","MeltingPointK":"","MeltingPointF":"","BoilingPointC":"","BoilingPointK":"","BoilingPointF":"","MolarHeatCapacity":"","Density":"","DensityValue":"","YoungsModulus":"","ShearModulus":"","BulkModulus":"","DiscoveryYear":"2006","Discovery":"2006","DiscoveredBy":"Scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA","OriginOfName":"The name recognises the Russian nuclear physicist Yuri Oganessian for his contributions to transactinide element research.","CrustalAbundance":"","CAObservation":"","Application":"","ReserveBaseDistribution":null,"ProductionConcentrations":null,"PoliticalStabilityProducer":null,"RelativeSupplyRiskIndex":null,"Allotropes":"\u003cbr\u003e","GeneralInformation":"","UsesText":"At present, it is only used in research.","UsesHighlights":"","PodcastAudio":"Ununoctium.mp3","PodcastText":"\u003ch2\u003eChemistry in its element: element 118\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027re listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by \u003ci\u003eChemistry World\u003c/i\u003e, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis week the chemist\u0027s that are seeking fame. Here\u0027s Andrea Sella.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrea Sella\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWe live in an age when everyone is just gagging to be \u0027famous\u0027. Andy Warhol, of course, pointed out that everyone was likely to be famous for 15 minutes. But the real question is, if you\u0027re a chemist, or a scientist generally, what does it take to become famous? How do earn the adulation of the masses? And if not the masses, at least of your peers? \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eYou\u0027d think a Nobel prize would do it. But you\u0027d be surprised how few of them anyone can actually remember, apart from a few early 20th\u003csup\u003e \u003c/sup\u003e century heroes. And to have an element named after you need to be dead. So that seems quite pointless.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat if you discovered a new element? For about 70 years, ever since plutonium slipped out of a nuclear reaction, the search has been on to make ever heavier and more exotic elements to add to our periodic table. And I emphasise the word \u0027make\u0027 because it is no longer a question of finding a rock and extracting from it some mysterious substance that does not fit the description of anything that has come before. No, you actually have to make it from scratch. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSo how do you make an element? Well new atoms of, admittedly old, elements, are being made all the time. Nuclear fusion of hydrogen is the fundamental process that powers stars. But as stars age and steadily run out of hydrogen they gradually start fusing heavier nuclei and it is then possible to make ever heavier atoms. It\u0027s brutally difficult because you have to get past the huge positive charges of the two nuclei to get them to fuse. Stars can do this nucleosynthesis up to iron. Unfortunately that\u0027s where things end. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAfter that the way to make anything heavier is by adding neutrons. Because the neutron has no charge it can sneak quietly into the nucleus. The neutron can then add to the total mass count, and the nucleus can then decay by spitting out an electron to give you something that is one place higher along in the periodic table. And repeating this process laboriously - one step forward, one step back - will take you all the way out towards uranium, which at atomic number 92 is about as high as one can find lying around in universe. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut can one go beyond? The answer turns out to be yes. Teams in the US, Germany, Japan and Russia have been hard at work doing it. And the process is incredibly difficult. Essentially what they do is strip atoms down to their nuclei and then accelerate them to phenomenal speeds using a particle accelerator, and then slam these ions into a target. So for example the element lawrencium was made by bashing a californium target with naked boron nuclei. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis is not work for the lone experimenter working in a shed somewhere. These are experiments of extraordinary subtlety and complexity. And the problem is not just making the new element but also figuring out what you\u0027ve got at the end. The problem is that you only make a few atoms at a time and these products tend to be spectacularly unstable so you sometimes have only a few milliseconds in which to work out what you\u0027ve got. It\u0027s complex. It\u0027s expensive. And very, very clever. And each new atom really is a whole new chemical world to explore. Can it be any wonder that it attracts fortune seekers?\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIn June 1999 the Lawrence Berkeley Lab in California, one of the few places in the world that does this sort of work announced in the journal \u003cem\u003ePhysical Review Letters\u003c/em\u003e that they had succeeded in making ununhexium and ununoctium, which in plain English means elements 116 and 118, by bashing a lead target with krypton nuclei. Huge excitement followed because these were by far the heaviest elements ever made. It seemed a real breakthrough. The method they had used was also a departure from previous work - a new strategy that had gone spectacularly well. The secretary of energy, whose department had funded the work noted that four of the senior members of the team were foreign said \u0027this stunning discovery which opens the door to further insights into the structure of the atomic nucleus also underscores the value of foreign visitors and what the country would lose if there were a moratorium on foreign visitors at our national labs. Scientific excellence doesn\u0027t recognise national boundaries, and we will damage our ability to perform world-class science if we cut off our laboratories from the rest of the world.\u0027\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe problem was however, that no one else could repeat the work. Labs in Germany and Russia reported that they got different results. A major process of soul-searching started in California and the data began to be picked over in great detail. A painful investigation concluded that one of the team leaders Victor Ninov, a Bulgarian national, had fabricated the crucial data. Confronted with the evidence, Ninov denied everything. But in Germany, irregularities came to light in the data associated with an earlier discovery he had been involved with - that of elements 111 and 112. Ninov was fired. The Berkeley led group were then forced to do the unthinkable - to publish a retraction, the author list being one name shorter than the original paper. It was the scientific equivalent of hara kiri.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBut did element 116 really not exist? In 2000, the rival group in Russia reported having made a single atom of element 116 and within 3 years had succeeded in making more atoms of two different isotopes of this element. 118, on the other hand, had to wait until 2002 for successful synthesis by a route that differed from that used by the Americans. So 116 and 118 are real, and their properties are slowly being mapped out even as we speak. But does anyone remember the names of the people who are the rightful discoverers? Does the name Oganessian ring a bell? Probably not.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIt\u0027s more likely that you remember the name of Victor Ninov, the man at the centre of the storm. Perverse, isn\u0027t it? But it\u0027s the way of the world. Fame, even in science, is a fickle mistress. \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003ePerhaps the net aim then, rather than finding an element could be to find a way to preserve these legacies. Just a thought. That was University College London\u0027s Andrea Sella with the fundamental not famous chemistry of elements 116 and 118. Now next week a two faced element.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Read\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSodium, like most elements in the periodic table could be said to have a dual personality. On one side it is an essential nutrient for most living things, and yet, due to its reactive nature is also capable of wreaking havoc if you happen to combine it with something you shouldn\u0027t.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAs such sodium is found naturally only in compounds and never as the free element. Even so it is highly abundant, accounting for around 2.6 per cent of the earths crust by weight.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeera Senthilingam\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAnd to find out some of the beneficial, as well as lethal roles of sodium - as well as the mystery behind it being given the symbol Na, join David Read from the University of Southampton in next week\u0027s Chemistry in its element.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(Promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eChemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.thenakedscientists.com/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003ethenakedscientists.com\u003c/a\u003e. There\u0027s more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at\u0026nbsp;\u003ca href=\"http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/\" title=\"\" target=\"\"\u003echemistryworld.org/elements\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(End promo)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/div\u003e","MurrayImageName":"Oganesson","IsSublime":false,"Source":"","SymbolImageName":"Og","StateAtRT":"Solid","TopReserveHolders":"","TopProductionCountries":"","History":"IUPAC confirmed the discovery (by scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA) in 2015. This entry will be updated when more information is available.\u003cbr\u003e","CSID":0,"ChemSpiderLink":"http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.0.html","PropertyID":4,"RecyclingRate":"","Substitutability":"","PoliticalStabilityReserveHolder":"","IsElementSelected":false}],"HighlightElementsForGroup":[{"Name":"1 ","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1,3,11,19,37,55,87"},{"Name":"2 ","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4,12,20,38,56,88"},{"Name":"3 ","DisplayName":null,"Value":"21,39"},{"Name":"4 ","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22,40,72,104"},{"Name":"5 ","DisplayName":null,"Value":"23,41,73,105"},{"Name":"6 ","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24,42,74,106"},{"Name":"7 ","DisplayName":null,"Value":"25,43,75,107"},{"Name":"8 ","DisplayName":null,"Value":"26,44,76,108"},{"Name":"9 ","DisplayName":null,"Value":"27,45,77,109"},{"Name":"10","DisplayName":null,"Value":"28,46,78,110"},{"Name":"11","DisplayName":null,"Value":"29,47,79,111"},{"Name":"12","DisplayName":null,"Value":"30,48,80,112"},{"Name":"13","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5,13,31,49,81,113"},{"Name":"14","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6,14,32,50,82,114"},{"Name":"15","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7,15,33,51,83,115"},{"Name":"16","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8,16,34,52,84,116"},{"Name":"17","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9,17,35,53,85,117"},{"Name":"18","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2,10,18,36,54,86,118"},{"Name":"19","DisplayName":null,"Value":"57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71"},{"Name":"20","DisplayName":null,"Value":"89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103"}],"HighlightElementsForPeriod":[{"Name":"1","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1,2"},{"Name":"2","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10"},{"Name":"3","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18"},{"Name":"4","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36"},{"Name":"5","DisplayName":null,"Value":"37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54"},{"Name":"6","DisplayName":null,"Value":"55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86"},{"Name":"7","DisplayName":null,"Value":"87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118"}],"HighlightElementsForBlock":[{"Name":"s","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1,2,3,4,11,12,19,20,37,38,55,56,87,88"},{"Name":"p","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5,6,7,8,9,10,13,14,15,16,17,18,31,32,33,34,35,36,49,50,51,52,53,54,81,82,83,84,85,86,113,114,115,116,117,118"},{"Name":"d","DisplayName":null,"Value":"21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,57,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,89,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112"},{"Name":"f","DisplayName":null,"Value":"58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103"}],"IonisationEnergies":[{"IonisationEnergyID":1,"ElementID":1,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1312.05","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":2,"ElementID":1,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":3,"ElementID":1,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":4,"ElementID":1,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":5,"ElementID":1,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":6,"ElementID":1,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":7,"ElementID":1,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":8,"ElementID":1,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":9,"ElementID":2,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2372.322","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":10,"ElementID":2,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5250.516","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":11,"ElementID":2,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":12,"ElementID":2,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":13,"ElementID":2,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":14,"ElementID":2,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":15,"ElementID":2,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":16,"ElementID":2,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":17,"ElementID":3,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"520.222","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":18,"ElementID":3,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7298.15","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":19,"ElementID":3,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11815.044","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":20,"ElementID":3,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":21,"ElementID":3,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":22,"ElementID":3,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":23,"ElementID":3,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":24,"ElementID":3,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":25,"ElementID":4,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"899.504","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":26,"ElementID":4,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1757.108","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":27,"ElementID":4,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"14848.767","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":28,"ElementID":4,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"21006.658","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":29,"ElementID":4,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":30,"ElementID":4,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":31,"ElementID":4,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":32,"ElementID":4,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":33,"ElementID":5,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"800.637","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":34,"ElementID":5,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2427.069","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":35,"ElementID":5,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3659.751","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":36,"ElementID":5,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"25025.905","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":37,"ElementID":5,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"32826.802","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":38,"ElementID":5,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":39,"ElementID":5,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":40,"ElementID":5,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":41,"ElementID":6,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1086.454","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":42,"ElementID":6,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2352.631","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":43,"ElementID":6,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4620.471","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":44,"ElementID":6,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6222.716","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":45,"ElementID":6,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"37830.648","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":46,"ElementID":6,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"47277.174","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":47,"ElementID":6,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":48,"ElementID":6,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":49,"ElementID":7,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1402.328","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":50,"ElementID":7,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2856.092","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":51,"ElementID":7,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4578.156","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":52,"ElementID":7,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7475.057","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":53,"ElementID":7,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9444.969","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":54,"ElementID":7,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"53266.835","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":55,"ElementID":7,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"64360.16","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":56,"ElementID":7,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":57,"ElementID":8,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1313.942","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":58,"ElementID":8,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3388.671","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":59,"ElementID":8,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5300.47","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":60,"ElementID":8,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7469.271","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":61,"ElementID":8,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10989.584","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":62,"ElementID":8,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13326.526","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":63,"ElementID":8,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"71330.65","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":64,"ElementID":8,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"84078.3","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":65,"ElementID":9,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1681.045","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":66,"ElementID":9,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3374.17","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":67,"ElementID":9,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6050.441","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":68,"ElementID":9,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8407.713","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":69,"ElementID":9,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11022.755","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":70,"ElementID":9,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"15164.128","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":71,"ElementID":9,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"17867.734","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":72,"ElementID":9,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"92038.447","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":73,"ElementID":10,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2080.662","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":74,"ElementID":10,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3952.325","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":75,"ElementID":10,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6121.99","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":76,"ElementID":10,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9370.66","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":77,"ElementID":10,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12177.41","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":78,"ElementID":10,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"15237.93","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":79,"ElementID":10,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"19999.086","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":80,"ElementID":10,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"23069.539","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":81,"ElementID":11,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"495.845","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":82,"ElementID":11,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4562.444","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":83,"ElementID":11,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6910.28","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":84,"ElementID":11,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9543.36","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":85,"ElementID":11,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13353.6","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":86,"ElementID":11,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"16612.85","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":87,"ElementID":11,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"20117.2","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":88,"ElementID":11,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"25496.25","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":89,"ElementID":12,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"737.75","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":90,"ElementID":12,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1450.683","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":91,"ElementID":12,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7732.692","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":92,"ElementID":12,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10542.519","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":93,"ElementID":12,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13630.48","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":94,"ElementID":12,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"18019.6","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":95,"ElementID":12,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"21711.13","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":96,"ElementID":12,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"25661.24","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":97,"ElementID":13,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"577.539","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":98,"ElementID":13,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1816.679","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":99,"ElementID":13,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2744.781","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":100,"ElementID":13,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11577.469","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":101,"ElementID":13,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"14841.857","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":102,"ElementID":13,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"18379.49","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":103,"ElementID":13,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"23326.3","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":104,"ElementID":13,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"27465.52","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":105,"ElementID":14,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"786.518","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":106,"ElementID":14,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1577.134","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":107,"ElementID":14,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3231.585","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":108,"ElementID":14,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4355.523","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":109,"ElementID":14,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"16090.571","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":110,"ElementID":14,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"19805.55","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":111,"ElementID":14,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"23783.6","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":112,"ElementID":14,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"29287.16","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":113,"ElementID":15,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1011.812","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":114,"ElementID":15,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1907.467","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":115,"ElementID":15,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2914.118","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":116,"ElementID":15,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4963.582","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":117,"ElementID":15,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6273.969","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":118,"ElementID":15,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"21267.395","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":119,"ElementID":15,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"25430.64","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":120,"ElementID":15,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"29871.9","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":121,"ElementID":16,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"999.589","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":122,"ElementID":16,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2251.763","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":123,"ElementID":16,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3356.72","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":124,"ElementID":16,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4556.231","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":125,"ElementID":16,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7004.305","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":126,"ElementID":16,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8495.824","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":127,"ElementID":16,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"27107.363","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":128,"ElementID":16,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"31719.56","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":129,"ElementID":17,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1251.186","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":130,"ElementID":17,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2297.663","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":131,"ElementID":17,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3821.78","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":132,"ElementID":17,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5158.608","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":133,"ElementID":17,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6541.7","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":134,"ElementID":17,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9361.97","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":135,"ElementID":17,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11018.221","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":136,"ElementID":17,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"33603.91","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":137,"ElementID":18,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1520.571","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":138,"ElementID":18,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2665.857","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":139,"ElementID":18,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3930.81","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":140,"ElementID":18,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5770.79","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":141,"ElementID":18,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7238.33","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":142,"ElementID":18,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8781.034","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":143,"ElementID":18,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11995.347","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":144,"ElementID":18,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13841.79","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":145,"ElementID":19,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"418.81","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":146,"ElementID":19,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3051.83","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":147,"ElementID":19,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4419.607","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":148,"ElementID":19,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5876.92","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":149,"ElementID":19,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7975.48","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":150,"ElementID":19,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9590.6","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":151,"ElementID":19,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11342.82","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":152,"ElementID":19,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"14943.65","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":153,"ElementID":20,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"589.83","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":154,"ElementID":20,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1145.447","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":155,"ElementID":20,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4912.368","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":156,"ElementID":20,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6490.57","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":157,"ElementID":20,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8153","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":158,"ElementID":20,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10495.68","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":159,"ElementID":20,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12272.9","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":160,"ElementID":20,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"14206.5","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":161,"ElementID":21,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"633.088","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":162,"ElementID":21,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1234.99","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":163,"ElementID":21,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2388.655","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":164,"ElementID":21,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7090.65","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":165,"ElementID":21,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8842.88","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":166,"ElementID":21,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10679","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":167,"ElementID":21,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13315","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":168,"ElementID":21,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"15254.3","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":169,"ElementID":22,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"658.813","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":170,"ElementID":22,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1309.837","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":171,"ElementID":22,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2652.546","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":172,"ElementID":22,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4174.651","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":173,"ElementID":22,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9581","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":174,"ElementID":22,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11532.89","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":175,"ElementID":22,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13585.1","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":176,"ElementID":22,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"16441.1","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":177,"ElementID":23,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"650.908","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":178,"ElementID":23,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1410.423","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":179,"ElementID":23,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2828.082","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":180,"ElementID":23,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4506.734","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":181,"ElementID":23,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6298.727","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":182,"ElementID":23,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12362.67","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":183,"ElementID":23,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"14530.7","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":184,"ElementID":23,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"16730.6","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":185,"ElementID":24,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"652.869","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":186,"ElementID":24,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1590.628","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":187,"ElementID":24,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2987.19","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":188,"ElementID":24,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4743.22","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":189,"ElementID":24,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6701.87","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":190,"ElementID":24,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8744.939","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":191,"ElementID":24,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"15455.02","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":192,"ElementID":24,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"17820.8","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":193,"ElementID":25,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"717.274","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":194,"ElementID":25,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1509.03","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":195,"ElementID":25,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3248.468","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":196,"ElementID":25,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4940","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":197,"ElementID":25,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6985.5","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":198,"ElementID":25,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9224","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":199,"ElementID":25,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11501.342","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":200,"ElementID":25,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"18766.4","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":201,"ElementID":26,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"762.466","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":202,"ElementID":26,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1561.876","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":203,"ElementID":26,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2957.469","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":204,"ElementID":26,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5287.4","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":205,"ElementID":26,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7236","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":206,"ElementID":26,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9561.7","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":207,"ElementID":26,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12058.74","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":208,"ElementID":26,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"14575.08","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":209,"ElementID":27,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"760.402","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":210,"ElementID":27,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1648.356","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":211,"ElementID":27,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3232.3","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":212,"ElementID":27,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4949.7","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":213,"ElementID":27,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7670.6","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":214,"ElementID":27,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9842","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":215,"ElementID":27,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12437","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":216,"ElementID":27,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"15225.4","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":217,"ElementID":28,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"737.129","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":218,"ElementID":28,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1753.027","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":219,"ElementID":28,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3395.32","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":220,"ElementID":28,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5297","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":221,"ElementID":28,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7338.67","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":222,"ElementID":28,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10420","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":223,"ElementID":28,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12833","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":224,"ElementID":28,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"15631","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":225,"ElementID":29,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"745.482","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":226,"ElementID":29,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1957.919","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":227,"ElementID":29,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3554.616","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":228,"ElementID":29,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5536.33","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":229,"ElementID":29,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7699.5","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":230,"ElementID":29,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9938","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":231,"ElementID":29,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13411","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":232,"ElementID":29,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"16017","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":233,"ElementID":30,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"906.402","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":234,"ElementID":30,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1733.3","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":235,"ElementID":30,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3832.687","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":236,"ElementID":30,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5731.2","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":237,"ElementID":30,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7969.7","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":238,"ElementID":30,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10420","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":239,"ElementID":30,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12929","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":240,"ElementID":30,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"16788","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":241,"ElementID":31,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"578.845","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":242,"ElementID":31,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1979.411","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":243,"ElementID":31,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2964.589","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":244,"ElementID":31,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6101.829","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":245,"ElementID":31,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8298.7","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":246,"ElementID":31,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10873.9","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":247,"ElementID":31,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13594.8","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":248,"ElementID":31,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"16392.9","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":249,"ElementID":32,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"762.179","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":250,"ElementID":32,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1537.456","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":251,"ElementID":32,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3302.124","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":252,"ElementID":32,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4410.644","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":253,"ElementID":32,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9021.4","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":254,"ElementID":32,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":255,"ElementID":32,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":256,"ElementID":32,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":257,"ElementID":33,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"944.456","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":258,"ElementID":33,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1793.585","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":259,"ElementID":33,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2735.456","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":260,"ElementID":33,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4836.81","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":261,"ElementID":33,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6042.88","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":262,"ElementID":33,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12311.5","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":263,"ElementID":33,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":264,"ElementID":33,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":265,"ElementID":34,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"940.963","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":266,"ElementID":34,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2044.52","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":267,"ElementID":34,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2973.717","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":268,"ElementID":34,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4143.563","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":269,"ElementID":34,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6589.9","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":270,"ElementID":34,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7882.9","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":271,"ElementID":34,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"14993.8","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":272,"ElementID":34,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":273,"ElementID":35,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1139.859","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":274,"ElementID":35,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2083.215","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":275,"ElementID":35,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3473","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":276,"ElementID":35,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4563.8","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":277,"ElementID":35,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5760.2","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":278,"ElementID":35,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8548.6","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":279,"ElementID":35,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9938","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":280,"ElementID":35,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"18602.4","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":281,"ElementID":36,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1350.757","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":282,"ElementID":36,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2350.367","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":283,"ElementID":36,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3565.13","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":284,"ElementID":36,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5065.5","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":285,"ElementID":36,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6242.6","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":286,"ElementID":36,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7574.1","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":287,"ElementID":36,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10710","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":288,"ElementID":36,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12138.049","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":289,"ElementID":37,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"403.032","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":290,"ElementID":37,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2633.037","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":291,"ElementID":37,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3859","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":292,"ElementID":37,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5075.1","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":293,"ElementID":37,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6850","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":294,"ElementID":37,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8143.4","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":295,"ElementID":37,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9571.3","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":296,"ElementID":37,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13122","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":297,"ElementID":38,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"549.47","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":298,"ElementID":38,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1064.243","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":299,"ElementID":38,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4138.26","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":300,"ElementID":38,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5500","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":301,"ElementID":38,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6908.4","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":302,"ElementID":38,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8760.9","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":303,"ElementID":38,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10227","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":304,"ElementID":38,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11800.2","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":305,"ElementID":39,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"599.878","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":306,"ElementID":39,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1179.437","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":307,"ElementID":39,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1979.88","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":308,"ElementID":39,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5846.722","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":309,"ElementID":39,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7429","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":310,"ElementID":39,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8973","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":311,"ElementID":39,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"11192","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":312,"ElementID":39,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12447","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":313,"ElementID":40,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"640.074","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":314,"ElementID":40,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1264","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":315,"ElementID":40,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2218.2","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":316,"ElementID":40,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3313.31","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":317,"ElementID":40,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7752.404","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":318,"ElementID":40,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":319,"ElementID":40,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":320,"ElementID":40,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":321,"ElementID":41,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"652.13","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":322,"ElementID":41,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1351","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":323,"ElementID":41,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2415.99","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":324,"ElementID":41,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3695.4","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":325,"ElementID":41,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4877.33","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":326,"ElementID":41,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"9847.004","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":327,"ElementID":41,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12061","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":328,"ElementID":41,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":329,"ElementID":42,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"684.316","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":330,"ElementID":42,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1559.2","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":331,"ElementID":42,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2617.65","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":332,"ElementID":42,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4476.9","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":333,"ElementID":42,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5257.49","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":334,"ElementID":42,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6640.854","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":335,"ElementID":42,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"12124.734","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":336,"ElementID":42,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13855.3","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":337,"ElementID":43,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"702.41","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":338,"ElementID":43,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1472.37","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":339,"ElementID":43,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2850.18","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":340,"ElementID":43,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":341,"ElementID":43,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":342,"ElementID":43,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":343,"ElementID":43,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":344,"ElementID":43,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":345,"ElementID":44,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"710.18","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":346,"ElementID":44,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1617.09","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":347,"ElementID":44,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2746.94","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":348,"ElementID":44,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":349,"ElementID":44,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":350,"ElementID":44,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":351,"ElementID":44,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":352,"ElementID":44,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":353,"ElementID":45,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"719.675","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":354,"ElementID":45,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1744.45","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":355,"ElementID":45,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2996.83","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":356,"ElementID":45,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":357,"ElementID":45,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":358,"ElementID":45,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":359,"ElementID":45,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":360,"ElementID":45,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":361,"ElementID":46,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"804.389","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":362,"ElementID":46,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1874.71","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":363,"ElementID":46,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3177.26","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":364,"ElementID":46,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":365,"ElementID":46,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":366,"ElementID":46,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":367,"ElementID":46,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":368,"ElementID":46,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":369,"ElementID":47,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"730.995","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":370,"ElementID":47,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2072.26","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":371,"ElementID":47,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3360.58","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":372,"ElementID":47,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":373,"ElementID":47,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":374,"ElementID":47,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":375,"ElementID":47,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":376,"ElementID":47,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":377,"ElementID":48,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"867.772","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":378,"ElementID":48,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1631.404","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":379,"ElementID":48,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3616.27","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":380,"ElementID":48,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":381,"ElementID":48,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":382,"ElementID":48,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":383,"ElementID":48,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":384,"ElementID":48,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":385,"ElementID":49,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"558.299","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":386,"ElementID":49,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1820.707","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":387,"ElementID":49,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2704.48","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":388,"ElementID":49,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5210","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":389,"ElementID":49,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":390,"ElementID":49,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":391,"ElementID":49,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":392,"ElementID":49,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":393,"ElementID":50,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"708.581","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":394,"ElementID":50,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1411.793","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":395,"ElementID":50,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2943.054","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":396,"ElementID":50,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3930.332","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":397,"ElementID":50,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6973.96","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":398,"ElementID":50,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":399,"ElementID":50,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":400,"ElementID":50,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":401,"ElementID":51,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"830.583","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":402,"ElementID":51,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1604.55","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":403,"ElementID":51,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2441.1","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":404,"ElementID":51,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4264.7","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":405,"ElementID":51,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5403","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":406,"ElementID":51,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"10420","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":407,"ElementID":51,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":408,"ElementID":51,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":409,"ElementID":52,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"869.294","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":410,"ElementID":52,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1794.6","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":411,"ElementID":52,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2697.73","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":412,"ElementID":52,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3609.52","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":413,"ElementID":52,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5668.51","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":414,"ElementID":52,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6821.5","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":415,"ElementID":52,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"13218","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":416,"ElementID":52,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":417,"ElementID":53,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1008.393","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":418,"ElementID":53,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1845.89","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":419,"ElementID":53,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3184","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":420,"ElementID":53,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":421,"ElementID":53,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":422,"ElementID":53,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":423,"ElementID":53,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":424,"ElementID":53,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":425,"ElementID":54,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1170.352","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":426,"ElementID":54,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2023.78","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":427,"ElementID":54,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3099.399","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":428,"ElementID":54,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":429,"ElementID":54,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":430,"ElementID":54,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":431,"ElementID":54,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":432,"ElementID":54,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":433,"ElementID":55,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"375.705","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":434,"ElementID":55,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2234.353","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":435,"ElementID":55,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":436,"ElementID":55,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":437,"ElementID":55,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":438,"ElementID":55,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":439,"ElementID":55,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":440,"ElementID":55,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":441,"ElementID":56,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"502.849","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":442,"ElementID":56,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"965.223","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":443,"ElementID":56,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":444,"ElementID":56,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":445,"ElementID":56,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":446,"ElementID":56,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":447,"ElementID":56,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":448,"ElementID":56,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":449,"ElementID":57,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"538.089","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":450,"ElementID":57,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1067.031","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":451,"ElementID":57,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1850.328","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":452,"ElementID":57,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4819.44","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":453,"ElementID":57,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5943.5","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":454,"ElementID":57,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":455,"ElementID":57,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":456,"ElementID":57,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":457,"ElementID":58,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"534.403","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":458,"ElementID":58,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1046.87","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":459,"ElementID":58,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1948.811","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":460,"ElementID":58,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3546.608","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":461,"ElementID":58,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6324.61","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":462,"ElementID":58,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"7487.3","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":463,"ElementID":58,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":464,"ElementID":58,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":465,"ElementID":59,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"528.064","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":466,"ElementID":59,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1017.92","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":467,"ElementID":59,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2086.399","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":468,"ElementID":59,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3761","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":469,"ElementID":59,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5550.8","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":470,"ElementID":59,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":471,"ElementID":59,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":472,"ElementID":59,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":473,"ElementID":60,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"533.082","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":474,"ElementID":60,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1034.32","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":475,"ElementID":60,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2132.3","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":476,"ElementID":60,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3898","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":477,"ElementID":60,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":478,"ElementID":60,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":479,"ElementID":60,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":480,"ElementID":60,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":481,"ElementID":61,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"538.581","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":482,"ElementID":61,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1051.7","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":483,"ElementID":61,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2151.6","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":484,"ElementID":61,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3965.5","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":485,"ElementID":61,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":486,"ElementID":61,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":487,"ElementID":61,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":488,"ElementID":61,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":489,"ElementID":62,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"544.534","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":490,"ElementID":62,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1068.09","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":491,"ElementID":62,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2257.8","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":492,"ElementID":62,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3994.5","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":493,"ElementID":62,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":494,"ElementID":62,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":495,"ElementID":62,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":496,"ElementID":62,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":497,"ElementID":63,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"547.109","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":498,"ElementID":63,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1085.46","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":499,"ElementID":63,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2404.41","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":500,"ElementID":63,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4119.9","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":501,"ElementID":63,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":502,"ElementID":63,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":503,"ElementID":63,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":504,"ElementID":63,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":505,"ElementID":64,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"593.366","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":506,"ElementID":64,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1166.51","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":507,"ElementID":64,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1990.49","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":508,"ElementID":64,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4245","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":509,"ElementID":64,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":510,"ElementID":64,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":511,"ElementID":64,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":512,"ElementID":64,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":513,"ElementID":65,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"565.771","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":514,"ElementID":65,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1111.51","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":515,"ElementID":65,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2113.99","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":516,"ElementID":65,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3839.15","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":517,"ElementID":65,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":518,"ElementID":65,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":519,"ElementID":65,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":520,"ElementID":65,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":521,"ElementID":66,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"573.017","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":522,"ElementID":66,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1125.98","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":523,"ElementID":66,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2199.9","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":524,"ElementID":66,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4001.25","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":525,"ElementID":66,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":526,"ElementID":66,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":527,"ElementID":66,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":528,"ElementID":66,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":529,"ElementID":67,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"580.987","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":530,"ElementID":67,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1138.5","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":531,"ElementID":67,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2203.73","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":532,"ElementID":67,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4100.6","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":533,"ElementID":67,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":534,"ElementID":67,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":535,"ElementID":67,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":536,"ElementID":67,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":537,"ElementID":68,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"589.304","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":538,"ElementID":68,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1151.07","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":539,"ElementID":68,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2194.08","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":540,"ElementID":68,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4119.9","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":541,"ElementID":68,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":542,"ElementID":68,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":543,"ElementID":68,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":544,"ElementID":68,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":545,"ElementID":69,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"596.695","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":546,"ElementID":69,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1162.65","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":547,"ElementID":69,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2284.77","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":548,"ElementID":69,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4119.9","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":549,"ElementID":69,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":550,"ElementID":69,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":551,"ElementID":69,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":552,"ElementID":69,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":553,"ElementID":70,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"603.435","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":554,"ElementID":70,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1174.805","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":555,"ElementID":70,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2416.96","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":556,"ElementID":70,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4202.9","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":557,"ElementID":70,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":558,"ElementID":70,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":559,"ElementID":70,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":560,"ElementID":70,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":561,"ElementID":71,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"523.516","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":562,"ElementID":71,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1341.1","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":563,"ElementID":71,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2022.275","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":564,"ElementID":71,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4365.96","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":565,"ElementID":71,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6445.2","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":566,"ElementID":71,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":567,"ElementID":71,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":568,"ElementID":71,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":569,"ElementID":72,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"658.519","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":570,"ElementID":72,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1447","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":571,"ElementID":72,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2248.1","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":572,"ElementID":72,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3215.86","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":573,"ElementID":72,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":574,"ElementID":72,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":575,"ElementID":72,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":576,"ElementID":72,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":577,"ElementID":73,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"728.423","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":578,"ElementID":73,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":579,"ElementID":73,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":580,"ElementID":73,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":581,"ElementID":73,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":582,"ElementID":73,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":583,"ElementID":73,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":584,"ElementID":73,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":585,"ElementID":74,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"758.764","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":586,"ElementID":74,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1553.4","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":587,"ElementID":74,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":588,"ElementID":74,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":589,"ElementID":74,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":590,"ElementID":74,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":591,"ElementID":74,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":592,"ElementID":74,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":593,"ElementID":75,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"755.82","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":594,"ElementID":75,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":595,"ElementID":75,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":596,"ElementID":75,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":597,"ElementID":75,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":598,"ElementID":75,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":599,"ElementID":75,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":600,"ElementID":75,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":601,"ElementID":76,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"814.165","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":602,"ElementID":76,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":603,"ElementID":76,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":604,"ElementID":76,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":605,"ElementID":76,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":606,"ElementID":76,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":607,"ElementID":76,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":608,"ElementID":76,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":609,"ElementID":77,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"865.186","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":610,"ElementID":77,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":611,"ElementID":77,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":612,"ElementID":77,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":613,"ElementID":77,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":614,"ElementID":77,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":615,"ElementID":77,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":616,"ElementID":77,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":617,"ElementID":78,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"864.393","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":618,"ElementID":78,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1791.057","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":619,"ElementID":78,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":620,"ElementID":78,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":621,"ElementID":78,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":622,"ElementID":78,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":623,"ElementID":78,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":624,"ElementID":78,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":625,"ElementID":79,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"890.128","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":626,"ElementID":79,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1949","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":627,"ElementID":79,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":628,"ElementID":79,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":629,"ElementID":79,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":630,"ElementID":79,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":631,"ElementID":79,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":632,"ElementID":79,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":633,"ElementID":80,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1007.066","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":634,"ElementID":80,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1809.756","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":635,"ElementID":80,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3299.8","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":636,"ElementID":80,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":637,"ElementID":80,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":638,"ElementID":80,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":639,"ElementID":80,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":640,"ElementID":80,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":641,"ElementID":81,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"589.351","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":642,"ElementID":81,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1971.032","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":643,"ElementID":81,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2878.16","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":644,"ElementID":81,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":645,"ElementID":81,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":646,"ElementID":81,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":647,"ElementID":81,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":648,"ElementID":81,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":649,"ElementID":82,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"715.596","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":650,"ElementID":82,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1450.414","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":651,"ElementID":82,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"3081.481","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":652,"ElementID":82,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4083.26","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":653,"ElementID":82,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"6638.2","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":654,"ElementID":82,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":655,"ElementID":82,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":656,"ElementID":82,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":657,"ElementID":83,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"702.944","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":658,"ElementID":83,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1611.595","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":659,"ElementID":83,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2466.17","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":660,"ElementID":83,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"4370.8","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":661,"ElementID":83,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"5403","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":662,"ElementID":83,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"8519.7","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":663,"ElementID":83,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":664,"ElementID":83,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":665,"ElementID":84,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"811.828","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":666,"ElementID":84,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":667,"ElementID":84,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":668,"ElementID":84,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":669,"ElementID":84,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":670,"ElementID":84,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":671,"ElementID":84,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":672,"ElementID":84,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":673,"ElementID":85,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":674,"ElementID":85,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":675,"ElementID":85,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":676,"ElementID":85,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":677,"ElementID":85,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":678,"ElementID":85,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":679,"ElementID":85,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":680,"ElementID":85,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":681,"ElementID":86,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1037.073","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":682,"ElementID":86,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":683,"ElementID":86,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":684,"ElementID":86,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":685,"ElementID":86,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":686,"ElementID":86,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":687,"ElementID":86,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":688,"ElementID":86,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":689,"ElementID":87,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"392.96","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":690,"ElementID":87,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":691,"ElementID":87,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":692,"ElementID":87,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":693,"ElementID":87,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":694,"ElementID":87,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":695,"ElementID":87,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":696,"ElementID":87,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":697,"ElementID":88,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"509.29","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":698,"ElementID":88,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"979.051","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":699,"ElementID":88,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":700,"ElementID":88,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":701,"ElementID":88,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":702,"ElementID":88,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":703,"ElementID":88,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":704,"ElementID":88,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":705,"ElementID":89,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"498.83","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":706,"ElementID":89,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1133.7","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":707,"ElementID":89,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":708,"ElementID":89,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":709,"ElementID":89,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":710,"ElementID":89,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":711,"ElementID":89,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":712,"ElementID":89,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":713,"ElementID":90,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"608.504","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":714,"ElementID":90,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1148.2","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":715,"ElementID":90,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1930","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":716,"ElementID":90,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"2778.8","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":717,"ElementID":90,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":718,"ElementID":90,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":719,"ElementID":90,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":720,"ElementID":90,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":721,"ElementID":91,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"568.3","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":722,"ElementID":91,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":723,"ElementID":91,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":724,"ElementID":91,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":725,"ElementID":91,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":726,"ElementID":91,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":727,"ElementID":91,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":728,"ElementID":91,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":729,"ElementID":92,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"597.64","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":730,"ElementID":92,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1022.7","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":731,"ElementID":92,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":732,"ElementID":92,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":733,"ElementID":92,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":734,"ElementID":92,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":735,"ElementID":92,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":736,"ElementID":92,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":737,"ElementID":93,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"604.548","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":738,"ElementID":93,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":739,"ElementID":93,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":740,"ElementID":93,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":741,"ElementID":93,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":742,"ElementID":93,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":743,"ElementID":93,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":744,"ElementID":93,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":745,"ElementID":94,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"581.421","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":746,"ElementID":94,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1080.6","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":747,"ElementID":94,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":748,"ElementID":94,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":749,"ElementID":94,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":750,"ElementID":94,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":751,"ElementID":94,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":752,"ElementID":94,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":753,"ElementID":95,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"576.384","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":754,"ElementID":95,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":755,"ElementID":95,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":756,"ElementID":95,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":757,"ElementID":95,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":758,"ElementID":95,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":759,"ElementID":95,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":760,"ElementID":95,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":761,"ElementID":96,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"578.082","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":762,"ElementID":96,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":763,"ElementID":96,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":764,"ElementID":96,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":765,"ElementID":96,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":766,"ElementID":96,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":767,"ElementID":96,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":768,"ElementID":96,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":769,"ElementID":97,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"598.007","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":770,"ElementID":97,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":771,"ElementID":97,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":772,"ElementID":97,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":773,"ElementID":97,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":774,"ElementID":97,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":775,"ElementID":97,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":776,"ElementID":97,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":777,"ElementID":98,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"606.092","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":778,"ElementID":98,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1138.5","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":779,"ElementID":98,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":780,"ElementID":98,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":781,"ElementID":98,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":782,"ElementID":98,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":783,"ElementID":98,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":784,"ElementID":98,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":785,"ElementID":99,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"619.44","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":786,"ElementID":99,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"1158","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":787,"ElementID":99,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":788,"ElementID":99,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":789,"ElementID":99,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":790,"ElementID":99,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":791,"ElementID":99,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":792,"ElementID":99,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":793,"ElementID":100,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"627.2","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":794,"ElementID":100,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":795,"ElementID":100,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":796,"ElementID":100,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":797,"ElementID":100,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":798,"ElementID":100,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":799,"ElementID":100,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":800,"ElementID":100,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":801,"ElementID":101,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"634.87","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":802,"ElementID":101,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":803,"ElementID":101,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":804,"ElementID":101,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":805,"ElementID":101,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":806,"ElementID":101,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":807,"ElementID":101,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":808,"ElementID":101,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":809,"ElementID":102,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"641.63","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":810,"ElementID":102,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":811,"ElementID":102,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":812,"ElementID":102,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":813,"ElementID":102,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":814,"ElementID":102,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":815,"ElementID":102,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":816,"ElementID":102,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":817,"ElementID":103,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"472.8","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":818,"ElementID":103,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":819,"ElementID":103,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":820,"ElementID":103,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":821,"ElementID":103,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":822,"ElementID":103,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":823,"ElementID":103,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":824,"ElementID":103,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":825,"ElementID":104,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"579","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":826,"ElementID":104,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":827,"ElementID":104,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":828,"ElementID":104,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":829,"ElementID":104,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":830,"ElementID":104,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":831,"ElementID":104,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":832,"ElementID":104,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":833,"ElementID":105,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":834,"ElementID":105,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":835,"ElementID":105,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":836,"ElementID":105,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":837,"ElementID":105,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":838,"ElementID":105,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":839,"ElementID":105,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":840,"ElementID":105,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":841,"ElementID":106,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":842,"ElementID":106,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":843,"ElementID":106,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":844,"ElementID":106,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":845,"ElementID":106,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":846,"ElementID":106,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":847,"ElementID":106,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":848,"ElementID":106,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":849,"ElementID":107,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":850,"ElementID":107,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":851,"ElementID":107,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":852,"ElementID":107,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":853,"ElementID":107,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":854,"ElementID":107,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":855,"ElementID":107,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":856,"ElementID":107,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":857,"ElementID":108,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":858,"ElementID":108,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":859,"ElementID":108,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":860,"ElementID":108,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":861,"ElementID":108,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":862,"ElementID":108,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":863,"ElementID":108,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":864,"ElementID":108,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":865,"ElementID":109,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":866,"ElementID":109,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":867,"ElementID":109,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":868,"ElementID":109,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":869,"ElementID":109,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":870,"ElementID":109,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":871,"ElementID":109,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":872,"ElementID":109,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":873,"ElementID":110,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":874,"ElementID":110,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":875,"ElementID":110,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":876,"ElementID":110,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":877,"ElementID":110,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":878,"ElementID":110,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":879,"ElementID":110,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":880,"ElementID":110,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":881,"ElementID":111,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":882,"ElementID":111,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":883,"ElementID":111,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":884,"ElementID":111,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":885,"ElementID":111,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":886,"ElementID":111,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":887,"ElementID":111,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":888,"ElementID":111,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":889,"ElementID":112,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":890,"ElementID":112,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":891,"ElementID":112,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":892,"ElementID":112,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":893,"ElementID":112,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":894,"ElementID":112,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":895,"ElementID":112,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":896,"ElementID":112,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":897,"ElementID":113,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":898,"ElementID":113,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":899,"ElementID":113,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":900,"ElementID":113,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":901,"ElementID":113,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":902,"ElementID":113,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":903,"ElementID":113,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":904,"ElementID":113,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":905,"ElementID":114,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":906,"ElementID":114,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":907,"ElementID":114,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":908,"ElementID":114,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":909,"ElementID":114,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":910,"ElementID":114,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":911,"ElementID":114,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":912,"ElementID":114,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":913,"ElementID":115,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":914,"ElementID":115,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":915,"ElementID":115,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":916,"ElementID":115,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":917,"ElementID":115,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":918,"ElementID":115,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":919,"ElementID":115,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":920,"ElementID":115,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":921,"ElementID":116,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":922,"ElementID":116,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":923,"ElementID":116,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":924,"ElementID":116,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":925,"ElementID":116,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":926,"ElementID":116,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":927,"ElementID":116,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":928,"ElementID":116,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":929,"ElementID":117,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":930,"ElementID":117,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":931,"ElementID":117,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":932,"ElementID":117,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":933,"ElementID":117,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":934,"ElementID":117,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":935,"ElementID":117,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":936,"ElementID":117,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":937,"ElementID":118,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":1,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":938,"ElementID":118,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":2,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":939,"ElementID":118,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":3,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":940,"ElementID":118,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":4,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":941,"ElementID":118,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":5,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":942,"ElementID":118,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":6,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":943,"ElementID":118,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":7,"AtomicNumber":0},{"IonisationEnergyID":944,"ElementID":118,"IonisationEnergyEV":"","IonisationEnergyKJMOL":"","SerialNo":8,"AtomicNumber":0}],"FirstIonisationEnergies":[{"Name":"1","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1312.05"},{"Name":"2","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2372.322"},{"Name":"3","DisplayName":null,"Value":"520.222"},{"Name":"4","DisplayName":null,"Value":"899.504"},{"Name":"5","DisplayName":null,"Value":"800.637"},{"Name":"6","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1086.454"},{"Name":"7","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1402.328"},{"Name":"8","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1313.942"},{"Name":"9","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1681.045"},{"Name":"10","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2080.662"},{"Name":"11","DisplayName":null,"Value":"495.845"},{"Name":"12","DisplayName":null,"Value":"737.75"},{"Name":"13","DisplayName":null,"Value":"577.539"},{"Name":"14","DisplayName":null,"Value":"786.518"},{"Name":"15","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1011.812"},{"Name":"16","DisplayName":null,"Value":"999.589"},{"Name":"17","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1251.186"},{"Name":"18","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1520.571"},{"Name":"19","DisplayName":null,"Value":"418.81"},{"Name":"20","DisplayName":null,"Value":"589.83"},{"Name":"21","DisplayName":null,"Value":"633.088"},{"Name":"22","DisplayName":null,"Value":"658.813"},{"Name":"23","DisplayName":null,"Value":"650.908"},{"Name":"24","DisplayName":null,"Value":"652.869"},{"Name":"25","DisplayName":null,"Value":"717.274"},{"Name":"26","DisplayName":null,"Value":"762.466"},{"Name":"27","DisplayName":null,"Value":"760.402"},{"Name":"28","DisplayName":null,"Value":"737.129"},{"Name":"29","DisplayName":null,"Value":"745.482"},{"Name":"30","DisplayName":null,"Value":"906.402"},{"Name":"31","DisplayName":null,"Value":"578.845"},{"Name":"32","DisplayName":null,"Value":"762.179"},{"Name":"33","DisplayName":null,"Value":"944.456"},{"Name":"34","DisplayName":null,"Value":"940.963"},{"Name":"35","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1139.859"},{"Name":"36","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1350.757"},{"Name":"37","DisplayName":null,"Value":"403.032"},{"Name":"38","DisplayName":null,"Value":"549.47"},{"Name":"39","DisplayName":null,"Value":"599.878"},{"Name":"40","DisplayName":null,"Value":"640.074"},{"Name":"41","DisplayName":null,"Value":"652.13"},{"Name":"42","DisplayName":null,"Value":"684.316"},{"Name":"43","DisplayName":null,"Value":"702.41"},{"Name":"44","DisplayName":null,"Value":"710.18"},{"Name":"45","DisplayName":null,"Value":"719.675"},{"Name":"46","DisplayName":null,"Value":"804.389"},{"Name":"47","DisplayName":null,"Value":"730.995"},{"Name":"48","DisplayName":null,"Value":"867.772"},{"Name":"49","DisplayName":null,"Value":"558.299"},{"Name":"50","DisplayName":null,"Value":"708.581"},{"Name":"51","DisplayName":null,"Value":"830.583"},{"Name":"52","DisplayName":null,"Value":"869.294"},{"Name":"53","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1008.393"},{"Name":"54","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1170.352"},{"Name":"55","DisplayName":null,"Value":"375.705"},{"Name":"56","DisplayName":null,"Value":"502.849"},{"Name":"57","DisplayName":null,"Value":"538.089"},{"Name":"58","DisplayName":null,"Value":"534.403"},{"Name":"59","DisplayName":null,"Value":"528.064"},{"Name":"60","DisplayName":null,"Value":"533.082"},{"Name":"61","DisplayName":null,"Value":"538.581"},{"Name":"62","DisplayName":null,"Value":"544.534"},{"Name":"63","DisplayName":null,"Value":"547.109"},{"Name":"64","DisplayName":null,"Value":"593.366"},{"Name":"65","DisplayName":null,"Value":"565.771"},{"Name":"66","DisplayName":null,"Value":"573.017"},{"Name":"67","DisplayName":null,"Value":"580.987"},{"Name":"68","DisplayName":null,"Value":"589.304"},{"Name":"69","DisplayName":null,"Value":"596.695"},{"Name":"70","DisplayName":null,"Value":"603.435"},{"Name":"71","DisplayName":null,"Value":"523.516"},{"Name":"72","DisplayName":null,"Value":"658.519"},{"Name":"73","DisplayName":null,"Value":"728.423"},{"Name":"74","DisplayName":null,"Value":"758.764"},{"Name":"75","DisplayName":null,"Value":"755.82"},{"Name":"76","DisplayName":null,"Value":"814.165"},{"Name":"77","DisplayName":null,"Value":"865.186"},{"Name":"78","DisplayName":null,"Value":"864.393"},{"Name":"79","DisplayName":null,"Value":"890.128"},{"Name":"80","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1007.066"},{"Name":"81","DisplayName":null,"Value":"589.351"},{"Name":"82","DisplayName":null,"Value":"715.596"},{"Name":"83","DisplayName":null,"Value":"702.944"},{"Name":"84","DisplayName":null,"Value":"811.828"},{"Name":"85","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"86","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1037.073"},{"Name":"87","DisplayName":null,"Value":"392.96"},{"Name":"88","DisplayName":null,"Value":"509.29"},{"Name":"89","DisplayName":null,"Value":"498.83"},{"Name":"90","DisplayName":null,"Value":"608.504"},{"Name":"91","DisplayName":null,"Value":"568.3"},{"Name":"92","DisplayName":null,"Value":"597.64"},{"Name":"93","DisplayName":null,"Value":"604.548"},{"Name":"94","DisplayName":null,"Value":"581.421"},{"Name":"95","DisplayName":null,"Value":"576.384"},{"Name":"96","DisplayName":null,"Value":"578.082"},{"Name":"97","DisplayName":null,"Value":"598.007"},{"Name":"98","DisplayName":null,"Value":"606.092"},{"Name":"99","DisplayName":null,"Value":"619.44"},{"Name":"100","DisplayName":null,"Value":"627.2"},{"Name":"101","DisplayName":null,"Value":"634.87"},{"Name":"102","DisplayName":null,"Value":"641.63"},{"Name":"103","DisplayName":null,"Value":"472.8"},{"Name":"104","DisplayName":null,"Value":"579"},{"Name":"105","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"106","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"107","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"108","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"109","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"110","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"111","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"112","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"113","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"114","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"115","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"116","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"117","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"118","DisplayName":null,"Value":""}],"Isotopes":[{"IsotopeID":4627,"ElementID":3,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003eLi","AtomicMass":"6.015","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.59","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4628,"ElementID":3,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003eLi","AtomicMass":"7.016","NaturalAbundancePercent":"92.41","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4629,"ElementID":4,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003eBe","AtomicMass":"9.012","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4632,"ElementID":6,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003eC","AtomicMass":"12.000","NaturalAbundancePercent":"98.93","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4633,"ElementID":6,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e13\u003c/sup\u003eC","AtomicMass":"13.003","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.07","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4634,"ElementID":6,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003eC","AtomicMass":"14.003","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2217,"HalfLife":"5715 y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4634}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4635,"ElementID":7,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003eN","AtomicMass":"14.003","NaturalAbundancePercent":"99.636","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4636,"ElementID":7,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e15\u003c/sup\u003eN","AtomicMass":"15.000","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.364","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4640,"ElementID":9,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003eF","AtomicMass":"18.998","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4641,"ElementID":10,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003eNe","AtomicMass":"19.992","NaturalAbundancePercent":"90.48","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4642,"ElementID":10,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003eNe","AtomicMass":"20.994","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.27","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4643,"ElementID":10,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e22\u003c/sup\u003eNe","AtomicMass":"21.991","NaturalAbundancePercent":"9.25","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4644,"ElementID":11,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e23\u003c/sup\u003eNa","AtomicMass":"22.990","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4645,"ElementID":12,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e24\u003c/sup\u003eMg","AtomicMass":"23.985","NaturalAbundancePercent":"78.99","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4646,"ElementID":12,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e25\u003c/sup\u003eMg","AtomicMass":"24.986","NaturalAbundancePercent":"10","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4647,"ElementID":12,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e26\u003c/sup\u003eMg","AtomicMass":"25.983","NaturalAbundancePercent":"11.01","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4648,"ElementID":13,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e27\u003c/sup\u003eAl","AtomicMass":"26.982","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4652,"ElementID":15,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e31\u003c/sup\u003eP","AtomicMass":"30.974","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4653,"ElementID":16,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e32\u003c/sup\u003eS","AtomicMass":"31.972","NaturalAbundancePercent":"94.99","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4654,"ElementID":16,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e33\u003c/sup\u003eS","AtomicMass":"32.971","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.75","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4655,"ElementID":16,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e34\u003c/sup\u003eS","AtomicMass":"33.968","NaturalAbundancePercent":"4.25","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4656,"ElementID":16,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e36\u003c/sup\u003eS","AtomicMass":"35.967","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.01","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4657,"ElementID":17,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e35\u003c/sup\u003eCl","AtomicMass":"34.969","NaturalAbundancePercent":"75.76","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4658,"ElementID":17,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e37\u003c/sup\u003eCl","AtomicMass":"36.966","NaturalAbundancePercent":"24.24","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4665,"ElementID":20,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e40\u003c/sup\u003eCa","AtomicMass":"39.963","NaturalAbundancePercent":"96.941","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2220,"HalfLife":"5.92 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC-EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4665}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4666,"ElementID":20,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e42\u003c/sup\u003eCa","AtomicMass":"41.959","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.647","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4667,"ElementID":20,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e43\u003c/sup\u003eCa","AtomicMass":"42.959","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.135","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4668,"ElementID":20,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e44\u003c/sup\u003eCa","AtomicMass":"43.955","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.086","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4669,"ElementID":20,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e46\u003c/sup\u003eCa","AtomicMass":"45.954","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.004","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2221,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 0.4 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4669}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4670,"ElementID":20,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e48\u003c/sup\u003eCa","AtomicMass":"47.953","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.187","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2222,"HalfLife":"4.4 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4670},{"ElementDecayPathID":2223,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 7.1 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4670}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4671,"ElementID":21,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e45\u003c/sup\u003eSc","AtomicMass":"44.956","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4672,"ElementID":22,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e46\u003c/sup\u003eTi","AtomicMass":"45.953","NaturalAbundancePercent":"8.25","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4673,"ElementID":22,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e47\u003c/sup\u003eTi","AtomicMass":"46.952","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.44","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4674,"ElementID":22,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e48\u003c/sup\u003eTi","AtomicMass":"47.948","NaturalAbundancePercent":"73.72","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4675,"ElementID":22,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e49\u003c/sup\u003eTi","AtomicMass":"48.948","NaturalAbundancePercent":"5.41","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4676,"ElementID":22,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e50\u003c/sup\u003eTi","AtomicMass":"49.945","NaturalAbundancePercent":"5.18","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4677,"ElementID":23,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e50\u003c/sup\u003eV","AtomicMass":"49.947","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.25","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2224,"HalfLife":"1.4 x 10\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4677}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4678,"ElementID":23,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e51\u003c/sup\u003eV","AtomicMass":"50.944","NaturalAbundancePercent":"99.75","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4679,"ElementID":24,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e50\u003c/sup\u003eCr","AtomicMass":"49.946","NaturalAbundancePercent":"4.345","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2225,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 1.3 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β+EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4679}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4680,"ElementID":24,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e52\u003c/sup\u003eCr","AtomicMass":"51.941","NaturalAbundancePercent":"83.789","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4681,"ElementID":24,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e53\u003c/sup\u003eCr","AtomicMass":"52.941","NaturalAbundancePercent":"9.501","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4682,"ElementID":24,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e54\u003c/sup\u003eCr","AtomicMass":"53.939","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.365","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4683,"ElementID":25,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e55\u003c/sup\u003eMn","AtomicMass":"54.938","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4684,"ElementID":26,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e54\u003c/sup\u003eFe","AtomicMass":"53.940","NaturalAbundancePercent":"5.845","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2226,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 3.1 x 10\u003csup\u003e22\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC-EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4684}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4685,"ElementID":26,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e56\u003c/sup\u003eFe","AtomicMass":"55.935","NaturalAbundancePercent":"91.754","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4686,"ElementID":26,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e57\u003c/sup\u003eFe","AtomicMass":"56.935","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.119","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4687,"ElementID":26,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e58\u003c/sup\u003eFe","AtomicMass":"57.933","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.282","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4688,"ElementID":27,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e59\u003c/sup\u003eCo","AtomicMass":"58.933","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4694,"ElementID":29,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e63\u003c/sup\u003eCu","AtomicMass":"62.930","NaturalAbundancePercent":"69.15","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4695,"ElementID":29,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e65\u003c/sup\u003eCu","AtomicMass":"64.928","NaturalAbundancePercent":"30.85","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4696,"ElementID":30,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e64\u003c/sup\u003eZn","AtomicMass":"63.929","NaturalAbundancePercent":"49.17","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2228,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 7 x 10\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC-β+","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4696}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4697,"ElementID":30,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e66\u003c/sup\u003eZn","AtomicMass":"65.926","NaturalAbundancePercent":"27.73","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4698,"ElementID":30,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e67\u003c/sup\u003eZn","AtomicMass":"66.927","NaturalAbundancePercent":"4.04","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4699,"ElementID":30,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e68\u003c/sup\u003eZn","AtomicMass":"67.925","NaturalAbundancePercent":"18.45","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4700,"ElementID":30,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e70\u003c/sup\u003eZn","AtomicMass":"69.925","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.61","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2229,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 2.3 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4700}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4708,"ElementID":33,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e75\u003c/sup\u003eAs","AtomicMass":"74.922","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4723,"ElementID":37,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e85\u003c/sup\u003eRb","AtomicMass":"84.912","NaturalAbundancePercent":"72.17","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4724,"ElementID":37,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e87\u003c/sup\u003eRb","AtomicMass":"86.909","NaturalAbundancePercent":"27.83","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2236,"HalfLife":"4.88 x 10\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4724}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4725,"ElementID":38,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e84\u003c/sup\u003eSr","AtomicMass":"83.913","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.56","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4726,"ElementID":38,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e86\u003c/sup\u003eSr","AtomicMass":"85.909","NaturalAbundancePercent":"9.86","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4727,"ElementID":38,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e87\u003c/sup\u003eSr","AtomicMass":"86.909","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4728,"ElementID":38,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e88\u003c/sup\u003eSr","AtomicMass":"87.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"82.58","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4735,"ElementID":41,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e93\u003c/sup\u003eNb","AtomicMass":"92.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4743,"ElementID":43,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e97\u003c/sup\u003eTc","AtomicMass":"96.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2242,"HalfLife":"4.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4743}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4744,"ElementID":43,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e98\u003c/sup\u003eTc","AtomicMass":"97.907","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2243,"HalfLife":"6.6 x 10\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4744},{"ElementDecayPathID":2244,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4744}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4745,"ElementID":43,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e99\u003c/sup\u003eTc","AtomicMass":"98.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2245,"HalfLife":"2.13 x 10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4745}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4754,"ElementID":46,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e102\u003c/sup\u003ePd","AtomicMass":"101.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.02","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4755,"ElementID":46,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e104\u003c/sup\u003ePd","AtomicMass":"103.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"11.14","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4756,"ElementID":46,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e105\u003c/sup\u003ePd","AtomicMass":"104.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"22.33","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4757,"ElementID":46,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e106\u003c/sup\u003ePd","AtomicMass":"105.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"27.33","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4758,"ElementID":46,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e108\u003c/sup\u003ePd","AtomicMass":"107.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"26.46","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4759,"ElementID":46,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e110\u003c/sup\u003ePd","AtomicMass":"109.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"11.72","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4760,"ElementID":47,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e107\u003c/sup\u003eAg","AtomicMass":"106.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"51.839","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4761,"ElementID":47,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e109\u003c/sup\u003eAg","AtomicMass":"108.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"48.161","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4770,"ElementID":49,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e115\u003c/sup\u003eIn","AtomicMass":"114.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"95.71","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2252,"HalfLife":"4.4 x 10\u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4770}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4781,"ElementID":51,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e121\u003c/sup\u003eSb","AtomicMass":"120.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"57.21","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4782,"ElementID":51,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e123\u003c/sup\u003eSb","AtomicMass":"122.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"42.79","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4783,"ElementID":52,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e120\u003c/sup\u003eTe","AtomicMass":"119.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.09","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2254,"HalfLife":"1.9 x 10\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β+EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4783}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4784,"ElementID":52,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e122\u003c/sup\u003eTe","AtomicMass":"121.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.55","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4785,"ElementID":52,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e123\u003c/sup\u003eTe","AtomicMass":"122.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.89","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2255,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 9.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4785}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4786,"ElementID":52,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e124\u003c/sup\u003eTe","AtomicMass":"123.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"4.74","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4787,"ElementID":52,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e125\u003c/sup\u003eTe","AtomicMass":"124.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.07","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4788,"ElementID":52,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e126\u003c/sup\u003eTe","AtomicMass":"125.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"18.84","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4789,"ElementID":52,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e128\u003c/sup\u003eTe","AtomicMass":"127.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"31.74","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2256,"HalfLife":"2.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e24\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4789}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4790,"ElementID":52,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e130\u003c/sup\u003eTe","AtomicMass":"129.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"34.08","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2257,"HalfLife":"8 x 10\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4790}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4791,"ElementID":53,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e127\u003c/sup\u003eI","AtomicMass":"126.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4792,"ElementID":54,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e124\u003c/sup\u003eXe","AtomicMass":"123.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.0952","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2258,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 10\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4792}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4793,"ElementID":54,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e126\u003c/sup\u003eXe","AtomicMass":"125.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.089","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4794,"ElementID":54,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e128\u003c/sup\u003eXe","AtomicMass":"127.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.9102","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4795,"ElementID":54,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e129\u003c/sup\u003eXe","AtomicMass":"128.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"26.4006","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4796,"ElementID":54,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e130\u003c/sup\u003eXe","AtomicMass":"129.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"4.071","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4797,"ElementID":54,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e131\u003c/sup\u003eXe","AtomicMass":"130.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"21.2324","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4798,"ElementID":54,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e132\u003c/sup\u003eXe","AtomicMass":"131.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"26.9086","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4799,"ElementID":54,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e134\u003c/sup\u003eXe","AtomicMass":"133.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"10.4357","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2259,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 1.1 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4799}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4800,"ElementID":54,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e136\u003c/sup\u003eXe","AtomicMass":"135.907","NaturalAbundancePercent":"8.8573","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2260,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 8.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4800}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4801,"ElementID":55,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e133\u003c/sup\u003eCs","AtomicMass":"132.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4802,"ElementID":56,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e130\u003c/sup\u003eBa","AtomicMass":"129.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.106","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2261,"HalfLife":"2.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β+β+","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4802}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4803,"ElementID":56,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e132\u003c/sup\u003eBa","AtomicMass":"131.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.101","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2262,"HalfLife":"1.3 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4803}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4804,"ElementID":56,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e134\u003c/sup\u003eBa","AtomicMass":"133.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.417","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4805,"ElementID":56,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e135\u003c/sup\u003eBa","AtomicMass":"134.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"6.592","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4806,"ElementID":56,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e136\u003c/sup\u003eBa","AtomicMass":"135.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.854","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4807,"ElementID":56,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e137\u003c/sup\u003eBa","AtomicMass":"136.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"11.232","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4808,"ElementID":56,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e138\u003c/sup\u003eBa","AtomicMass":"137.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"71.698","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4809,"ElementID":57,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e138\u003c/sup\u003eLa","AtomicMass":"137.907","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.09","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2263,"HalfLife":"1.06 x 10\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4809}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4810,"ElementID":57,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e139\u003c/sup\u003eLa","AtomicMass":"138.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"99.91","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4819,"ElementID":59,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e141\u003c/sup\u003ePr","AtomicMass":"140.908","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4827,"ElementID":61,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e145\u003c/sup\u003ePm","AtomicMass":"144.913","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2274,"HalfLife":"17.7 y","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4827}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4828,"ElementID":61,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e147\u003c/sup\u003ePm","AtomicMass":"146.915","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2275,"HalfLife":"2.623 y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4828}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4829,"ElementID":62,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e144\u003c/sup\u003eSm","AtomicMass":"143.912","NaturalAbundancePercent":"3.07","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4830,"ElementID":62,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e147\u003c/sup\u003eSm","AtomicMass":"146.915","NaturalAbundancePercent":"14.99","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2276,"HalfLife":"1.06 x 10\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"a","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4830}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4831,"ElementID":62,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e148\u003c/sup\u003eSm","AtomicMass":"147.915","NaturalAbundancePercent":"11.24","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2277,"HalfLife":"7 x 10\u003csup\u003e15\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"a","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4831}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4832,"ElementID":62,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e149\u003c/sup\u003eSm","AtomicMass":"148.917","NaturalAbundancePercent":"13.82","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2278,"HalfLife":"10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"a","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4832}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4833,"ElementID":62,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e150\u003c/sup\u003eSm","AtomicMass":"149.917","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.38","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4834,"ElementID":62,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e152\u003c/sup\u003eSm","AtomicMass":"151.920","NaturalAbundancePercent":"26.75","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4835,"ElementID":62,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e154\u003c/sup\u003eSm","AtomicMass":"153.922","NaturalAbundancePercent":"22.75","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4838,"ElementID":64,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e152\u003c/sup\u003eGd","AtomicMass":"151.920","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.2","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4839,"ElementID":64,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e154\u003c/sup\u003eGd","AtomicMass":"153.921","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.18","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4840,"ElementID":64,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e155\u003c/sup\u003eGd","AtomicMass":"154.923","NaturalAbundancePercent":"14.8","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4841,"ElementID":64,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e156\u003c/sup\u003eGd","AtomicMass":"155.922","NaturalAbundancePercent":"20.47","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4842,"ElementID":64,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e157\u003c/sup\u003eGd","AtomicMass":"156.924","NaturalAbundancePercent":"15.65","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4843,"ElementID":64,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e158\u003c/sup\u003eGd","AtomicMass":"157.924","NaturalAbundancePercent":"24.84","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4844,"ElementID":64,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e160\u003c/sup\u003eGd","AtomicMass":"159.927","NaturalAbundancePercent":"21.86","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2280,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 1.9 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4844}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4845,"ElementID":65,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e159\u003c/sup\u003eTb","AtomicMass":"158.925","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4853,"ElementID":67,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e165\u003c/sup\u003eHo","AtomicMass":"164.930","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4854,"ElementID":68,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e162\u003c/sup\u003eEr","AtomicMass":"161.929","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.139","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4855,"ElementID":68,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e164\u003c/sup\u003eEr","AtomicMass":"163.929","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.601","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4856,"ElementID":68,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e166\u003c/sup\u003eEr","AtomicMass":"165.930","NaturalAbundancePercent":"33.503","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4857,"ElementID":68,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e167\u003c/sup\u003eEr","AtomicMass":"166.932","NaturalAbundancePercent":"22.869","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4858,"ElementID":68,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e168\u003c/sup\u003eEr","AtomicMass":"167.932","NaturalAbundancePercent":"26.978","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4859,"ElementID":68,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e170\u003c/sup\u003eEr","AtomicMass":"169.935","NaturalAbundancePercent":"14.91","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4860,"ElementID":69,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e169\u003c/sup\u003eTm","AtomicMass":"168.934","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4876,"ElementID":73,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e180\u003c/sup\u003eTa","AtomicMass":"179.947","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.012","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2286,"HalfLife":"3.65 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4876},{"ElementDecayPathID":2287,"HalfLife":"4.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4876},{"ElementDecayPathID":2288,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 2.0 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":3,"IsotopeID":4876}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4877,"ElementID":73,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e181\u003c/sup\u003eTa","AtomicMass":"180.948","NaturalAbundancePercent":"99.988","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4878,"ElementID":74,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e180\u003c/sup\u003eW","AtomicMass":"179.947","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.12","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2289,"HalfLife":"1.8 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4878}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4879,"ElementID":74,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e182\u003c/sup\u003eW","AtomicMass":"181.948","NaturalAbundancePercent":"26.5","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2290,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 7.7 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4879}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4880,"ElementID":74,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e183\u003c/sup\u003eW","AtomicMass":"182.950","NaturalAbundancePercent":"14.31","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2291,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 4.1 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4880}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4881,"ElementID":74,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e184\u003c/sup\u003eW","AtomicMass":"183.951","NaturalAbundancePercent":"30.64","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2292,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 8.9 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4881}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4882,"ElementID":74,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e186\u003c/sup\u003eW","AtomicMass":"185.954","NaturalAbundancePercent":"28.43","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2293,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 8.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4882}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4885,"ElementID":76,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e184\u003c/sup\u003eOs","AtomicMass":"183.952","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.02","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4886,"ElementID":76,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e186\u003c/sup\u003eOs","AtomicMass":"185.954","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.59","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2295,"HalfLife":"2 x 10\u003csup\u003e15\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4886}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4887,"ElementID":76,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e187\u003c/sup\u003eOs","AtomicMass":"186.956","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.96","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4888,"ElementID":76,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e188\u003c/sup\u003eOs","AtomicMass":"187.956","NaturalAbundancePercent":"13.24","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4889,"ElementID":76,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e189\u003c/sup\u003eOs","AtomicMass":"188.958","NaturalAbundancePercent":"16.15","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4890,"ElementID":76,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e190\u003c/sup\u003eOs","AtomicMass":"189.958","NaturalAbundancePercent":"26.26","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4891,"ElementID":76,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e192\u003c/sup\u003eOs","AtomicMass":"191.961","NaturalAbundancePercent":"40.78","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4892,"ElementID":77,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e191\u003c/sup\u003eIr","AtomicMass":"190.961","NaturalAbundancePercent":"37.3","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4893,"ElementID":77,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e193\u003c/sup\u003eIr","AtomicMass":"192.963","NaturalAbundancePercent":"62.7","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4900,"ElementID":79,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e197\u003c/sup\u003eAu","AtomicMass":"196.967","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4901,"ElementID":79,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e198\u003c/sup\u003eAu","AtomicMass":"197.968","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2297,"HalfLife":"2.695 d","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4901}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4902,"ElementID":80,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e196\u003c/sup\u003eHg","AtomicMass":"195.966","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.15","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2298,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 2.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4902}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4903,"ElementID":80,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e198\u003c/sup\u003eHg","AtomicMass":"197.967","NaturalAbundancePercent":"9.97","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4904,"ElementID":80,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e199\u003c/sup\u003eHg","AtomicMass":"198.968","NaturalAbundancePercent":"16.87","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4905,"ElementID":80,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e200\u003c/sup\u003eHg","AtomicMass":"199.968","NaturalAbundancePercent":"23.1","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4906,"ElementID":80,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e201\u003c/sup\u003eHg","AtomicMass":"200.970","NaturalAbundancePercent":"13.18","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4907,"ElementID":80,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e202\u003c/sup\u003eHg","AtomicMass":"201.971","NaturalAbundancePercent":"29.86","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4908,"ElementID":80,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e204\u003c/sup\u003eHg","AtomicMass":"203.973","NaturalAbundancePercent":"6.87","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4909,"ElementID":81,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e203\u003c/sup\u003eTl","AtomicMass":"202.972","NaturalAbundancePercent":"29.52","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4910,"ElementID":81,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e205\u003c/sup\u003eTl","AtomicMass":"204.974","NaturalAbundancePercent":"70.48","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4911,"ElementID":82,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e204\u003c/sup\u003ePb","AtomicMass":"203.973","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.4","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4912,"ElementID":82,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e206\u003c/sup\u003ePb","AtomicMass":"205.974","NaturalAbundancePercent":"24.1","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4913,"ElementID":82,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e207\u003c/sup\u003ePb","AtomicMass":"206.976","NaturalAbundancePercent":"22.1","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4914,"ElementID":82,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e208\u003c/sup\u003ePb","AtomicMass":"207.977","NaturalAbundancePercent":"52.4","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2299,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 2 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4914}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4916,"ElementID":84,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e209\u003c/sup\u003ePo","AtomicMass":"208.982","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2301,"HalfLife":"128 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4916}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4917,"ElementID":84,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e210\u003c/sup\u003ePo","AtomicMass":"209.983","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2302,"HalfLife":"138.4 d","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4917}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4918,"ElementID":85,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e210\u003c/sup\u003eAt","AtomicMass":"209.987","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2303,"HalfLife":"8.1 h","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4918},{"ElementDecayPathID":2304,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4918}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4919,"ElementID":85,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e211\u003c/sup\u003eAt","AtomicMass":"210.987","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2305,"HalfLife":"7.21 h","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4919},{"ElementDecayPathID":2306,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4919}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4920,"ElementID":86,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e211\u003c/sup\u003eRn","AtomicMass":"210.991","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2307,"HalfLife":"14.6 h","ModeOfDecay":"β+,EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4920},{"ElementDecayPathID":2308,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4920}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4921,"ElementID":86,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e220\u003c/sup\u003eRn","AtomicMass":"220.011","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2309,"HalfLife":"55.6 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4921}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4922,"ElementID":86,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e222\u003c/sup\u003eRn","AtomicMass":"222.018","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2310,"HalfLife":"3.823 d","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4922}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4923,"ElementID":87,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e223\u003c/sup\u003eFr","AtomicMass":"223.020","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2311,"HalfLife":"22.0 m","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4923},{"ElementDecayPathID":2312,"HalfLife":"\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4923}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4924,"ElementID":88,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e223\u003c/sup\u003eRa","AtomicMass":"223.019","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2313,"HalfLife":"11.43 d","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4924}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4925,"ElementID":88,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e224\u003c/sup\u003eRa","AtomicMass":"224.020","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2314,"HalfLife":"3.66 d","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4925}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4926,"ElementID":88,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e226\u003c/sup\u003eRa","AtomicMass":"226.025","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2315,"HalfLife":"1599 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4926},{"ElementDecayPathID":2316,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 4 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4926}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4927,"ElementID":88,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e228\u003c/sup\u003eRa","AtomicMass":"228.031","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2317,"HalfLife":"5.76 y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4927},{"ElementDecayPathID":2318,"HalfLife":"\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"βf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4927}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4928,"ElementID":89,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e227\u003c/sup\u003eAc","AtomicMass":"227.028","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2319,"HalfLife":"21.77 y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4928},{"ElementDecayPathID":2320,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4928}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4929,"ElementID":90,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e230\u003c/sup\u003eTh","AtomicMass":"230.033","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2321,"HalfLife":"7.56 x 10\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4929},{"ElementDecayPathID":2322,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 2 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4929}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4930,"ElementID":90,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e232\u003c/sup\u003eTh","AtomicMass":"232.038","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2323,"HalfLife":"1.4 x 10\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4930},{"ElementDecayPathID":2324,"HalfLife":"1.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4930}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4931,"ElementID":91,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e231\u003c/sup\u003ePa","AtomicMass":"231.036","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2325,"HalfLife":"3.25 x 10\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4931},{"ElementDecayPathID":2326,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 2 x 10\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4931}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4932,"ElementID":92,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e233\u003c/sup\u003eU","AtomicMass":"233.040","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2327,"HalfLife":"1.590 x 10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4932},{"ElementDecayPathID":2328,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 2.7 x 10\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4932}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4933,"ElementID":92,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e234\u003c/sup\u003eU","AtomicMass":"234.041","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.0054","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2329,"HalfLife":"2.453 x 10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4933},{"ElementDecayPathID":2330,"HalfLife":"1.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4933}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4934,"ElementID":92,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e235\u003c/sup\u003eU","AtomicMass":"235.044","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.7204","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2331,"HalfLife":"7.03 x 10\u003csup\u003e8\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4934},{"ElementDecayPathID":2332,"HalfLife":"1.0 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4934}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4935,"ElementID":92,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e236\u003c/sup\u003eU","AtomicMass":"236.046","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2333,"HalfLife":"2.342 x 10\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4935},{"ElementDecayPathID":2334,"HalfLife":"2.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4935}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4936,"ElementID":92,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e238\u003c/sup\u003eU","AtomicMass":"238.051","NaturalAbundancePercent":"99.2742","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2335,"HalfLife":"8.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e15\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4936}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4937,"ElementID":93,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e236\u003c/sup\u003eNp","AtomicMass":"236.047","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2336,"HalfLife":"1.55 x 10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4937},{"ElementDecayPathID":2337,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4937}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4938,"ElementID":93,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e237\u003c/sup\u003eNp","AtomicMass":"237.048","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2338,"HalfLife":"2.14 x 10\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4938},{"ElementDecayPathID":2339,"HalfLife":"1 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4938}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4945,"ElementID":95,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e241\u003c/sup\u003eAm","AtomicMass":"241.057","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2353,"HalfLife":"432.7 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4945},{"ElementDecayPathID":2354,"HalfLife":"1.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4945}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4946,"ElementID":95,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e243\u003c/sup\u003eAm","AtomicMass":"243.061","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2355,"HalfLife":"7.37 x 10\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4946},{"ElementDecayPathID":2356,"HalfLife":"2 x 10\u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4946}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4947,"ElementID":96,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e243\u003c/sup\u003eCm","AtomicMass":"243.061","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2357,"HalfLife":"29.1 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4947},{"ElementDecayPathID":2358,"HalfLife":"5.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4947}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4948,"ElementID":96,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e244\u003c/sup\u003eCm","AtomicMass":"244.063","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2359,"HalfLife":"18.1 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4948},{"ElementDecayPathID":2360,"HalfLife":"1.32 x 10\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4948}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4949,"ElementID":96,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e245\u003c/sup\u003eCm","AtomicMass":"245.065","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2361,"HalfLife":"8.48 x 10\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4949},{"ElementDecayPathID":2362,"HalfLife":"1.4 x 10\u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4949}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4950,"ElementID":96,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e246\u003c/sup\u003eCm","AtomicMass":"246.067","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2363,"HalfLife":"4.76 x 10\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4950},{"ElementDecayPathID":2364,"HalfLife":"1.8 x 10\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4950}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4951,"ElementID":96,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e247\u003c/sup\u003eCm","AtomicMass":"247.070","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2365,"HalfLife":"1.56 x 10\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4951}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4952,"ElementID":96,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e248\u003c/sup\u003eCm","AtomicMass":"248.072","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2366,"HalfLife":"3.48 x 10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4952}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4953,"ElementID":97,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e247\u003c/sup\u003eBk","AtomicMass":"247.070","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2367,"HalfLife":"1.43 x 10\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4953}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4954,"ElementID":97,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e249\u003c/sup\u003eBk","AtomicMass":"249.075","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2368,"HalfLife":"320 d","ModeOfDecay":"β","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4954},{"ElementDecayPathID":2369,"HalfLife":"\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4954},{"ElementDecayPathID":2370,"HalfLife":"1.8 x 10\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":3,"IsotopeID":4954}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4955,"ElementID":98,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e249\u003c/sup\u003eCf","AtomicMass":"249.075","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2371,"HalfLife":"351 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4955},{"ElementDecayPathID":2372,"HalfLife":"8 x 10\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4955}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4956,"ElementID":98,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e250\u003c/sup\u003eCf","AtomicMass":"250.076","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2373,"HalfLife":"13.1 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4956},{"ElementDecayPathID":2374,"HalfLife":"1.7 x 10\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4956}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4957,"ElementID":98,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e251\u003c/sup\u003eCf","AtomicMass":"251.080","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2375,"HalfLife":"9 x 10\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4957}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4958,"ElementID":98,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e252\u003c/sup\u003eCf","AtomicMass":"252.082","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2376,"HalfLife":"2.65 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4958},{"ElementDecayPathID":2377,"HalfLife":"86 y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4958}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4959,"ElementID":99,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e252\u003c/sup\u003eEs","AtomicMass":"252.083","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2378,"HalfLife":"1.29 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4959},{"ElementDecayPathID":2379,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4959}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4960,"ElementID":100,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e257\u003c/sup\u003eFm","AtomicMass":"257.095","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2380,"HalfLife":"100.5 d","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4960},{"ElementDecayPathID":2381,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4960}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4961,"ElementID":101,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e258\u003c/sup\u003eMd","AtomicMass":"258.098","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2382,"HalfLife":"51.5 d","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4961},{"ElementDecayPathID":2383,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4961}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4962,"ElementID":101,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e260\u003c/sup\u003eMd","AtomicMass":"260.104","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2384,"HalfLife":"\u0026#126 27.8 d","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4962}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4963,"ElementID":102,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e259\u003c/sup\u003eNo","AtomicMass":"259.101","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2385,"HalfLife":"58 m","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4963},{"ElementDecayPathID":2386,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4963},{"ElementDecayPathID":2387,"HalfLife":"","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4963}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4964,"ElementID":103,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e262\u003c/sup\u003eLr","AtomicMass":"262.110","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2388,"HalfLife":"3.6 h","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4964},{"ElementDecayPathID":2389,"HalfLife":"\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":4964}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4967,"ElementID":104,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e265\u003c/sup\u003eRf","AtomicMass":"265.117","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2390,"HalfLife":"\u0026#126 2 m","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4967}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4977,"ElementID":116,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003cSUP\u003e293\u003c/SUP\u003eLv","AtomicMass":"293","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2401,"HalfLife":"0.06 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4977}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4979,"ElementID":35,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e79\u003c/sup\u003eBr","AtomicMass":"78.918","NaturalAbundancePercent":"50.69","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4980,"ElementID":35,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e81\u003c/sup\u003eBr","AtomicMass":"80.916","NaturalAbundancePercent":"49.31","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4984,"ElementID":32,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e70\u003c/sup\u003eGe","AtomicMass":"69.924","NaturalAbundancePercent":"20.57","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4985,"ElementID":32,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e72\u003c/sup\u003eGe","AtomicMass":"71.922","NaturalAbundancePercent":"27.45","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4986,"ElementID":32,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e73\u003c/sup\u003eGe","AtomicMass":"72.923","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.75","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2405,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 1.8 x 10\u003csup\u003e23\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4986}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4987,"ElementID":32,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e74\u003c/sup\u003eGe","AtomicMass":"73.921","NaturalAbundancePercent":"36.5","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4988,"ElementID":32,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e76\u003c/sup\u003eGe","AtomicMass":"75.921","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.73","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2406,"HalfLife":"1.6 X 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4988}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4989,"ElementID":63,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e151\u003c/sup\u003eEu","AtomicMass":"150.920","NaturalAbundancePercent":"47.81","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2407,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 1.7x10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"\u003cbr\u003e","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4989}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4990,"ElementID":63,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e153\u003c/sup\u003eEu","AtomicMass":"152.921","NaturalAbundancePercent":"52.19","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4991,"ElementID":1,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003eH","AtomicMass":"1.008","NaturalAbundancePercent":"99.9885","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4992,"ElementID":1,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eH","AtomicMass":"2.014","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.0115","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4993,"ElementID":1,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003eH","AtomicMass":"3.016","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2408,"HalfLife":"12.31 y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":4993}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4994,"ElementID":8,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003eO","AtomicMass":"15.995","NaturalAbundancePercent":"99.757","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4995,"ElementID":8,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003eO","AtomicMass":"16.999","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.038","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4996,"ElementID":8,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003eO","AtomicMass":"17.999","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.205","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4997,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e112\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"111.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.97","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4998,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e114\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"113.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.66","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":4999,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e115\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"114.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.34","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5000,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e116\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"115.902","NaturalAbundancePercent":"14.54","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5001,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e117\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"116.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.68","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5002,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e118\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"117.902","NaturalAbundancePercent":"24.22","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5003,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e119\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"118.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"8.59","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5004,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e120\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"119.902","NaturalAbundancePercent":"32.58","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5005,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e122\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"121.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"4.63","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5006,"ElementID":50,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e124\u003c/sup\u003eSn","AtomicMass":"123.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"5.79","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2409,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 2.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5006}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5007,"ElementID":66,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e156\u003c/sup\u003eDy","AtomicMass":"155.924","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.056","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5008,"ElementID":66,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e158\u003c/sup\u003eDy","AtomicMass":"157.924","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.095","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5009,"ElementID":66,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e160\u003c/sup\u003eDy","AtomicMass":"159.925","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.329","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5010,"ElementID":66,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e161\u003c/sup\u003eDy","AtomicMass":"160.927","NaturalAbundancePercent":"18.889","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5011,"ElementID":66,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e162\u003c/sup\u003eDy","AtomicMass":"161.927","NaturalAbundancePercent":"25.475","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5012,"ElementID":66,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e163\u003c/sup\u003eDy","AtomicMass":"162.929","NaturalAbundancePercent":"24.896","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5013,"ElementID":66,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e164\u003c/sup\u003eDy","AtomicMass":"163.929","NaturalAbundancePercent":"28.26","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5014,"ElementID":75,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e185\u003c/sup\u003eRe","AtomicMass":"184.953","NaturalAbundancePercent":"37.4","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5015,"ElementID":75,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e187\u003c/sup\u003eRe","AtomicMass":"186.956","NaturalAbundancePercent":"62.6","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2410,"HalfLife":"4.16 x 10\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5015}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5016,"ElementID":19,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e39\u003c/sup\u003eK","AtomicMass":"38.964","NaturalAbundancePercent":"93.2581","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5017,"ElementID":19,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e40\u003c/sup\u003eK","AtomicMass":"39.964","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.0117","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2411,"HalfLife":"1.248 x 10\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5017},{"ElementDecayPathID":2412,"HalfLife":"\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"β+","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5017}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5018,"ElementID":19,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e41\u003c/sup\u003eK","AtomicMass":"40.962","NaturalAbundancePercent":"6.7302","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5032,"ElementID":34,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e74\u003c/sup\u003eSe","AtomicMass":"73.922","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.89","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2416,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 5.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC-EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5032}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5033,"ElementID":34,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e76\u003c/sup\u003eSe","AtomicMass":"75.919","NaturalAbundancePercent":"9.37","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5034,"ElementID":34,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e77\u003c/sup\u003eSe","AtomicMass":"76.920","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.63","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5035,"ElementID":34,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e78\u003c/sup\u003eSe","AtomicMass":"77.917","NaturalAbundancePercent":"23.77","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5036,"ElementID":34,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e80\u003c/sup\u003eSe","AtomicMass":"79.917","NaturalAbundancePercent":"49.61","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5037,"ElementID":34,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e82\u003c/sup\u003eSe","AtomicMass":"81.917","NaturalAbundancePercent":"8.73","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2417,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 9.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5037}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5040,"ElementID":107,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e272\u003c/sup\u003eBh","AtomicMass":"272.138","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2421,"HalfLife":"\u0026#126 10 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5040}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5046,"ElementID":31,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e69\u003c/sup\u003eGa","AtomicMass":"68.926","NaturalAbundancePercent":"60.108","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5047,"ElementID":31,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e71\u003c/sup\u003eGa","AtomicMass":"70.925","NaturalAbundancePercent":"39.892","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2427,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 2.4 x 10\u003csup\u003e26\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5047}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5107,"ElementID":28,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e58\u003c/sup\u003eNi","AtomicMass":"57.935","NaturalAbundancePercent":"68.077","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2461,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 4 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC-EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5107}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5108,"ElementID":28,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e60\u003c/sup\u003eNi","AtomicMass":"59.931","NaturalAbundancePercent":"26.223","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5109,"ElementID":28,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e61\u003c/sup\u003eNi","AtomicMass":"60.931","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.1399","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5110,"ElementID":28,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e62\u003c/sup\u003eNi","AtomicMass":"61.928","NaturalAbundancePercent":"3.6346","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5111,"ElementID":28,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e64\u003c/sup\u003eNi","AtomicMass":"63.928","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.9255","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5112,"ElementID":36,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e78\u003c/sup\u003eKr","AtomicMass":"77.920","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.355","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2462,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 1.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026nbsp;y\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"EC-EC\u003cbr\u003e","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5112}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5113,"ElementID":36,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e80\u003c/sup\u003eKr","AtomicMass":"79.916","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.286","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5114,"ElementID":36,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e82\u003c/sup\u003eKr","AtomicMass":"81.913","NaturalAbundancePercent":"11.593","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5115,"ElementID":36,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e83\u003c/sup\u003eKr","AtomicMass":"82.914","NaturalAbundancePercent":"11.5","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5116,"ElementID":36,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e84\u003c/sup\u003eKr","AtomicMass":"83.911","NaturalAbundancePercent":"56.987","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5117,"ElementID":36,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e86\u003c/sup\u003eKr","AtomicMass":"85.911","NaturalAbundancePercent":"17.279","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5118,"ElementID":42,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e92\u003c/sup\u003eMo","AtomicMass":"91.907","NaturalAbundancePercent":"14.53","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2463,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 3 x 10\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β+-EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5118}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5119,"ElementID":42,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e94\u003c/sup\u003eMo","AtomicMass":"93.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"9.15","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5120,"ElementID":42,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e95\u003c/sup\u003eMo","AtomicMass":"94.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"15.8","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5121,"ElementID":42,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e96\u003c/sup\u003eMo","AtomicMass":"95.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"16.67","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5122,"ElementID":42,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e97\u003c/sup\u003eMo","AtomicMass":"96.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"9.60","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5123,"ElementID":42,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e98\u003c/sup\u003eMo","AtomicMass":"97.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"24.39","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5124,"ElementID":42,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e100\u003c/sup\u003eMo","AtomicMass":"99.907","NaturalAbundancePercent":"9.82","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2464,"HalfLife":"6 x 10\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5124}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5125,"ElementID":45,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e103\u003c/sup\u003eRh","AtomicMass":"102.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5126,"ElementID":60,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e142\u003c/sup\u003eNd","AtomicMass":"141.908","NaturalAbundancePercent":"27.2","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5127,"ElementID":60,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e143\u003c/sup\u003eNd","AtomicMass":"142.910","NaturalAbundancePercent":"12.2","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5128,"ElementID":60,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e144\u003c/sup\u003eNd","AtomicMass":"143.910","NaturalAbundancePercent":"23.8","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2465,"HalfLife":"2.1 x 10\u003csup\u003e15\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"a","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5128}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5129,"ElementID":60,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e145\u003c/sup\u003eNd","AtomicMass":"144.913","NaturalAbundancePercent":"8.3","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5130,"ElementID":60,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e146\u003c/sup\u003eNd","AtomicMass":"145.913","NaturalAbundancePercent":"17.2","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5131,"ElementID":60,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e148\u003c/sup\u003eNd","AtomicMass":"147.917","NaturalAbundancePercent":"5.8","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5132,"ElementID":60,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e150\u003c/sup\u003eNd","AtomicMass":"149.921","NaturalAbundancePercent":"5.6","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2466,"HalfLife":"1.33 x 10\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5132}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5133,"ElementID":70,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e168\u003c/sup\u003eYb","AtomicMass":"167.934","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.12","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5134,"ElementID":70,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e170\u003c/sup\u003eYb","AtomicMass":"169.935","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.98","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5135,"ElementID":70,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e171\u003c/sup\u003eYb","AtomicMass":"170.936","NaturalAbundancePercent":"14.09","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5136,"ElementID":70,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e172\u003c/sup\u003eYb","AtomicMass":"171.936","NaturalAbundancePercent":"21.68","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5137,"ElementID":70,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e173\u003c/sup\u003eYb","AtomicMass":"172.938","NaturalAbundancePercent":"16.10","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5138,"ElementID":70,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e174\u003c/sup\u003eYb","AtomicMass":"173.939","NaturalAbundancePercent":"32.03","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5139,"ElementID":70,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e176\u003c/sup\u003eYb","AtomicMass":"175.943","NaturalAbundancePercent":"13.00","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2467,"HalfLife":"10\u003csup\u003e26\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5139}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5140,"ElementID":71,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e175\u003c/sup\u003eLu","AtomicMass":"174.941","NaturalAbundancePercent":"97.40","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5141,"ElementID":71,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e176\u003c/sup\u003eLu","AtomicMass":"175.943","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.60","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2468,"HalfLife":"3.73 x 10\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5141},{"ElementDecayPathID":2469,"HalfLife":"\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"β+","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5141},{"ElementDecayPathID":2470,"HalfLife":"\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"EC","Sequence":3,"IsotopeID":5141}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5142,"ElementID":78,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e190\u003c/sup\u003ePt","AtomicMass":"189.960","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.012","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2471,"HalfLife":"4.5 x 10\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5142}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5143,"ElementID":78,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e192\u003c/sup\u003ePt","AtomicMass":"191.961","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.782","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5144,"ElementID":78,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e194\u003c/sup\u003ePt","AtomicMass":"193.963","NaturalAbundancePercent":"32.86","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5145,"ElementID":78,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e195\u003c/sup\u003ePt","AtomicMass":"194.965","NaturalAbundancePercent":"33.78","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5146,"ElementID":78,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e196\u003c/sup\u003ePt","AtomicMass":"195.965","NaturalAbundancePercent":"25.21","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5147,"ElementID":78,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e198\u003c/sup\u003ePt","AtomicMass":"197.968","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.356","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5148,"ElementID":105,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e268\u003c/sup\u003eDb","AtomicMass":"268.126","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2472,"HalfLife":"1.2 d","ModeOfDecay":"fs, EC","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5148}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5149,"ElementID":106,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e271\u003c/sup\u003eSg","AtomicMass":"271.134","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2473,"HalfLife":"2 m","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5149},{"ElementDecayPathID":2474,"HalfLife":"\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5149}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5150,"ElementID":108,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e270\u003c/sup\u003eHs","AtomicMass":"270.134","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2475,"HalfLife":"0.3 m","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5150}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5151,"ElementID":109,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e276\u003c/sup\u003eMt","AtomicMass":"276.152","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2476,"HalfLife":"~ 0.7 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5151}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5152,"ElementID":110,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e281\u003c/sup\u003eDs","AtomicMass":"281.165","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2477,"HalfLife":"13 s","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5152}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5153,"ElementID":111,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e280\u003c/sup\u003eRg","AtomicMass":"280.165","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2478,"HalfLife":"~ 3.6 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5153}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5154,"ElementID":112,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e285\u003c/sup\u003eCn","AtomicMass":"285.177","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2479,"HalfLife":"~ 29 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5154}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5155,"ElementID":113,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e284\u003c/sup\u003eNh","AtomicMass":"284.179","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2480,"HalfLife":"~ 0.48 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5155}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5156,"ElementID":113,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e286\u003c/sup\u003eNh","AtomicMass":"286.182","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5157,"ElementID":114,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e289\u003c/sup\u003eFl","AtomicMass":"289.190","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2481,"HalfLife":"~ 2.1 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5157}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5162,"ElementID":118,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e294\u003c/sup\u003eOg","AtomicMass":"294.214","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2483,"HalfLife":"0.9 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5162}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5167,"ElementID":94,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e238\u003c/sup\u003ePu","AtomicMass":"238.050","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2486,"HalfLife":"87.7 y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5167},{"ElementDecayPathID":2487,"HalfLife":"4.75 x 10\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5167}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5168,"ElementID":94,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e239\u003c/sup\u003ePu","AtomicMass":"239.052","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2488,"HalfLife":"2.410 x 10\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5168},{"ElementDecayPathID":2489,"HalfLife":"8 x 10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5168}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5169,"ElementID":94,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e240\u003c/sup\u003ePu","AtomicMass":"240.054","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2490,"HalfLife":"6.56 x 10\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5169},{"ElementDecayPathID":2491,"HalfLife":"1.14 x 10\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5169}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5170,"ElementID":94,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e241\u003c/sup\u003ePu","AtomicMass":"241.057","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2492,"HalfLife":"14.33 y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5170},{"ElementDecayPathID":2493,"HalfLife":"\u003cbr\u003e","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5170},{"ElementDecayPathID":2494,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 6 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":3,"IsotopeID":5170}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5171,"ElementID":94,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e242\u003c/sup\u003ePu","AtomicMass":"242.059","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2495,"HalfLife":"3.75 x 10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5171},{"ElementDecayPathID":2496,"HalfLife":"6.77 x 10\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5171}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5172,"ElementID":94,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e244\u003c/sup\u003ePu","AtomicMass":"244.064","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2497,"HalfLife":"8.12 x 10\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5172},{"ElementDecayPathID":2498,"HalfLife":"6.6 x 10\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"sf","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5172}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5173,"ElementID":115,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e288\u003c/sup\u003eMc","AtomicMass":"288.193","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2499,"HalfLife":"~ 0.09 s","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5173}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5174,"ElementID":115,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e289\u003c/sup\u003eMc","AtomicMass":"289.194","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5175,"ElementID":2,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003eHe","AtomicMass":"3.016","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.000134","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5176,"ElementID":2,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eHe","AtomicMass":"4.003","NaturalAbundancePercent":"99.9999","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5177,"ElementID":5,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003eB","AtomicMass":"10.013","NaturalAbundancePercent":"19.9","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5178,"ElementID":5,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003eB","AtomicMass":"11.009","NaturalAbundancePercent":"80.1","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5179,"ElementID":83,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e209\u003c/sup\u003eBi","AtomicMass":"208.980","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2500,"HalfLife":"1.9 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"α","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5179}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5180,"ElementID":18,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e36\u003c/sup\u003eAr","AtomicMass":"35.968","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.3336","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5181,"ElementID":18,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e38\u003c/sup\u003eAr","AtomicMass":"37.963","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.0629","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5182,"ElementID":18,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e40\u003c/sup\u003eAr","AtomicMass":"39.962","NaturalAbundancePercent":"99.6035","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5183,"ElementID":72,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e174\u003c/sup\u003eHf","AtomicMass":"173.940","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.16","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2501,"HalfLife":"2.0 x 10\u003csup\u003e15\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"\u003cbr\u003e","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5183}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5184,"ElementID":72,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e176\u003c/sup\u003eHf","AtomicMass":"175.941","NaturalAbundancePercent":"5.26","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5185,"ElementID":72,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e177\u003c/sup\u003eHf","AtomicMass":"176.943","NaturalAbundancePercent":"18.6","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5186,"ElementID":72,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e178\u003c/sup\u003eHf","AtomicMass":"177.944","NaturalAbundancePercent":"27.28","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5187,"ElementID":72,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e179\u003c/sup\u003eHf","AtomicMass":"178.946","NaturalAbundancePercent":"13.62","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5188,"ElementID":72,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e180\u003c/sup\u003eHf","AtomicMass":"179.947","NaturalAbundancePercent":"35.08","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5189,"ElementID":58,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e136\u003c/sup\u003eCe","AtomicMass":"135.907","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.185","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2502,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 0.7 x 10\u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5189},{"ElementDecayPathID":2503,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 4.2 x 10\u003csup\u003e15\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β- β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5189}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5190,"ElementID":58,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e138\u003c/sup\u003eCe","AtomicMass":"137.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.251","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2504,"HalfLife":"\u003e3.7 x 10\u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5190}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5191,"ElementID":58,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e140\u003c/sup\u003eCe","AtomicMass":"139.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"88.45","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5192,"ElementID":58,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e142\u003c/sup\u003eCe","AtomicMass":"141.909","NaturalAbundancePercent":"11.114","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2505,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 1.6 x 10\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5192}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5193,"ElementID":39,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e89\u003c/sup\u003eY","AtomicMass":"88.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"100","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5194,"ElementID":48,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e106\u003c/sup\u003eCd","AtomicMass":"105.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.25","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2506,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 1.9 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC, EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5194}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5195,"ElementID":48,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e108\u003c/sup\u003eCd","AtomicMass":"107.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"0.89","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2507,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 4.1 x 10\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"EC EC","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5195}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5196,"ElementID":48,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e110\u003c/sup\u003eCd","AtomicMass":"109.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"12.49","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5197,"ElementID":48,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e111\u003c/sup\u003eCd","AtomicMass":"110.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"12.8","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5198,"ElementID":48,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e112\u003c/sup\u003eCd","AtomicMass":"111.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"24.13","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5199,"ElementID":48,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e113\u003c/sup\u003eCd","AtomicMass":"112.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"12.22","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2508,"HalfLife":"8.04 x 10\u003csup\u003e15\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5199}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5200,"ElementID":48,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e114\u003c/sup\u003eCd","AtomicMass":"113.903","NaturalAbundancePercent":"28.73","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2509,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 1.3 x 10\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5200}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5201,"ElementID":48,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e116\u003c/sup\u003eCd","AtomicMass":"115.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"7.49","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2510,"HalfLife":"3.8 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5201}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5207,"ElementID":117,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e292\u003c/sup\u003eTs","AtomicMass":"292.207","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5208,"ElementID":117,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e294\u003c/sup\u003eTs","AtomicMass":"294.210","NaturalAbundancePercent":"","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5209,"ElementID":40,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e90\u003c/sup\u003eZr","AtomicMass":"89.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"51.45","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5210,"ElementID":40,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e91\u003c/sup\u003eZr","AtomicMass":"90.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"11.22","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5211,"ElementID":40,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e92\u003c/sup\u003eZr","AtomicMass":"91.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"17.15","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5212,"ElementID":40,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e94\u003c/sup\u003eZr","AtomicMass":"93.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"17.38","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2514,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 10\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5212}],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5213,"ElementID":40,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e96\u003c/sup\u003eZr","AtomicMass":"95.908","NaturalAbundancePercent":"2.8","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2515,"HalfLife":"2.3 x 10\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-β-","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5213},{"ElementDecayPathID":2516,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt; 1.7 x\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β-","Sequence":2,"IsotopeID":5213}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5214,"ElementID":14,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e28\u003c/sup\u003eSi","AtomicMass":"27.977","NaturalAbundancePercent":"92.223","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5215,"ElementID":14,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e29\u003c/sup\u003eSi","AtomicMass":"28.976","NaturalAbundancePercent":"4.685","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5216,"ElementID":14,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e30\u003c/sup\u003eSi","AtomicMass":"29.974","NaturalAbundancePercent":"3.092","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5224,"ElementID":44,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e96\u003c/sup\u003eRu","AtomicMass":"95.908","NaturalAbundancePercent":"5.54","ElementDecayPaths":[{"ElementDecayPathID":2518,"HalfLife":"\u0026gt 3.1 x 10\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e y","ModeOfDecay":"β+β+","Sequence":1,"IsotopeID":5224}],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5225,"ElementID":44,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e98\u003c/sup\u003eRu","AtomicMass":"97.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"1.87","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5226,"ElementID":44,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e99\u003c/sup\u003eRu","AtomicMass":"98.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"12.76","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5227,"ElementID":44,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e100\u003c/sup\u003eRu","AtomicMass":"99.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"12.6","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":false,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5228,"ElementID":44,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e101\u003c/sup\u003eRu","AtomicMass":"100.906","NaturalAbundancePercent":"17.06","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5229,"ElementID":44,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e102\u003c/sup\u003eRu","AtomicMass":"101.904","NaturalAbundancePercent":"31.55","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false},{"IsotopeID":5230,"ElementID":44,"IsotopeSymbol":"\u003csup\u003e104\u003c/sup\u003eRu","AtomicMass":"103.905","NaturalAbundancePercent":"18.62","ElementDecayPaths":[],"IsKeyIsotope":true,"IsotopeDeleted":false}],"KeyIsotopes":[{"Name":"1","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003eH, \u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003eH"},{"Name":"2","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003eHe"},{"Name":"3","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003eLi"},{"Name":"4","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003eBe"},{"Name":"5","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003eB"},{"Name":"6","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003eC, \u003csup\u003e13\u003c/sup\u003eC, \u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003eC"},{"Name":"7","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e14\u003c/sup\u003eN"},{"Name":"8","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003eO"},{"Name":"9","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003eF"},{"Name":"10","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003eNe"},{"Name":"11","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e23\u003c/sup\u003eNa"},{"Name":"12","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e24\u003c/sup\u003eMg"},{"Name":"13","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e27\u003c/sup\u003eAl"},{"Name":"14","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e28\u003c/sup\u003eSi, \u003csup\u003e30\u003c/sup\u003eSi"},{"Name":"15","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e31\u003c/sup\u003eP"},{"Name":"16","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e32\u003c/sup\u003eS"},{"Name":"17","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e35\u003c/sup\u003eCl, \u003csup\u003e37\u003c/sup\u003eCl"},{"Name":"18","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e40\u003c/sup\u003eAr"},{"Name":"19","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e39\u003c/sup\u003eK"},{"Name":"20","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e40\u003c/sup\u003eCa"},{"Name":"21","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e45\u003c/sup\u003eSc"},{"Name":"22","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e48\u003c/sup\u003eTi"},{"Name":"23","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e51\u003c/sup\u003eV"},{"Name":"24","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e52\u003c/sup\u003eCr"},{"Name":"25","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e55\u003c/sup\u003eMn"},{"Name":"26","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e56\u003c/sup\u003eFe"},{"Name":"27","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e59\u003c/sup\u003eCo"},{"Name":"28","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e58\u003c/sup\u003eNi"},{"Name":"29","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e63\u003c/sup\u003eCu"},{"Name":"30","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e64\u003c/sup\u003eZn"},{"Name":"31","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e69\u003c/sup\u003eGa"},{"Name":"32","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e73\u003c/sup\u003eGe, \u003csup\u003e74\u003c/sup\u003eGe"},{"Name":"33","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e75\u003c/sup\u003eAs"},{"Name":"34","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e80\u003c/sup\u003eSe"},{"Name":"35","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e79\u003c/sup\u003eBr"},{"Name":"36","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e84\u003c/sup\u003eKr"},{"Name":"37","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e85\u003c/sup\u003eRb, \u003csup\u003e87\u003c/sup\u003eRb"},{"Name":"38","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e86\u003c/sup\u003eSr, \u003csup\u003e87\u003c/sup\u003eSr, \u003csup\u003e88\u003c/sup\u003eSr"},{"Name":"39","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e89\u003c/sup\u003eY"},{"Name":"40","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e90\u003c/sup\u003eZr, \u003csup\u003e92\u003c/sup\u003eZr, \u003csup\u003e94\u003c/sup\u003eZr"},{"Name":"41","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e93\u003c/sup\u003eNb"},{"Name":"42","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e95\u003c/sup\u003eMo, \u003csup\u003e96\u003c/sup\u003eMo, \u003csup\u003e98\u003c/sup\u003eMo"},{"Name":"43","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"44","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e101\u003c/sup\u003eRu, \u003csup\u003e102\u003c/sup\u003eRu, \u003csup\u003e104\u003c/sup\u003eRu"},{"Name":"45","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e103\u003c/sup\u003eRh"},{"Name":"46","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e106\u003c/sup\u003ePd"},{"Name":"47","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e107\u003c/sup\u003eAg"},{"Name":"48","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e114\u003c/sup\u003eCd"},{"Name":"49","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e115\u003c/sup\u003eIn"},{"Name":"50","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e120\u003c/sup\u003eSn"},{"Name":"51","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e121\u003c/sup\u003eSb"},{"Name":"52","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e130\u003c/sup\u003eTe"},{"Name":"53","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e127\u003c/sup\u003eI"},{"Name":"54","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e132\u003c/sup\u003eXe"},{"Name":"55","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e133\u003c/sup\u003eCs"},{"Name":"56","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e138\u003c/sup\u003eBa"},{"Name":"57","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e139\u003c/sup\u003eLa"},{"Name":"58","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e140\u003c/sup\u003eCe"},{"Name":"59","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e141\u003c/sup\u003ePr"},{"Name":"60","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e142\u003c/sup\u003eNd"},{"Name":"61","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e145\u003c/sup\u003ePm, \u003csup\u003e147\u003c/sup\u003ePm"},{"Name":"62","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e152\u003c/sup\u003eSm"},{"Name":"63","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e153\u003c/sup\u003eEu"},{"Name":"64","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e158\u003c/sup\u003eGd"},{"Name":"65","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e159\u003c/sup\u003eTb"},{"Name":"66","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e164\u003c/sup\u003eDy"},{"Name":"67","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e165\u003c/sup\u003eHo"},{"Name":"68","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e166\u003c/sup\u003eEr"},{"Name":"69","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e169\u003c/sup\u003eTm"},{"Name":"70","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e172\u003c/sup\u003eYb, \u003csup\u003e173\u003c/sup\u003eYb, \u003csup\u003e174\u003c/sup\u003eYb"},{"Name":"71","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e175\u003c/sup\u003eLu"},{"Name":"72","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e177\u003c/sup\u003eHf, \u003csup\u003e178\u003c/sup\u003eHf, \u003csup\u003e180\u003c/sup\u003eHf"},{"Name":"73","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e180\u003c/sup\u003eTa, \u003csup\u003e181\u003c/sup\u003eTa"},{"Name":"74","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e182\u003c/sup\u003eW, \u003csup\u003e184\u003c/sup\u003eW, \u003csup\u003e186\u003c/sup\u003eW"},{"Name":"75","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e187\u003c/sup\u003eRe"},{"Name":"76","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e192\u003c/sup\u003eOs"},{"Name":"77","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e193\u003c/sup\u003eIr"},{"Name":"78","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e195\u003c/sup\u003ePt"},{"Name":"79","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e197\u003c/sup\u003eAu"},{"Name":"80","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e202\u003c/sup\u003eHg"},{"Name":"81","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e205\u003c/sup\u003eTl"},{"Name":"82","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e208\u003c/sup\u003ePb"},{"Name":"83","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e209\u003c/sup\u003eBi"},{"Name":"84","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e209\u003c/sup\u003ePo, \u003csup\u003e210\u003c/sup\u003ePo"},{"Name":"85","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e210\u003c/sup\u003eAt, \u003csup\u003e211\u003c/sup\u003eAt"},{"Name":"86","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e211\u003c/sup\u003eRn, \u003csup\u003e220\u003c/sup\u003eRn, \u003csup\u003e222\u003c/sup\u003eRn"},{"Name":"87","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e223\u003c/sup\u003eFr"},{"Name":"88","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e226\u003c/sup\u003eRa"},{"Name":"89","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e227\u003c/sup\u003eAc"},{"Name":"90","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e230\u003c/sup\u003eTh, \u003csup\u003e232\u003c/sup\u003eTh"},{"Name":"91","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e231\u003c/sup\u003ePa"},{"Name":"92","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e234\u003c/sup\u003eU, \u003csup\u003e235\u003c/sup\u003eU, \u003csup\u003e238\u003c/sup\u003eU"},{"Name":"93","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e237\u003c/sup\u003eNp"},{"Name":"94","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e238\u003c/sup\u003ePu, \u003csup\u003e239\u003c/sup\u003ePu, \u003csup\u003e240\u003c/sup\u003ePu"},{"Name":"95","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e241\u003c/sup\u003eAm, \u003csup\u003e243\u003c/sup\u003eAm"},{"Name":"96","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e243\u003c/sup\u003eCm, \u003csup\u003e248\u003c/sup\u003eCm"},{"Name":"97","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e247\u003c/sup\u003eBk, \u003csup\u003e249\u003c/sup\u003eBk"},{"Name":"98","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e249\u003c/sup\u003eCf, \u003csup\u003e252\u003c/sup\u003eCf"},{"Name":"99","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e252\u003c/sup\u003eEs"},{"Name":"100","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e257\u003c/sup\u003eFm"},{"Name":"101","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e258\u003c/sup\u003eMd, \u003csup\u003e260\u003c/sup\u003eMd"},{"Name":"102","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e259\u003c/sup\u003eNo"},{"Name":"103","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e262\u003c/sup\u003eLr"},{"Name":"104","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e265\u003c/sup\u003eRf"},{"Name":"105","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e268\u003c/sup\u003eDb"},{"Name":"106","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e271\u003c/sup\u003eSg"},{"Name":"107","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e272\u003c/sup\u003eBh"},{"Name":"108","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e270\u003c/sup\u003eHs"},{"Name":"109","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e276\u003c/sup\u003eMt"},{"Name":"110","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e281\u003c/sup\u003eDs"},{"Name":"111","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e280\u003c/sup\u003eRg"},{"Name":"112","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e285\u003c/sup\u003eCn"},{"Name":"113","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e286\u003c/sup\u003eNh"},{"Name":"114","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e289\u003c/sup\u003eFl"},{"Name":"115","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e289\u003c/sup\u003eMc"},{"Name":"116","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003cSUP\u003e293\u003c/SUP\u003eLv"},{"Name":"117","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e294\u003c/sup\u003eTs"},{"Name":"118","DisplayName":null,"Value":"\u003csup\u003e294\u003c/sup\u003eOg"}],"HighlightElementsForProperty":[{"Name":"metal","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3,4,11,12,13,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112"},{"Name":"non-metal","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1,2,6,7,8,9,10,15,16,17,18,34,35,36,53,54,85,86"},{"Name":"metalloid","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5,14,32,33,51,52"},{"Name":"unknown","DisplayName":null,"Value":"113,114,115,116,117,118"}],"ElementProperties":[{"PropertyID":1,"Property":"metal","Description":""},{"PropertyID":2,"Property":"non-metal","Description":""},{"PropertyID":3,"Property":"metalloid","Description":""},{"PropertyID":4,"Property":"unknown","Description":""}],"TrendsAttributes":[{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.10"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.320"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.20"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-259.16"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"13.99"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-434.49"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-252.879"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"20.271"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-423.182"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000082"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000082"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1400"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1312.05"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.400"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.370"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-268.928"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4.222"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-452.07"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000164"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000164"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.008"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"21"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22.2"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"56.6"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2372.322"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.82"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.300"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.98"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"180.50"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"453.65"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"356.90"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1342"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1615"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2448"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.534"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.534"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"16"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"58"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"62"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"74.5"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"520.222"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.53"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.990"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.57"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1287"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1560"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2349"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2468"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2741"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4474"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.85"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.85"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.9"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"85"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"56.6"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"899.504"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.92"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.840"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.04"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2077"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2350"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3771"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4000"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4273"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7232"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.34"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.34"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"33.6"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11.8"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"800.637"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.70"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.750"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.55"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3825"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4098"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6917"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3825"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4098"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.513 (diamond); 2.2 (graphite)"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.2"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"200"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1086.454"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"True"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.55"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.710"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.04"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-210.0"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"63.2"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-346.0"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-195.795"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"77.355"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-320.431"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.001145"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.001145"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1402.328"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.52"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.640"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.44"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-218.79"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"54.36"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-361.82"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-182.962"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"90.188"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-297.332"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.001308"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.001308"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"461000"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1313.942"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.47"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.600"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.98"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-219.67"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"53.48"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-363.41"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-188.11"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"85.04"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-306.6"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.001553"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.001553"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"553"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"17"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"56"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1681.045"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.54"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.620"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-248.59"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.56"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-415.46"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-246.046"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"27.104"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-410.883"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000825"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000825"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.005"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2080.662"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.27"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.600"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.93"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97.794"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"370.944"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"208.029"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"882.940"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1156.090"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1621.292"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.97"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.97"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"23600"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.3"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"495.845"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"12"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.73"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.400"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.31"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"650"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"923"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1202"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1090"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1363"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1994"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.74"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.74"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"28104"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"26"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"64"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"737.75"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"13"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.84"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.240"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.61"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"660.323"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"933.473"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1220.581"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2519"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2792"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4566"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.70"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.70"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"84149"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"26"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"31"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"74.5"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"577.539"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"14"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.10"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.140"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.90"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1414"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1687"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2577"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3265"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3538"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5909"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.3296"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.3296"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"282000"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"786.518"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"15"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.80"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.090"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.19"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.15"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"317.3"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"111.47"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"280.5"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"553.7"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"536.9"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.823 (white)"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.823"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"567"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.7"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"38.5"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1011.812"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"16"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.80"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.040"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.58"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"115.21"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"388.36"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"239.38"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"444.61"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"717.76"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"832.3"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.07"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.07"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"404"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"17.4"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"999.589"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"17"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.75"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.000"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.16"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-101.5"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"171.7"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-150.7"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-34.04"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"239.11"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-29.27"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.002898"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.002898"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"145"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.3"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1251.186"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"18"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.88"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.010"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-189.34"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"83.81"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-308.81"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-185.848"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"87.302"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-302.526"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.001633"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.001633"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.5"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1520.571"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.75"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.000"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.82"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"63.5"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"336.7"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"146.3"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"759"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1032"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1398"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.89"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.89"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22774"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"61.1"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"20.9"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"81.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"418.81"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"20"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.31"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.740"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.00"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"842"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1115"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1548"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1484"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1757"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2703"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.54"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.54"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"41500"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"65.2"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"589.83"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"21"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.15"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.590"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.36"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1541"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1814"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2806"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2836"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3109"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5137"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.99"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.99"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"633.088"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.11"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.480"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.54"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1670"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1943"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3038"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3287"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3560"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5949"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4.506"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4.506"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4136"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"29"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"21"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"81.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"658.813"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"23"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.07"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.440"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.63"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1910"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2183"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3470"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3407"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3680"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6165"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.0"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.0"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"138"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"36"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"34"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.3"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"650.908"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.06"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.300"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.66"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1907"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2180"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3465"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2671"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2944"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4840"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.15"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.15"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"135"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"46"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"37"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.3"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"652.869"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"25"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.05"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.290"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.55"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1246"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1519"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2275"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2061"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2334"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3742"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.3"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.3"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"774"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"33"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"717.274"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"26"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.04"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.240"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.83"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1538"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1811"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2800"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2861"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3134"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5182"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.87"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.87"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"52157"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"21"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"41"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"762.466"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"27"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.00"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.180"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.88"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1495"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1768"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2723"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2927"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3200"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5301"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.86"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.86"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"26.6"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"45"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"67"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.8"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"760.402"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"28"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.97"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.170"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.91"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1455"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1728"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2651"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2913"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3186"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5275"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.90"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.90"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"26.6"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"36"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"17"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"18.4"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"737.129"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"29"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.96"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.220"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.90"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1084.62"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1357.77"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1984.32"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2560"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2833"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4640"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.96"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.96"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"27"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"28"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"34"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"67.5"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"745.482"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"30"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.01"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.200"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.65"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"419.527"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"692.677"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"787.149"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"907"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1180"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1665"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.134"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.134"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"72"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"30"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"906.402"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"31"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.87"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.230"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.81"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"29.7646"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"302.9146"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"85.5763"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2229"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2502"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4044"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5.91"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5.91"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"16"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"54"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"578.845"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"32"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.11"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.200"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.01"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"938.25"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1211.4"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1720.85"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2833"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3106"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5131"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5.3234"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5.3234"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"67"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"762.179"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"33"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.85"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.200"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.18"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"616"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"889"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1141"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"616"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"889"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5.75"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5.75"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.5"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"64"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"944.456"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"True"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"34"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.90"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.180"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.55"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"220.8"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"494"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"429.4"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"685"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"958"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1265"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4.809"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4.809"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.13"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"35"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"76.9"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"940.963"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"35"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.85"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.170"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.96"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-7.2"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"266"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"58.8"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"332"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"137.8"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.1028"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.1028"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.88"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"63.6"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.2"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"56.6"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1139.859"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"36"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.02"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.160"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-157.37"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"115.78"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-251.27"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-153.415"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"119.735"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-244.147"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.003425"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.003425"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.0001"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1350.757"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"37"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.03"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.150"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.82"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"39.30"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"312.45"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"102.74"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"688"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"961"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1270"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.53"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.53"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"90"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"403.032"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"38"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.49"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.900"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.95"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"777"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1050"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1431"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1377"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1650"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2511"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.64"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.64"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"320"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"100"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"83"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"549.47"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"39"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.32"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.760"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.22"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1522"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1795"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2772"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3345"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3618"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6053"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4.47"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4.47"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"33"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"599.878"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"40"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.23"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.640"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.33"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1854"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2127"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3369"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4406"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4679"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7963"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.52"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.52"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"132"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"40"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"39"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"74.5"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"640.074"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"41"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.18"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.560"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.6"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2477"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2750"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4491"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4741"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5014"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8566"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.57"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.57"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"98"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"48.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"652.13"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"42"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.17"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.460"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.16"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2622"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2895"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4752"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4639"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4912"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8382"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10.2"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10.2"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.8"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"43"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"40"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"684.316"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"43"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.16"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.380"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.10"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2157"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2430"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3915"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4262"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4535"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7704"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"702.41"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.13"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.360"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.2"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2333"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2606"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4231"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4147"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4420"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7497"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"12.1"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"12.1"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000037"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"95"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"60"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.3"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"710.18"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"45"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.10"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.340"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.28"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1963"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2236"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3565"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3695"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3968"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6683"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"12.4"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"12.4"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000037"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"95"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"60"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.3"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"719.675"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"46"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.10"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.300"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.20"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1554.8"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1828"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2830.6"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2963"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3236"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5365"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"12.0"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"12.0"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000037"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"95"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"60"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.3"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"804.389"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"47"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.11"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.360"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.93"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"961.78"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1234.93"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1763.2"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2162"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2435"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3924"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10.5"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10.5"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.055"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"23"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22.6"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"730.995"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"48"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.18"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.400"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.69"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"321.069"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"594.219"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"609.924"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"767"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1040"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1413"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.69"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.69"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.08"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"20"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"32"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"867.772"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"49"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.93"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.420"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.78"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"156.60"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"429.75"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"313.88"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2027"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2300"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3681"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.31"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.31"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.052"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"53"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"558.299"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.17"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.400"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.96"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"231.928"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"505.078"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"449.47"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2586"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2859"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4687"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.287"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.287"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.7"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"31"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"46"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"708.581"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"51"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.06"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.400"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.05"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"630.628"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"903.778"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1167.13"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1587"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1860"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2889"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.68"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.68"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.2"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"53"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"88"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"830.583"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"52"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.06"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.370"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.1"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"449.51"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"722.66"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"841.12"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"988"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1261"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1810"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.232"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.232"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.001"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"869.294"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"53"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.98"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.360"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.66"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"113.7"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"386.9"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"236.7"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"184.4"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"457.6"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"363.9"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4.933"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4.933"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.71"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"66.7"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"59.7"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"67.5"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1008.393"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"54"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.16"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.360"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.60"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-111.75"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"161.4"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-169.15"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-108.099"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"165.051"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-162.578"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.005366"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.005366"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.00003"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1170.352"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"55"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.43"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.380"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.79"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"28.5"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"301.7"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"83.3"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"671"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"944"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1240"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.873"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.873"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"375.705"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"56"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.68"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.060"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.89"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"727"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1000"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1341"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1845"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2118"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3353"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.62"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.62"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"456"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"42"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"502.849"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"57"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.43"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.940"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.10"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"920"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1193"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1688"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3464"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3737"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6267"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.15"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.15"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"538.089"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"58"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.42"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.840"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.12"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"799"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1072"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1470"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3443"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3716"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6229"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.77"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.77"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"534.403"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"59"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.40"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.900"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.13"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"931"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1204"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1708"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3520"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3793"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6368"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.77"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.77"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"528.064"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"60"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.39"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.880"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.14"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1016"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1289"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1861"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3074"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3347"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5565"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.01"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.01"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"533.082"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"61"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.38"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.860"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1042"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1315"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1908"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3000"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3273"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5432"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.26"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.26"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"538.581"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"62"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.36"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.850"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.17"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1072"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1345"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1962"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1794"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2067"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3261"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.52"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.52"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"544.534"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"63"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.35"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.830"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"822"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1095"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1512"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1529"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1802"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2784"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5.24"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5.24"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"547.109"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"64"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.34"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.820"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.20"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1313"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1586"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2395"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3273"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3546"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5923"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.90"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7.90"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"593.366"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"65"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.33"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.810"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1359"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1632"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2478"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3230"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3503"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5846"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.23"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.23"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"565.771"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"66"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.31"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.800"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.22"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1412"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1685"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2574"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2567"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2840"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4653"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.55"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.55"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"573.017"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"67"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.30"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.790"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.23"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1472"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1745"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2682"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2700"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2973"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4892"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.80"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8.80"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"580.987"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"68"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.29"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.770"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.24"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1529"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1802"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2784"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2868"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3141"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5194"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.07"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.07"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"589.304"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"69"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.27"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.770"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.25"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1545"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1818"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2813"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1950"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2223"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3542"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.32"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.32"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"596.695"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"70"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.26"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.780"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"824"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1097"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1515"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1196"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1469"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2185"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.90"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6.90"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"603.435"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"71"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.24"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.740"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.0"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1663"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1936"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3025"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3402"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3675"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6156"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.84"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.84"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"50"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"523.516"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"72"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.23"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.640"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.3"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2233"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2506"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4051"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4600"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4873"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8312"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"13.3"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"13.3"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.0"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"658.519"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"73"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.22"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.580"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.5"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3017"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3290"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5463"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5455"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5728"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9851"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"16.4"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"16.4"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.7"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"54"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"25"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"48.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"728.423"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"74"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.18"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.500"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.7"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3414"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3687"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6177"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5555"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5828"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10031"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19.3"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19.3"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"61"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"84"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"758.764"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"75"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.16"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.410"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.9"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3185"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3458"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5765"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5590"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5863"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10094"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"20.8"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"20.8"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000188"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"52"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"51"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"67.5"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"755.82"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"76"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.16"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.360"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.2"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3033"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3306"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5491"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5008"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5281"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9046"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22.5872"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22.5872"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000037"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"95"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"60"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.3"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"814.165"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"77"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.13"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.320"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.2"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2446"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2719"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4435"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4428"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4701"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8002"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22.5622"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"22.5622"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000037"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"95"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"60"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.3"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"865.186"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"78"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.13"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.300"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.2"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1768.2"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2041.4"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3214.8"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3825"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4098"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"6917"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"21.5"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"21.5"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.000037"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"95"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"60"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44.3"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"864.393"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"79"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.14"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.300"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.4"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1064.18"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1337.33"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1947.52"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2836"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3109"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5137"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19.3"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19.3"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.0013"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"15"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"13"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"890.128"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"80"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.23"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.320"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.9"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-38.829"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"234.321"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-37.892"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"356.619"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"629.769"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"673.914"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"13.5336"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"13.5336"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.03"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"29"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"74"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1007.066"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"81"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.96"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.440"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.8"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"304"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"577"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"579"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1473"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1746"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2683"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11.8"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11.8"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.85"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"589.351"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"82"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.02"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.450"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.8"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"327.462"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"600.612"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"621.432"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1749"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2022"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3180"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11.3"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11.3"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"34"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"44"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"715.596"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"83"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.07"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.500"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.9"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"271.406"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"544.556"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"520.531"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1564"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1837"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2847"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.79"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.79"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.18"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"75"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"42"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"24.1"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"702.944"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"84"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.97"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.420"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.0"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"254"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"527"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"489"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"962"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1235"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1764"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.20"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"9.20"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.0000000002"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"811.828"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"85"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.02"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.480"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.2"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"300"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"573"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"572"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"350"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"623"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"662"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"86"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.20"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.460"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-71"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"202"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-96"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-61.7"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"211.5"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"-79.1"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.009074"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.009074"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.0000000000004"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1037.073"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"87"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3.48"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.420"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.7"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"21"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"294"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"70"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"650"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"923"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1202"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"392.96"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"88"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.83"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.110"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.9"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"696"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"969"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1285"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1500"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1773"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2732"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.0000009"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"509.29"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"89"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.47"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.010"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.1"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1050"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1323"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1922"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3200"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3473"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5792"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.00000000055"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"498.83"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"90"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.45"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.900"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.3"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1750"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2023"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3182"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4785"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5058"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"8645"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11.7"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"11.7"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5.6"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"31"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"80"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"10.8"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"608.504"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"91"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.43"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.840"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.5"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1572"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1845"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2862"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4000"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4273"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7232"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"15.4"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"15.4"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"0.0000014"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"568.3"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"92"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.41"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.830"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.7"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1135"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1408"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2075"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4131"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4404"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7468"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19.1"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19.1"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.3"},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":"31"},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":"33"},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":"61.8"},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"597.64"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"93"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.39"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.800"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.3"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"644"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"917"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1191"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3902"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"4175"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"7056"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"20.2"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"20.2"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"604.548"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"94"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.43"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.800"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.3"},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"640"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"913"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1184"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3228"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3501"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"5842"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19.7"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"19.7"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"581.421"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"95"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.44"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.730"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1176"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1449"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2149"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2011"},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2284"},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"3652"},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"12"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"12"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"576.384"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"96"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.450"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.680"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1345"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1618"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2453"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"13.51"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"13.51"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"578.082"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"97"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.44"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.680"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"986"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1259"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1807"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"14.78"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"14.78"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"598.007"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"98"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.45"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.680"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"900"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1173"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1652"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":"15.1"},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":"15.1"},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"606.092"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"99"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.45"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.650"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"860"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1133"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1580"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"619.44"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"100"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.45"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.670"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1527"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1800"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2781"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"627.2"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"101"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.46"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.730"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"827"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1100"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1521"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"634.87"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"102"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.46"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.760"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"827"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1100"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1521"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"641.63"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"103"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2.46"},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.610"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1627"},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1900"},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":"2961"},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"472.8"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"104"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.570"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":"579"},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"105"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.490"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"106"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.430"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"107"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.410"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"108"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.340"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"109"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.290"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"110"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.280"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"111"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.210"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"112"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.220"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"113"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.360"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"114"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.430"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"115"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.620"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"116"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.750"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"117"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.650"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"},{"Name":"AtomicNumber","DisplayName":null,"Value":"118"},{"Name":"AtomicRadius","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CovalentRadii","DisplayName":null,"Value":"1.570"},{"Name":"ElectroNegativity","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"MeltingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointC","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointK","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"BoilingPointF","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"Density","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"DensityValue","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"CrustalAbundance","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ReserveBaseDistribution","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"ProductionConcentrations","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"PoliticalStabilityProducer","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IonisationEnergyKJMOL","DisplayName":null,"Value":""},{"Name":"IsSublime","DisplayName":null,"Value":"False"}],"NoOfTrendsAttributes":18}; var elements = elementsData.Elements; var groups = elementsData.Groups; var blocks = elementsData.Blocks; var periods = elementsData.Periods; var groupsToHighlight = elementsData.HighlightElementsForGroup; var periodsToHighlight = elementsData.HighlightElementsForPeriod; var blocksToHighlight = elementsData.HighlightElementsForBlock; var firstIonisationEnergies = elementsData.FirstIonisationEnergies; var elementProperties = elementsData.HighlightElementsForProperty; var masterElementProperties = elementsData.ElementProperties; var headerTextMetal = 'Metal'; var descriptionMetal = 'Metals are generally shiny, malleable elements that conduct heat and electricity well. Most are solid at room temperature. In reactions metals tend to form positive ions. Metalloids have properties that are in between those of metals and non-metals.'; var headerTextNonmetal = 'Non-metal'; var descriptionNonmetal = 'Non-metallic elements have more varied properties than metals. They are poor conductors of heat and electricity and in reactions they commonly form negative ions. Metalloids have properties that are in between those of metals and non-metals.'; var keyIsotopes = elementsData.KeyIsotopes; var _alertYearMessage = 'The year you have entered is invalid, please enter a value between 1 to 2024.'; var _alertYearTitle = 'Error'; var _kyDetailCardMessage= 'Enter a year between 0 to 2012 and discover which elements were known to scientists. Highlighted elements were known in that particular year, to find out more about their discovery please go to the elements information page by clicking on the element.'; var _kyDetailCardTitle= 'Elements known in year'; var _kyHintText = 'Enter year'; var _alertBlankMessage = 'Please enter element known in year.'; var _tooltip_temperature_slider = 'Use left and right arrow keys for fine control'; var _elementPagePath = '/periodic-table/element/element?Length=4'; var image_ie6_path = 'https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/x.gif?6.2.65' var _welcomeCardTitle = 'Periodic Table'; var _welcomeCardContent = 'The Royal Society of Chemistry's interactive periodic table features history, alchemy, podcasts, videos, and data trends across the periodic table. Click the tabs at the top to explore each section. Use the buttons above to change your view of the periodic table and view Murray Robertson’s stunning Visual Elements artwork. Click each element to read detailed information.'; var _murryimage_topcard_title = 'Visual Elements images'; var _murryimage_topcard_description = 'Murray Robertson’s Visual Elements images aim to produce a vibrant representation of the elements, not simply by rendering images of their physical appearance but also by investigating the manner in which they affect our daily lives in largely unseen and often unexpected ways.'; $("#filter_container_section").show(); function MurrayImagePath(imageName,imageSize,elementname) { var imageUrl = ""; if(getIEVersion() == '7'){ imageUrl = 'https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/Elements/' + imageName + '-'+imageSize+'.gif?6.2.65'; }else{ imageUrl = 'https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/Elements/' + imageName + '-'+imageSize+'.png?6.2.65'; } return imageUrl; } function SymbolImagePath(imageName,imageSize,elementname) { var imageUrl = ""; // if(getIEVersion() == '7'){ // imageUrl = 'https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/Elements/' + imageName + '-'+imageSize+'.gif?6.2.65'; // }else{ //imageUrl = 'https://www.rsc-cdn.org/www.rsc.org/periodic-table/content/Images/Elements/' + imageName + '-'+imageSize+'.png?6.2.65'; // } return imageUrl; } function ElementPageUrl(atomicNumber,elementName){ if(elementName != ''){ elementName = elementName.toLowerCase(); } var Url = '/periodic-table/element/atomicNumber/elementName'; Url= Url.replace('atomicNumber', atomicNumber); Url = Url.replace('elementName', elementName); return Url; } $("#group_pupup_panel").hide(); $('#loading').show(); $(window).load(function() { show(); }); function show() { $('#loading').hide(); $("#group_pupup_panel").show(); $('#container_inside').fadeIn(); }; function GroupFocus(obj,event){ if(event.keyCode==13){ ApplyGroupFilter(obj); }else if(event.keyCode==27){ $('#clear_filters').trigger('click'); } } function BlockFocus(obj,event){ if(event.keyCode==13){ ApplyBlockFilter(obj); }else if(event.keyCode==27){ $('#clear_filters').trigger('click'); } } function PeriodFocus(obj,event){ if(event.keyCode==13){ ApplyPeriodFilter(obj); }else if(event.keyCode==27){ $('#clear_filters').trigger('click'); } } function PropertyFocus(obj,event,f_type){ if(event.keyCode==13){ ApplyPropertylFilter(obj,f_type); }else if(event.keyCode==27){ $('#clear_filters').trigger('click'); } } function MurryImageFocus(obj,event){ if(event.keyCode==13){ ApplyMurryImageFilter(obj); }else if(event.keyCode==27){ $('#clear_filters').trigger('click'); } } function hideLoading(){ show(); } //]]> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> function gaVEEventTracker(activityName) { } $(document).ready(function () { }); </script> </div> </body> </html>