Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: EvilFrog on 19/10/2009 14:14:56

Title: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: EvilFrog on 19/10/2009 14:14:56
why the boiling point of aluminium is more than magnesium by 10C only?


[MOD EDIT - PLEASE PHRASE YOUR THREAD TITLES AS QUESTIONS IN FUTURE. THIS IS FORUM POLICY AND HELPS USERS TO FIND ITEMS OF INTEREST TO THEM, RESULTING IN MORE ANSWERS TO YOUR OWN QUESTIONS; THANKS CHRIS]
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: lightarrow on 19/10/2009 19:24:30
why the boiling point of aluminium is more than magnesium by 10C only?
Control again your data...
(hint: 1400°C is probably different from 10°C  [;)])


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_points_of_the_elements_(data_page)

which doesn't work because the last parenthesis doesn't appear as part of the link ( [???] [???] [???]) so you have to find, listed, here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_elements_data_references
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: Bored chemist on 19/10/2009 20:05:00
I think he means the melting points which are very similar. On the other hand the metals are quite similar in many respects so the similarrity of the melting points doesn't shock me.
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: lightarrow on 20/10/2009 13:26:25
I think he means the melting points which are very similar. On the other hand the metals are quite similar in many respects so the similarrity of the melting points doesn't shock me.
Ah, ok. If that is the question, I would say that the difference is due, in part, from the lower atomic radius of Al (the coordination number of the crystal structure is 12 in both cases).
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: Kiran The King Kai on 20/10/2009 15:01:32
I think he means the melting points which are very similar. On the other hand the metals are quite similar in many respects so the similarrity of the melting points doesn't shock me.
BC it's She ! LOL
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: EvilFrog on 20/10/2009 16:58:45
My question is, why the boiling point of these two elements is differ by about 10C only?? what cause this??
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: Bored chemist on 20/10/2009 18:20:31
I think he means the melting points which are very similar. On the other hand the metals are quite similar in many respects so the similarrity of the melting points doesn't shock me.
BC it's She ! LOL

Oops!
No offense intended. I'm a chemist not a biologist so gender differences in frogs (evil or otherwise) are not my field.


However, the boiling points of those two elements differ by a lot more thna 10 degrees (as was already pointed out).
The melting points differ by about 10C.
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: lightarrow on 20/10/2009 20:27:20
My question is, why the boiling point of these two elements is differ by about 10C only?? what cause this??
And my (already made) answer is: do you know that you have made a mistake?
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: EvilFrog on 21/10/2009 11:20:12
oops.. sorry, is melting point. "lower atomic radius of Al"? then how about magnesium. sorry a... my english is not pro. my chemistry also not pro. so can u all explain in the way that is more easy for me to understand?
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: lightarrow on 21/10/2009 19:24:26
oops.. sorry, is melting point. "lower atomic radius of Al"? then how about magnesium. sorry a... my english is not pro. my chemistry also not pro. so can u all explain in the way that is more easy for me to understand?
As a general rule, the bigger are atoms or ions in a solid structure, the lower is the force which binds them (at equal ion charges, ecc). In a metallic bonding, for example, the (almost) free electrons behave as a sort of "glue" because they attract the positively charged atoms; the bigger they are, the less their centres can approach the electrons and so the less strong is the bonding. The strenght of the bonding also depends on the packing of atoms, but in this case is the same, because Mg forms a compact exagonal lattice, the Al a face-centered cubic one, and they have the same coordination number (12) and the same packing efficiency (74%). The strenght also depends on the number of electrons in the conduction band and on the availability of bonding orbitals in the atom, infact transition metals have higher melting points for this last reason. Anyway, the metallic strenght is more represented by the metal boiling point than from the melting point.
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: EvilFrog on 22/10/2009 16:21:41
em.. sorry, what is coordination number and infant transition metal?
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: Bored chemist on 22/10/2009 18:40:38
The coordination number is the number of "nearest neighbours" an atom has in a structure.
The "infact transition.." is a typo and should be "in fact transition metals have higher melting points for this last reason"
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: lightarrow on 22/10/2009 20:13:50
The coordination number is the number of "nearest neighbours" an atom has in a structure.
The "infact transition.." is a typo and should be "in fact transition metals have higher melting points for this last reason"
Thanks for the correction.
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: lightarrow on 22/10/2009 20:19:38
In case you wonder, packing efficiency is the percent of the total volume which is effectively taken up by the atoms: if you take, let's say, a one litre box and you fill it with small, all equal, objects, if they take up 0.74 litres, the packing efficiency of those objects is 74%.
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: EvilFrog on 23/10/2009 14:24:29
"number of "nearest neighbours" an atom has in a structure" = number of bonding with other atoms?
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: lightarrow on 23/10/2009 19:35:44
"number of "nearest neighbours" an atom has in a structure" = number of bonding with other atoms?
In general you can say that there is an 'interaction', not exactly a 'bonding' between the atoms; anyway, the concept is that.
Title: Re: What determines the boiling points of aluminium and magnesium?
Post by: EvilFrog on 24/10/2009 14:25:22
thanks for explain..

best wishes. [:)]

Database Error

Please try again. If you come back to this error screen, report the error to an administrator.
Back