Category Chemistry

 

 

                   

                          Uranium is named after the planet Uranus and the Greek god of the heavens. The element is radioactive; and therefore, exposure to the element by humans can pose immediate threat to life. Uranium, a silvery white metal, was discovered and identified in 1789 by a German chemist, Martin H. Klaproth. This important element is used as fuel in nuclear reactors to generate electricity. It has the atomic number 92, and its atomic symbol is U.

 

 

 

                        Neptunium is the element number 93. It was discovered by Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson, American physicists, in 1940. Compared to uranium, neptunium is not very radioactive. Neptunium’s current applications are limited. \The element is represented as Np.

 

 

 

  

 

                           Under standard conditions, plutonium is a hard, brittle, silvery metal. Plutonium is an extremely rare element in the earth’s crust. It is so rare that for many years, it was thought that it did not occur naturally.

                           Plutonium is used in both nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. It was plutonium that was used in the creation of the second nuclear weapon deployed during World War II known as the ‘Fat Man’, the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on 9th August 1945. Plutonium has the atomic number 94, and it is represented as Pu.

 

 

 

 

                Element number 89 is actinium. The element, discovered by Friedrich Oskar Giesel in 1902, is a silvery white radioactive metal. The word actinium comes from the Greek word ‘aktis’ or ‘aktinos’, which means beam or ray. It is so radioactive that it glows in the dark. The element’s radioactivity, its rarity and hence its high cost have made actinium the least industrially useful element. Actinium is represented as Ac.

 

                 

 

                        Element number 90, thorium is named after Thor, the Nordic god of thunder, lightning and storm. A highly radioactive element, thorium is a silvery, lustrous metal. It is potentially an alternative to uranium in fuelling nuclear reactors. In its liquid state, thorium has a greater temperature range than any is other element, with nearly 3,000 degrees Celsius. Since thorium is a health hazard, its use has steadily come down over the years. It is represented as Th.

 

 

 

 

 

                 Protactinium is a bright silvery metal. The element with the atomic number 91 decays to form another metal actinium. The name protactinium means before actinium. Discovery of the element is attributed to Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner. The element was isolated by Aristid von Grosse. It has no known uses.

                Protactinium’s atomic symbol is Pa.

 

 

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                 Can an element eventually become another element? Radon is produced when the element radium slowly decays. The element was discovered by Ernest Rutherford and Robert B. Owens. Radon is a colourless and odourless gas; however, it is dangerous because it gives off radiation. Some spas in Japan and Austria specialize in radon bathing, which supposedly makes people feel young and energetic again. It is represented as Rn, and its atomic number is 86.

 

 

 

 

                     Francium is named after the country of France. Francium was discovered by Marguerite Perey, a French chemist. It is an intensely radioactive element. It is one of the rarest elements in nature. Francium’s atomic number is 87, and it is represented as Fr.

 

 

 

 

                     Radium is a silvery white metal that quickly reacts with nitrogen in the air. The name of the element comes from the Latin word radius, meaning ‘ray’, as radium glows faintly in the dark. It is a poisonous, heavy, and radioactive metal. The element was discovered by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. It has the atomic number 88, and is represented as Ra.

 

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                       Polonium was discovered by Marie Curie, a Polish physicist, in 1898. This element is a strongly radioactive metal. Polonium takes its name from Poland, Marie Curie’s motherland. Poland then was not an independent country and Curie hoped that naming the element after Poland would make

 her country’s plight known to the world!

                       Marie Curie isolated polonium from uranium ores and pitchblende, a uranium-rich mineral, in which it exists in tiny amounts. Polonium is used in nuclear reactors. It is represented as Po, and its atomic number is 84.

 

 

                        The existence of astatine had been predicted in the 1800s. Mendeleev in his periodic table had left an empty space after iodine, signifying a yet-to-be-found element. Astatine, however, was discovered much later in 1940 by Dale Corson, Kenneth McKenzie and Emilio Segre at the University of California, Berkeley.

                       Astatine is the rarest element on Earth; approximately 25 grams occur naturally on the planet at any given time.

                      Astatine has an important use in nuclear medicine, but it decays so quickly that it must be used within a matter of hours following production.

                     The atomic symbol of astatine is At, and its atomic number is 85.

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                  Thallium is a silvery white metal that tends to react with air when exposed to it. Two scientists, William Crookes, an English physicist, and Claude-Auguste Lamy, a French chemist, discovered thallium independently of each other in 1861. Thallium was named after the Greek word thallos, meaning ‘a green shoot’ or ‘a tree twig’. Thallium salts are used in rat and insect poisons. The element plays a significant role in nuclear medicine. The atomic number of thallium is 81, and its atomic symbol is Tl.

 

 

 

 

                    Lead is a heavy metal which is denser than many common metals. It is an incredibly useful metal, but it is also toxic to humans. Lead is widely used in a variety of products, including cosmetics, paint and gasoline. The chemical symbol for lead is Pb, which comes from the Latin word ‘plumbum’, meaning plumbing or waterworks. It has the atomic number 82.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                  Bismuth is a shiny brownish-silver metal. It is represented as Bi, and has the atomic number 83. Bismuth has been in use since ancient times, and was previously confused with both lead and tin. While no single person is credited with its discovery, it wasn’t until 1753 that Claude Geoffroy, a French chemist, discovered that it was a separate element.

 

 

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               Mercury has always been surrounded by mysteries. From ancient times, people had been intrigued by its dubious form and ambiguous nature. Mercury is a metal in liquid form. Alchemists thought that mercury was the primordial matter from which all other metals originated. They even believed that mercury could be turned into gold by chemical experimentation.

               The metal is the heaviest liquid in the world. The liquid element is easily obtained and fascinating to look at -no wonder people thought it was magical. It’s found in every living thing; and is, therefore, in every mouthful of food we eat.

               Mercury is also called quicksilver because it is silvery, and moves about quickly, without getting stuck to the surface.

               Mercury is extracted by heating cinnabar, a red mineral. This is most abundant in Spain, Russia and China.

               All forms of mercury are dangerous. However, methyl mercury is the most poisonous variant. Once valued as a medicine, mercury is now proven to be a deadly toxin. Mercury’s atomic number is 80, and it is represented as Hg.