Carbon

Carbon
Statistics of Carbon

Carbon is a Chemical Element with an 
Atomic Number : 6
Atomic Mass: 12.0107 Atomic Mass Units 
Atomic Symbol: C
Melting Point: 3550°C (Given for Diamond)

Boiling Point: 4027°C (Given for Diamond)

Period Number: 2

Valence Electrons: 4
Phase of Carbon at room temperature: Solid
Group: Carbon Group
Group Number: 14

Density: 3500 g/cm³ (Given for Diamond)  

Isotopes: Carbon-12(¹²C), Carbon-13(¹³C)
Allotropes: Graphite, Diamond, Amorphous Carbon, Lonsdaleite, Fullerene, Carbon Nanotube 
% in Universe: 0.5%

% in Sun: 0.3%

% in Meteorites: 1.5%

% in Earth's Crust: 0.18% 

% in Oceans: 0.0028%

% in Humans: 23%

The English name carbon comes from the Latin carbo for coal and charcoal, whence also comes the French charbon, meaning charcoal. In German, Dutch and Danish, the names for carbon are Kohlenstoff, koolstof and kulstof respectively, all literally meaning coal-substance.

Carbon was discovered in prehistory and was known in the forms of soot and charcoal to the earliest human civilizations. Diamonds were known probably as early as 2500 BCE in China, while carbon in the form of charcoal was made around Roman  times by the same chemistry as it is today, by heating wood in a pyramid covered with clay to exclude air.

In 1722, René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur demonstrated that iron was transformed into steel through the absorption of some substance, now known to be carbon. In 1772, Antoine Lavoisier showed that diamonds are a form of carbon; when he burned samples of charcoal and diamond and found that neither produced any water and that both released the same amount of carbon dioxide per gram. In 1779,Carl Wilhelm Scheele showed that graphite, which had been thought of as a form of lead, was instead identical with charcoal but with a small admixture of iron, and that it gave "aerial acid" (his name for carbon dioxide) when oxidized with nitric acid.In 1786, the French scientists Claude Louis Berthollet, Gaspard Monge and C. A. Vandermonde confirmed that graphite was mostly carbon by oxidizing it in oxygen in much the same way Lavoisier had done with diamond. Some iron again was left, which the French scientists thought was necessary to the graphite structure. However, in their publication they proposed the name carbone (Latin carbonum) for the element in graphite which was given off as a gas upon burning graphite. Antoine Lavoisier then listed carbon as an element in his 1789 textbook.

Importance of Carbon

All living organisms contain carbon; the human body is about 18% carbon by weight. In green plants carbon dioxide and water are combined to form simple sugars (carbohydrates); light from the sun provides the energy for this process (photosynthesis). The energy from the sun is stored in the chemical bonds of the sugar molecule. Anabolism, the synthesis of complex compounds (such as fats, proteins, and nucleic acids) from simpler substances, involves the utilization of energy stored by photosynthesis. Catabolism is the release of stored energy by the oxidative destruction of organic compounds; water and carbon dioxide are two byproducts of catabolism. This continuing synthesis and degradation involving carbon dioxide is known as the biological carbon cycle

Bad effects of Carbon

Carbon dioxide is not normally considered a pollutant because it is a normal constituent of air. However, excess of carbon dioxide is considered a pollutant because it leads to adverse effects on the environment. The higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is likely to increase the temperature of the atmosphere. As already discussed carbon dioxide permits the short wavelength visible radiations to pass through it but traps the longer wavelength infra-red radiations (heat waves) reflected by the earth’s surface. This trapping of heat waves causes excessive heating of earth’s atmosphere. This heating effect on earth produced in this way is called Greenhouse Effect. The excessive heating of earth and its atmosphere ca have adverse effect on our climate, which will affect all the living beings. The climate will become gradually hot.

Experiment

Want to see a cool experiment on Carbon? Click the Url Link to see the cool experiment.

Carbon Experiment

Wasn't that awesome! The graphite turned into a snake shaped figure.

How Carbon is used and The History of Carbon

Coke

Carbon exists in the stars; a series of thermonuclear reactions called the carbon cycle (see nucleosynthesis) is a source of energy for some stars. Carbon in the form of diamonds has been found in meteorites. Coke is used as a fuel in the production of iron. Carbon electrodes are widely used in electrical apparatus. The "lead" of the ordinary pencil is graphite mixed with clay. The successful linking in the 1940s of carbon with silicon has led to the development of a vast number of new substances known collectively as the silicones.

Interesting Facts about Carbon

1. About 20% of the weight of living organisms is carbon.
2. More compounds are known which contain carbon than don’t.
3. Diamond is an excellent abrasive because it is the hardest common material and it also has the highest thermal conductivity. It can grind down any substance, while the heat generated by friction is swiftly conducted away.
4. The carbon atoms in your body were all once part of the carbon dioxide fraction of the atmosphere.
5. Graphene is the thinnest, strongest material ever known.
6. Graphene is made of 2-dimensional atomic crystals, the first time such structures have ever been seen.
7. The graphite in a typical mechanical pencil has a diameter of 0.7 mm. This is equal to 2 million layers of graphene.
8. Car tires are black because they are about 30% carbon black, which is added to rubber to strengthen it. The carbon black also helps protect against UV damage to the tires.
9. Carbon is made within stars when they burn helium in nuclear fusion reactions. Carbon is part of the ‘ash’ formed by helium burning.
10. Carbon undergoes nuclear fusion reactions in heavy stars to make neon, magnesium and oxygen.
11. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe.

Be sure to check out my next post on Nitrogen.

Boron

Boron

Statistics of Boron

Boron is a Chemical Element with an 
Atomic Number : 5
Atomic Mass: 10.811 Atomic Mass Units 
Atomic Symbol: B
Melting Point: 2075 °C

Boiling Point: 4000°C

Valence Electrons: 10.811

Period Number: 2

Phase of Boron at room temperature: Solid
Group: Boron Group
Group Number: 13

Density: 2.46 g/cm³ 

Isotopes: Boron-10(¹⁰B), Boron-11(¹¹B)
Allotropes: AlphaRhombohedralBoron, BetaRhombohedralBoron, AlphaTetragonalBoron
% in Universe: 1×10^-7%

Oobleck, a Non-Newtonian Fluid

% in Sun: 2×10^-7%
% in Meteorites:0.00016%
% in Earth's Crust: 0.00086%
% in Oceans: 0.00044%
% in Humans: 0.00007%

The word boron was coined from borax, the mineral from which it was isolated, by analogy with carbon, which it resembles chemically. 

Borax glazes were used in China from AD 300, and some tincal (crude borax) reached the West, where the Persian alchemist Jābir ibn Hayyān seems to mention it in AD 700. Marco Polobrought some glazes back to Italy in the 13th century. Agricola, around 1600, reports the use of borax as a flux in metallurgy. In 1777, boric acid was recognized in the hot springs (soffioni) nearFlorence, Italy, and became known as sal sedativum, with mainly medical uses. The rare mineral is called sassolite, which is found at Sasso, Italy. Sasso was the main source of European borax from 1827 to 1872, at which date American sources replaced it. Boron compounds were relatively rarely used chemicals until the late 1800s when Francis Marion Smith's Pacific Coast Borax Company first popularized these compounds and made them in volume and hence cheap.

Boron was not recognized as an element until it was isolated by Sir Humphry Davy and by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thénard. In 1808 Davy observed that electric current sent through a solution of borates produced a brown precipitate on one of the electrodes. In his subsequent experiments, he used potassium to reduce boric acid instead of electrolysis. He produced enough boron to confirm a new element and named the element boracium. Gay-Lussac and Thénard used iron to reduce boric acid at high temperatures. By oxidizing boron with air, they showed that boric acid is an oxidation product of boron. Jöns Jakob Berzelius identified boron as an element in 1824.Pure boron was arguably first produced by the American chemist Ezekiel Weintraub in 1909.

Importance of Boron

Boron is a multipurpose element. It's a crucial nutrient for plants, an important component in the nuclear industry and the main ingredient of a bizarre fluid called Oobleck. 

Bad Effects of Boron

Boron is possibly unsafe for adults and children when taken by mouth in high doses. Large quantities of boron can cause poisoning. Signs of poisoning include skin inflammation and peeling, irritability, tremors, convulsions, weakness, headaches, depression, diarrhea, vomiting, and other symptoms.

Also, boric acid powder, a common form of boron, is possibly unsafe when applied in large amounts to prevent diaper rash.

Experiment

Want to see a cool experiment on Boron? Click the Url Link to see the cool experiment.

Boron Experiment.

Wasn't that awesome! Boron actually burns a green flame when burnt.

How Boron is used and The History of Boron

Amorphous Boron is used as a rocket fuel igniter and in pyrotechnic flares. It gives the flares a distinctive green colour.

Boron Supplements

The 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.

Boric 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.

Sodium Octaborate is a flame retardant.

Kidney disease or problems with kidney function: Do not take boron supplements if you have kidney problems. The kidneys have to work hard to flush out boron.

Interesting Facts about Beryllium

1. Boron is a tough element – very hard, and very resistant to heat. In its crystalline form it is the second hardest of all the elements on the mohs scale – only carbon (diamond) is harder. Only 11 elements have higher melting points than boron: these are C, W, Re, Os, Ta, Mo, Nb, Ir, Ru, Hf, and Tc. (As a challenge, how many of these elements can you name without looking them up?)
2. Boron is an essential nutrient for all green plants.
3. Boron in its crystalline form is very unreactive. Amorphous boron is reactive.
4. Unusually, the universe’s atoms of boron were not made by nuclear fusion within stars and were not made in the big bang. They were made by nuclear fusion in cosmic-ray collisions. Most of the universe’s boron was made in this way before the formation of our solar system.
5. Boron is an indispensable element in NIB magnets (Neodymium – Iron – Boron). NIB magnets are very powerful magnets invented in the early 1980s. They are used in computers, cell phones, medical equipment, toys, motors, wind turbines and audio systems.
6. Boron is used to control nuclear reactions. It is an excellent neutron absorber. Alloyed with steel or reacted with carbon, titanium or zirconium, it is used in control rods for nuclear reactors.

Be sure to check out my next post on Carbon!

Beryllium

Beryllium

Statistics of Beryllium

Beryllium is a Chemical Element with an 
Atomic Number : 4
Atomic Mass: 9.012  Atomic Mass Units 
Atomic Symbol: Be
Melting Point:1287 °C  

Boiling Point:2470 °C

Valence Electrons: 2
Phase of Beryllium at room temperature: Solid
Group: Alkaline Earth Metals
Group Number: 2

Period Number: 2
Density:1.848 g/cm³  

Isotopes: ⁹Be

Allotropes: None 

% in Universe: 1×10^-7% 

% in Earth's Crust: 0.00019%

% in Humans: 4×10^-8%

% in Ocean: 6×10^-11%  

% in Sun: 1×10^-8%  

% in Meteorites: 1×10^-7% 

In a 1798 paper read before the Institut de France, Vauquelin reported that he found a new "earth" by dissolving aluminium hydroxide from emerald and beryl in an additional alkali. The editors of the journal Annales de Chimie et de Physique named the new earth "glucine" for the sweet taste of some of its compounds. Klaproth preferred the name "beryllina" due to fact that yttria also formed sweet salts. The name "beryllium" was first used by Wöhler in 1828.

Friedrich Wöhler and Antoine Bussy independently isolated beryllium in 1828 by the chemical reaction of metallic potassium with beryllium chloride.

Importance of Beryllium

Safety features like air bags and fire suppression sprinkler systems are maintained in a state of constant readiness, saving lives thanks to the reliability and strength of beryllium.

Beryllium is lightweight. Beryllium parts reduce the weight of end-use products like cars, trucks and planes, often resulting in better fuel economy. Relative to previous materials, copper beryllium alloy bearings and components can reduce the weight of a typical commercial aircraft by about 3,000 pounds. Annually over the commercial fleet, that means a savings of 3.3 million tons of jet fuel and 11 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Bad Effects of Beryllium

Direct contact with beryllium fumes or dusts may injure the exposed areas of the body, such as the eyes or the skin. Skin sensitization may also occur.

Acute beryllium disease may develop after a short and heavy exposure and usually last for less than one year. The disease has symptoms similar to pneumonia or bronchitis. occurrence of acute beryllium disease is now considered rare as long as protections are in place to control worker exposure to beryllium.

Experiment

Want to see a cool experiment on Beryllium? Click the Url Link to see the cool experiment.Beryllium Experiment.

Beryllium does not react with water as readily as Lithium but it still sizzles a bit.

How Beryllium is used and The History of Beryllium

Beryllium 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.

Other beryllium alloys are used as structural materials for high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft and communication satellites.

Beryllium 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.

The oxide has a very high melting point making it useful in nuclear work as well as having ceramic applications. 

The most commonly known effect of beryllium is called berylliosis, a dangerous and persistent lung disorder that can also damage other organs, such as the heart. In about 20% of all cases people die of this disease. Breathing in beryllium in the workplace is what causes berylliosis. People that have weakened immune systems are most susceptible to this disease.
Beryllium can also cause allergic reactions with people that are hypersensitive to this chemical. These reactions can be very heavy and they can even cause a person to be seriously ill, a condition known as Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD). The symptoms are weakness, tiredness and breathing problems. Some people that suffer from CBD will develop anorexia and blueness of hands and feet. Sometimes people can even be in such a serious condition that CBD can cause their death.

Next to causing berylliosis and CBD, beryllium can also increase the chances of cancer development and DNA damage.

Interesting Facts about Beryllium

Beryllium Ceramics

1. Beryllium is the 44th most abundant element in the earth’s crust.
2. Beryllium is two-thirds the density of aluminum.
3. By weight, beryllium has six times the specific stiffness of steel.
4. Beryllium is non-magnetic.
5. Only three countries, the United States, China, and Kazakhstan currently process beryllium ores and concentrates into beryllium products.
6. Beryllium was discovered in 1798 by Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin.
7. Beryllium is used in the Space Shuttle and the Spitzer Space Telescope – due to its strength and light weight.
8. The next-generation James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to deploy in 2014, will depend on a 6.5 meter beryllium mirror to see objects 200 times fainter than visible before.
9. Beryllium is a part of many of the things you rely on each day, including cellular phones, kitchen and laundry appliances, home temperature controls, MP3 players, desktop and portable computers, and your car.
10. Beryllium ceramics are used to focus and control the lasers used in eye surgery

Be sure to check out my next post on Boron!

Lithium

Lithium

Statistics of Lithium

Lithium is a Chemical Element with an 
Atomic Number :3 
Atomic Mass: 6.941 Atomic Mass Units 
Atomic Symbol: Li
Melting Point: 180.54°C 
Boiling Point: 1342 °C

Valence Electrons:1
Phase of Litihum at room temperature: Solid
Group:Alkali Metals
Group Number: 1

Period Number: 2 
Density: 0.535 g/cm³ 

Isotopes: Lithium-6 (⁶Li), Lithium-7 (⁷Li)
Allotropes: None 

% in Universe: 6.×10^-7% 

% in Earth's Crust: 0.0017% 

% in Humans: 3×10^-6%

% in Ocean: 0.000018%  

% in Sun: 6.×10^-9%

% in Meteorites: 0.00017% 

Petalite (LiAlSi₄O₁₀) was discovered in 1800 by the Brazilian chemist and statesman José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva in a mine on the island of Utö, Sweden.^[54][55][56] However, it was not until 1817 that Johan August Arfwedson, then working in the laboratory of the chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, detected the presence of a new element while analyzing petalite ore.This element formed compounds similar to those of sodium and potassium, though its carbonate and hydroxide were less soluble in water and more alkaline. Berzelius gave the alkaline material the name "lithion/lithina", from the Greek word λιθoς (transliterated as lithos, meaning "stone"), to reflect its discovery in a solid mineral, as opposed to potassium, which had been discovered in plant ashes, and sodium which was known partly for its high level in animal blood. He named the metal inside the material "lithium".

Importance of Lithium

People may ask, What's the importance of Lithium in daily life. 

I would answer, Lithium is used as a medicine. When you take lithium it acts on nerves in your brain and changes the way you act.

Bad Effects of Lithium

Lithium can cause nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, muscle weakness, fatigue, and a dazed feeling. These unwanted side effects often improve with continued use. Fine tremor, frequent urination, and thirst can occur and may persist with continued use. Weight gain and swelling from excess fluid can also occur. Lithium can also cause or make skin disorders such as acne, psoriasis, and rashes worse. The amount of lithium in the body must be carefully controlled and is checked by blood tests.

Experiment

Want to see a cool experiment on Lithium? Click the Url Link to see the cool experiment. Lithium Experiment.

Wasn't that awesome. The Lithium sizzled in the water like carbonated water.

How Lithium is used and The History of Lithium

The 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.

Lithium 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.

Interesting Facts about Lithium

1. Lithium is believed to be one of only three elements – the others are hydrogen and helium – produced in significant quantities by the Big Bang. Synthesis of these elements took place within the first three minutes of the universe’s existence.
2. Lithium is the only alkali metal that reacts with nitrogen.
3. Humphrey Davy produced some of the world’s first lithium metal from lithium carbonate. Today lithium carbonate – or more precisely the lithium ions in lithium carbonate – are used to inhibit the manic phase of bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder.
4. Lithium based batteries have revolutionized consumer devices such as computers and cell phones. For a given battery weight, lithium batteries deliver more energy than batteries based on other metals; in other words, lithium batteries have high energy density.

Be sure to check out my next post on Beryllium

Helium

Helium

Statistics of Element:

Helium is a Chemical Element with an 
Atomic Number :2  
Atomic Mass: 4.002602.
Atomic Symbol: He
Melting Point:-272.2 °C
Boiling Point:-268.9 °C

Valence Electrons: 8
Phase of Helium at room temperature: Gas
Group:Noble Gases
Group Number: 18
Period Number: 1    
Density: 0.0001785 grams per cubic centimeter

Isotopes: Helium-3 (3He) & Helium-4 (4He)

Allotropes: None

% in Universe: 23%

% in Earth's Crust: 0.00000055%

% in Humans: None

% in Ocean: 7.2 x 10 to the negative 10%

% in Sun: 23%

% in Meteorites: None

Helium is named for the Greek God of the Sun, Helios. It was first detected as an unknown yellow Spectral Line signature in sunlight during a solar eclipse in 1868 by French astronomer Jules Janssen.

The position of Helium in the periodic is shown the link below. Helium place on The Periodic Table

Importance of Helium:

People may ask, What's the importance of Helium in daily life. 

I would say that Helium can be used for breathing observation. It is essential in treating ailments asthma, emphysema and other conditions that affect breathing. The gas is usually used to treat diseases that affect the lungs. Hospital MRI scans relies on liquefied helium. When the element is set at -269 C (the low boiling point), it becomes usable in MRI magnet cooling down.

Bad Effects of Helium:

People might think breathing Helium is fun, but do you know dangers of doing that too much?

Huffing helium can cut off oxygen supply or can cause an embolism if a person inhales too deeply. In addition, pressurized tank gas can cause lungs to rupture.

Experiment:

Want to see a cool experiment on Helium? Click the Url Link to see the cool experiment.Helium Experiments.

Wasn't that awesome? The balloon explodes when in contact with fire but shrinks when in contact with liquid nitrogen which is very cold.

How Helium is used and The History of Helium:

Helium is used to make Helium Balloons which float. Helium is non-flammable and is a good replacement for Hydrogen Balloons as they would be safer.

Too much Helium was inhaled by a girl during a party that she died because the helium blocked the Oxygen from her brain.

Interesting facts about Helium

1. Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe.

2. In 1928 helium became available for the first time on the open market.

3. Helium is so light that Earth’s gravity is not strong enough to hold on to it. When helium atoms are released into the atmosphere, they rise until they escape into space.

4. Helium is one of only two natural elements that has never been observed bonding to another element in a compound. The other element is neon. Helium plasma can, however, form temporary excimer molecules with elements including sodium, fluorine and sulfur.

5. At temperatures close to absolute zero, helium condenses to a liquid with amazing properties – the properties of a superfluid, flowing with zero friction up and over the walls of containers.

6. At normal atmospheric pressure, helium does not solidify. At 25 atmospheres of pressure, helium is a solid at 0.95 K. As the pressure rises, the temperature at which solid helium exists also rises. Helium can be made solid at room temperature if the pressure rises to about 114 thousand atmospheres: that is a pressure of 1.67 million psi, or 834 tons per square inch. This is over 100 times greater than the pressure at the oceans’ deepest point, the Challenger Deep, which is almost seven miles deep (10 916 meters).

7. Helium exists in Earth’s atmosphere only because it is constantly resupplied from two sources – decay of radioactive elements on Earth, and cosmic rays, about 9% of which are high energy helium nuclei.

8. The helium we buy in cylinders is produced by the natural radioactive decay of radioactive elements in the earth’s crust – principally thorium and uranium.

9. Radioactive decay of uranium and thorium produces about 3000 metric tons of helium a year.

10. Current world production of helium is over 30 000 metric tons a year. (Helium has been accumulating for many millions of years in a few natural gas fields, therefore we can currently extract more each year than is being created by uranium and thorium decay.)

11. Helium was discovered in the Sun’s atmosphere before it was found on Earth.

Catch up with my next post on the 3rd element, Lithium