Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: Karen W. on 25/11/2007 17:19:41

Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Karen W. on 25/11/2007 17:19:41

I thought this would help all of us who are not knowledgeable in this department to become more knowledgeable and hip in the chemical department! LOL!
And since you all are the chemists and scientists I will let you begin! LOL
Each post should contain one chemical and where it comes from or where we find it.. You may elaborate on its usage if you like! Thanks!
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 27/12/2008 05:37:02
Starting at the beginnning
Hydrogen, (Greek, “water former”), reactive, colourless, odourless, and tasteless gaseous element. Hydrogen reacts with many non-metals. It combines with nitrogen in the presence of a catalyst to form ammonia, with sulphur to form hydrogen sulphide, with chlorine to form hydrogen chloride, and with oxygen to form water. Hydrogen also combines with some metals, such as sodium and lithium, to form hydrides. The lightest in weight of all gases, hydrogen has been used for the inflation of balloons and dirigibles. It ignites very easily, however, and several airships, including the Hindenburg, have been destroyed by hydrogen fires. Hydrogen is also used in high-temperature torches for cutting, melting, and welding metals. The most abundant element in the universe.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 27/12/2008 10:16:08
Helium - from the Greek "Helios" meaning Sun. IT is the 2nd most abundant element in the universe and is formed when 2 Hydrogen atoms get friendly.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 27/12/2008 23:20:38
Helium, inert, colourless, odourless gaseous element. Helium has a density of 0.1664 g/litre at 20° C. Helium is the most difficult of all gases to liquefy and is impossible to solidify at normal atmospheric pressures. These properties make liquid helium extremely useful as a refrigerant and for experimental work in producing and measuring temperatures close to absolute zero. Liquid helium can be cooled almost to absolute zero at normal pressure by rapid removal of the vapour above the liquid. At a temperature slightly above absolute zero, it is transformed into helium II, also called superfluid helium, a liquid with unique physical properties. It has no freezing point, and its viscosity is apparently zero; it passes readily through minute cracks and pores and will even creep up the sides and over the lip of a container. At sea level, helium occurs in the atmosphere in the proportion of 5.4 parts per million. Natural gas, which contains an average of 0.4 per cent helium, is the major commercial source of helium.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 27/12/2008 23:38:43
Bloody Kiwi showoff!  [:(!]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 28/12/2008 01:42:35
Haha [:D] I didn't memorise all of those just in case you thought I was smart or something [::)] [::)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 28/12/2008 01:52:46
Lithium, silvery-white, chemically reactive metallic element that is the lightest in weight of all metals. In group 1 of the periodic table, lithium is one of the alkali metals. Discovery of the element is generally credited to Johann A. Arfvedson in 1817. Lithium is obtained by the electrolysis of a mixture of fused lithium and potassium chloride. It tarnishes instantaneously and corrodes rapidly upon exposure to air; when it is stored it must be immersed in a liquid such as naphtha. Lithium does not occur in nature in the free state but only in compounds, which are widely distributed. The metal is used as a deoxidizer and to remove unwanted gases during the manufacture of non-ferrous castings. Lithium vapour is used to prevent carbon dioxide and oxygen from forming scale in furnaces in heat-treating steel. Important compounds of lithium include the hydroxide, used for bonding carbon dioxide in the ventilator systems of spacecraft and submarines; and the hydride, used to inflate lifeboats, and its heavy hydrogen (deuterium) equivalent, used in making the hydrogen bomb. Lithium carbonate, a common mineral, is used in the treatment of manic-depressive psychosis. Oh yeah, forgot to say that lithium ranks 35th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: miriam0920 on 28/12/2008 22:46:52
Good post Karen! 

Potassium (K)  Metal - Oxidation State +1
Atomic Mass 39.098
Soft, silver-white Solid at STP.  Floats and burns with a bright blue flame when added to water.  K means Kalium for the Latin name.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 28/12/2008 23:02:24
Beryllium, symbol Be, grey, brittle, metallic element. Beryllium was named after its chief mineral, beryl, an aluminium beryllium silicate. It was discovered as an oxide, now known as beryllia. Because the soluble compounds are sweet-tasting, the new element was first called glucinium, a reference to the sugar glucose. Beryllium has a high strength per unit weight. It tarnishes only slightly in air, becoming covered with a thin layer of oxide. The ability of beryllium to scratch glass is usually ascribed to this oxide coating. Beryllium compounds are generally white (or colourless in solution) and show great similarity in chemical properties to the corresponding compounds of aluminium. This similarity makes it difficult to separate beryllium from the aluminium that is almost always present in beryllium ores. The addition of beryllium to some alloys often results in products that have high heat resistance, improved corrosion resistance, greater hardness, greater insulating properties, and better casting qualities. Many parts of supersonic aircraft are made of beryllium alloys because of their lightness, stiffness, and dimensional stability.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 29/12/2008 00:20:29
Delphinium - erm... oops, sorry - that's a flower. But it does sound chemicalish  [:P]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 29/12/2008 02:36:39
Boron, hard, brittle semi-metallic element. Boron is in group 13 of the periodic table. It is a trace element needed for plant growth, but toxic in excess. Research suggests that it is also nutritionally important for bone health in humans and other vertebrates. Pure boron, as usually prepared, is a powder, though a crystalline form can be prepared by dissolving boron in molten aluminium and cooling slowly. Boron does not react with water or hydrochloric acid and is unaffected by air at ordinary temperatures. At red heat it combines directly with nitrogen to form boron nitride (BN), and with oxygen to form boron oxide (B2O3). With metals it forms borides, such as magnesium boride (Mg3B2). The original sources of boron compounds were the minerals borax and boric acid. Boron ranks about 38th in natural abundance among the elements in the Earth's crust. In its compounds, boron acts like a non-metal, but unlike most non-metals, pure boron is an electrical conductor, like the metals and like carbon (graphite). Crystalline boron is similar to diamond in appearance and optical properties, and is almost as hard as diamond. 
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 29/12/2008 19:14:35
Good post Karen! 

Potassium (K)  Metal - Oxidation State +1
Atomic Mass 39.098
Soft, silver-white Solid at STP.  Floats and burns with a bright blue flame when added to water.  K means Kalium for the Latin name.
Since you are studying chemistry you have to know that the flame's colour it's not blue but lilac:
http://www.amazingrust.com/Experiments/how_to/Images/Flame%20Test/K+/K+1%20(KCl).jpg
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 30/12/2008 05:15:48
Now we get to dear old carbon, symbol C, element that is crucial to the existence of living organisms, and that has many important industrial applications. Carbon is in group 14 of the periodic table. Three forms of elemental carbon that occur in nature—diamond, graphite, and amorphous carbon—are solids with extremely high melting points and are insoluble in all solvents at ordinary temperatures. The physical properties of the three forms differ widely because of the differences in crystalline structure. In diamond, the hardest material known, each atom is linked to four other atoms in a three-dimensional framework, whereas graphite consists of weakly bonded plane layers of atoms that are arranged in hexagons. Amorphous carbon is characterized by a very low degree of crystallinity. Pure amorphous carbon can be obtained by heating purified sugar in the absence of air. A fourth form of naturally occurring carbon is a whole class of fullerenes, the most well-known of which is Buckminsterfullerene. The isotopes carbon-13 and carbon-14 are used extensively as isotopic tracers in biochemical research. Carbon-14 is also used in radiocarbon dating, which permits the estimation of the age of fossils and other organic materials. Carbon-14 is continuously produced in the atmosphere by cosmic rays and is incorporated into all living matter.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: DoctorBeaver on 30/12/2008 12:40:20
Nitrogen - a tasteless, odourless, colourless gas with atomic number of 7. The Earth's atmosphere is 78% Nitrogen. It was discovered in 1772 by Rutherford.

Its melting point is -209.9 °C (63.250008 K, -345.81998 °F) and its boiling point is -195.8 °C (77.35 K, -320.44 °F) so sticking your elbow in liquid nitrogen to test the temperature is not a good idea.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 31/12/2008 02:23:32
Nitrogen, symbol N, Nitrogen is in group 15 of the periodic table. Nitrogen is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic gas. It can be condensed into a colourless liquid, which can in turn be compressed into a colourless, crystalline solid. Nitrogen exists in two natural isotopic forms, and four radioactive isotopes have been artificially prepared. Nitrogen is obtained from the atmosphere by passing air over heated copper or iron. The oxygen is removed from the air, leaving nitrogen mixed with inert gases. Pure nitrogen is obtained by fractional distillation of liquid air; because liquid nitrogen has a lower boiling point than liquid oxygen, the nitrogen distills off first and can be collected. Nitrogen combines with other elements only at very high temperatures or pressures. The nitrogen so produced is very active, combining with alkali metals to form azides; with the vapour of zinc, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic to form nitrides; and with many hydrocarbons to form hydrocyanic acid and cyanides, also known as nitriles. Most of the nitrogen used in the chemical industry is obtained by the fractional distillation of liquid air. It is then used to synthesize ammonia. From ammonia produced in this manner, a wide variety of important chemical products are prepared, including fertilizers, nitric acid, urea, hydrazine, and amines.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 31/12/2008 02:25:27
Oxygen, colourless, odourless, tasteless, slightly magnetic gaseous element. On Earth, oxygen is more abundant than any other element. Gaseous oxygen can be condensed to a pale blue liquid that is strongly magnetic. Pale blue solid oxygen is produced by compressing the liquid.  Oxygen comprises 60% of the human body. Three structural forms of oxygen are known: ordinary oxygen, containing two atoms per molecule, formula O2; ozone, containing three atoms per molecule, formula O3; and a pale blue, non-magnetic form, O4, containing four atoms per molecule, which readily breaks down into ordinary oxygen. Three stable isotopes of oxygen are known; oxygen-16 is the most abundant. It comprises 99.76% of ordinary oxygen and was used in the determination of atomic weights until the 1960s. Large amounts of oxygen are used in high-temperature welding torches, in which a mixture of oxygen and another gas produces a flame of much higher temperature than is obtained by burning gases in air.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 31/12/2008 11:15:13
Fluorine, (Latin, fluo, “flow”), a chemically reactive and poisonous gaseous element. In group 17 of the periodic table. Fluorine is a pale, greenish-yellow gas, slightly heavier than air, poisonous, corrosive, and of penetrating and disagreeable odour. It is the most chemically active of the non-metallic elements. It combines directly with most elements and indirectly with nitrogen, chlorine, and oxygen. Nearly all compounds are decomposed by fluorine to form fluorides that are among the most stable of all chemical compounds. Fluorine occurs naturally in the combined form as fluorite, cryolite, and apatite. Fluorite, from which most fluorine compounds are generally derived, is widespread in Mexico, the central United States, France, and England. It is the 17th element in order of abundance in the crust of the Earth. Fluorine and many fluorides, such as hydrogen fluoride and sodium fluoride, are extremely poisonous. Drinking water containing excessive amounts of fluorides causes tooth enamel to become brittle and to chip off, leaving a stained or mottled effect. The proper proportion of fluorides in drinking water, however, has been found to greatly reduce tooth decay. Teflon, a fluorine plastic that is very resistant to most chemical action, is widely used to make components in the car industry, and is also used as a coating on the inner surface of frying pans.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 01/01/2009 02:43:19
Neon, (from Greek, “new”) is a colourless, odourless, gaseous element that makes up a tiny fraction of the Earth's atmosphere. In group 18 of the periodic table, neon is one of the noble gases. Neon was first separated from other inert gases in 1898 by the British chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers. It constitutes 18 ppm in the atmosphere. Neon occurs naturally in three stable isotopic forms: neon-20, which is the most abundant, neon-22, and neon-21. The first demonstration of the existence of a stable isotope in an element was performed with neon in 1912. Neon produces a crimson glow in a vacuum electric-discharge tube and is used extensively in the familiar neon lamp of advertising displays. The term neon light is often incorrectly applied to discharge tubes filled with gases other than neon that produce a coloured glow. When a current is passed through a tube of neon, it gives off a brilliant red light. Colours other than red may be obtained by adding other gases or by using coloured glass tubes. Liquid neon is used as a refrigerant in cryogenics. It has over 40 times more refrigerating capacity per unit volume than liquid helium. Neon is also used in the making of Geiger Counters plus arc weldings.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 01/01/2009 02:45:05
Sodium, highly reactive, silvery-white, a very soft metallic element. In group 1 of the periodic table. Elemental sodium is metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It oxidizes immediately on exposure to air and reacts violently with water, forming sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. Sodium is found in nature only in the combined state. It occurs in the ocean and in salt lakes as sodium chloride, NaCl, and less often as sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, and sodium sulphate, Na2SO4. Sodium ranks seventh in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. The element is used in the manufacture of tetraethyl lead and as a cooling agent in nuclear reactors. The most important compound of sodium is sodium chloride, known commonly as salt. Other important compounds include sodium carbonate, known as washing soda, and sodium bicarbonate, known as baking soda. Sodium hydroxide, known commercially as soda lye or caustic soda, is used in the manufacture of soap, rayon, and paper, in oil refining, and in the textile and rubber industries. Sodium fluoride, NaF, is used as an antiseptic, as a poison for mice and roaches, and in ceramics. Sodium nitrate, known as Chile saltpetre, is used as a fertilizer. Sodium peroxide, Na2O2, is an important bleaching and oxidizing agent. Sodium thiosulphate, Na2S2O3• 5H2O, known as hypo, is used in photography as a fixing agent.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 01/01/2009 08:08:45
Sodium, highly reactive, silvery-white, a very soft metallic element....
What would you use to precipitate sodium from a water solution of Na+?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 01/01/2009 09:36:25
You mean like a compound of sodium? Or the metal [::)] [:)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 01/01/2009 10:32:26
Assuming that it was a solution of sodium chloride, you would need to decrease the solubility so that it could precipitate out of solution. Sodium nitrate (or anything that contains Na+) and say, copper chloride (or anything that contains Cl-) both share a common ion with sodium chloride. In the first case it is the sodium ion and in the second case it is the chloride ion. If either of these salts is added to the equlibrium system:
NaCl(s) + aq ↔ Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
the solubility of sodium chloride decreases. In each case, the decrease is due to the common ion. The effect itself is known as (who would have thought [:o]) the common ion effect. While equilibrium considerations allow this effect to be anticipated, a knowledge of solubility products (which I do not have) allows its extent to be calculated. So some compounds of sodium may be able to be precipitated out (the less soluble ones) whereas others might not...
And hence, if you wanted to increase solubility, you would do the opposite. [:)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 01/01/2009 10:41:50
Magnesium, silvery-white metallic element in group 2 of the periodic table. Magnesium is soft and ductile when heated. The metal is not attacked by oxygen, water, or alkalis at room temperature; it does react with acids. When heated to about 800° C, it reacts with oxygen and emits a bright, white light. It occurs in nature only in chemical combination with other elements, particularly as the minerals carnallite, dolomite, and magnesite; in many rock-forming silicates; and as salts, such as magnesium chloride, in ocean and saline-lake waters. Magnesium forms divalent compounds, chief among which are magnesium carbonate (MgCO3), which is formed by the reaction of a magnesium salt and sodium carbonate and is used as a refractory and insulating material; magnesium chloride (MgCl2•6H2O), which is formed by reacting magnesium carbonate or oxide with hydrochloric acid and is used as dressing and filler for cotton and woollen fabrics, in paper manufacture, and in cements and ceramics; magnesium citrate (Mg3(C6H 5O7)2•4H2O), which is formed by the reaction of magnesium carbonate with citric acid and is used in medicine and effervescent beverages; magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2), formed by the reacting of magnesium salt and sodium hydroxide and used in medicine as the laxative “milk of magnesia”, in sugar refining and magnesium sulphate (MgSO4•7H2O), is well known as Epsom salt.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 01/01/2009 16:14:34
Assuming that it was a solution of sodium chloride, you would need to decrease the solubility so that it could precipitate out of solution. Sodium nitrate (or anything that contains Na+) and say, copper chloride (or anything that contains Cl-) both share a common ion with sodium chloride. In the first case it is the sodium ion and in the second case it is the chloride ion. If either of these salts is added to the equlibrium system:
NaCl(s) + aq ↔ Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
the solubility of sodium chloride decreases.
In each case, the decrease is due to the common ion. The effect itself is known as (who would have thought [:o]) the common ion effect.
No, it's not this the effect. You have it when, e.g., you add a concentrated CuCl2 solution, (or HCl) to a NaCl solution (not to a NaNO3 or other salt solution). Then you really can see the formation of a precipitate of NaCl (if you pass the solubility product).

What I intended is not simply to decrease the solubility of a sodium salt, but to form a new one which solubility is almost zero, so that you can make a quantitative analysis of the sodium originally present in solution (or to identify it qualitatively by observing the formation of a precipitate).

For example, if you have a BaCl2 solution, you add e.g., a conc. solution of K2SO4 and you get (double exchange) BaSO4 and KCl. The last one stay in solution, while the first one precipitates because is very insoluble (the amount of Ba++ which remains in solution can be neglected). You filter out the solution, you wash and then dry the precipitate, you weight it and you have made a quantitative analysis of the Ba originally present in solution.
What would you use to precipitate sodium (insted of Barium) out of a solution?

I'm just trying to give you some homework to improve your skill in chemistry.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 01/01/2009 16:43:34
...
 magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2), formed by the reacting of magnesium salt and sodium hydroxide and used in medicine as the laxative “milk of magnesia”, in sugar refining...
Mg(OH)2 is also used against stomach hyperacidity because it neutralizes it.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 02/01/2009 00:51:08
Are you asking me to find a compound of sodium that is insoluble? I could do with a bit of homework right now [:P] [:P]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 02/01/2009 00:54:49
Well, according to Wikipedia: There are other insoluble sodium salts such as sodium bismuthate NaBiO3, sodium octamolybdate Na2Mo8O25•4H2O, sodium thioplatinate Na4Pt3S6, sodium uranate Na2UO4. Sodium meta-antimonate's 2NaSbO3•7H2O solubility is 0.3g/L as is the pyro form Na2H2Sb2O7•H2O of this salt. Sodium metaphosphate NaPO3 has a soluble and an insoluble form. So I guess any of those will do to precipitate Na out of solution... unless I have misunderstood your question [:)]


Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 02/01/2009 03:20:25
Aluminium, the most abundant metallic element in the Earth's crust. The element is in group 13 of the periodic table. Aluminium is a strongly electropositive metal and extremely reactive. In contact with air, aluminium rapidly becomes covered with a tough, transparent layer of aluminium oxide that resists further corrosive action. For this reason, materials made of aluminium do not tarnish or rust. The metal reduces many other metallic compounds to their base metals. For example, when thermite (a mixture of powdered iron oxide and aluminium) is heated, the aluminium rapidly removes the oxygen from the iron; the heat of the reaction is sufficient to melt the iron. This phenomenon is used in the Thermit process for welding iron. The metal is becoming increasingly important architecturally, for both structural and ornamental purposes. Aluminium siding, storm windows, and foil make excellent insulators. The metal is also used as a material in low-temperature nuclear reactors because it absorbs relatively few neutrons. Aluminium becomes stronger and retains its toughness as it gets colder and is therefore used at cryogenic temperatures. Because of its light weight, ease of forming, and compatibility with foods and beverages, aluminium is widely used for containers, flexible packages, and easy-to-open bottles and cans.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 02/01/2009 05:19:01
Silicon, semimetallic element that is the second most common element on Earth, after oxygen. Silicon is prepared as a brown amorphous powder or as grey-black crystals. It is obtained by heating silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), with a reducing agent, such as carbon or magnesium, in an electric furnace. Silicon is not attacked by nitric, hydrochloric, or suphuric acids, but it dissolves in hydrofluoric acid. It dissolves in sodium hydroxide, forming sodium silicate and hydrogen gas. At ordinary temperatures silicon is impervious to air, but at high temperatures it reacts with oxygen, forming a layer of silica that does not react further. At high temperatures it also reacts with nitrogen and chlorine to form silicon nitride and silicon chloride. Silicon constitutes about 28 per cent of the Earth's crust. It does not occur in the free, elemental state, but is found in the form of silicon dioxide and in the form of complex silicates. Silicon-containing minerals constitute nearly 40 per cent of all common minerals, including more than 90 per cent of igneous-rock-forming minerals. The mineral quartz, varieties of quartz (such as cornelian, chrysoprase, onyx, flint, and jasper), and the minerals cristobalite and tridymite are the naturally occurring crystal forms of silica. Silicon dioxide is the principal constituent of sand. Silicon is a semiconductor, in which the resistivity to the flow of electricity at room temperature is in the range between that of metals and that of insulators.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 02/01/2009 16:54:18
Well, according to Wikipedia: There are other insoluble sodium salts such as sodium bismuthate NaBiO3, sodium octamolybdate Na2Mo8O25•4H2O, sodium thioplatinate Na4Pt3S6, sodium uranate Na2UO4. Sodium meta-antimonate's 2NaSbO3•7H2O solubility is 0.3g/L as is the pyro form Na2H2Sb2O7•H2O of this salt. Sodium metaphosphate NaPO3 has a soluble and an insoluble form. So I guess any of those will do to precipitate Na out of solution... unless I have misunderstood your question [:)]

It's too simple! To precipitate sodium from a solution into an insoluble salt of sodium, you have to find a chemical which instead is soluble! If, e.g., you want to precipitate sodium bismuthate NaBiO3, you should show me how this pure compund can form adding some chemical to the Na+ solution. Does it exist, for example, a soluble bismuthate which forms BiO3- ions in solution and that this ions react with Na+ ions forming pure sodium bismuthate?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 01:25:17
Oh... right, okay, let me see....
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 01:44:22
Hmm... this is harder than I thought.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 01:56:55
What do you define as soluble or insoluble?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 02:16:44
Okay, sodium uranate can be prepared by reacting U3O8 with sodium carbonate
That's about the only one I can find at the moment
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 02:19:57
Phosphorus, reactive non-metallic element that is important to living organisms and has many industrial uses. Phosphorus is in group 15 of the periodic table. Phosphorus exists in three main allotropic forms: ordinary (or white) phosphorus, red phosphorus, and black phosphorus. Of these, only white and red phosphorus are of commercial importance. When freshly prepared, ordinary phosphorus is white, but it turns light yellow when exposed to sunlight. It is a crystalline, translucent, waxy solid, which glows faintly in moist air and is extremely poisonous. It ignites spontaneously in air at 34° C and must be stored under water. It is insoluble in water, slightly soluble in organic solvents, and very soluble in carbon disulphide. It does not occur in the free state but is found mostly as a phosphate, as in phosphate rock and apatite. It is also found in the combined state in all fertile soil and in many natural waters. Red phosphorus is a microcrystalline, non-poisonous powder. It sublimates at 416° C and has a relative density of 2.34. Black phosphorus is made by heating white phosphorus at 200° C  at very high pressure. The most important commercial compounds of phosphorus are phosphoric acid and the salts of phosphoric acid, called phosphates. The bulk of phosphorus-containing compounds are used as fertilizers. Phosphorous compounds are also used in clarifying sugar solutions, weighing silk, and fireproofing, and in such alloys as phosphor bronze and phosphor copper. White phosphorus is used in the making of rat poison, and red phosphorus is used in matches.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 02:22:22
Sulphur, tasteless, odourless, light yellow non-metallic element. All forms of sulphur are insoluble in water, but the crystalline forms are soluble in carbon disulphide. When ordinary sulphur melts, it forms a straw-coloured liquid that turns darker with additional heating and then finally boils. When molten sulphur is slowly cooled, its physical properties change in accordance with the temperature, pressure, and method of crust formation. Sulphur thus exists in a variety of forms called allotropic modifications, which consist of the liquids Sλ, and Sµ, and several solid varieties. Sulphur combines with hydrogen and the metallic elements in the presence of heat to form sulphides. The most common sulphide is hydrogen sulphide, H2S, a colourless, poisonous gas with the odour of rotten eggs. Sulphur combines also with chlorine in several proportions to produce sulphur monochloride, S2Cl2, and sulphur dichloride, SCl2. When burned in air, sulphur combines with oxygen to form sulphur dioxide, SO2, a heavy, colourless gas with a characteristic, suffocating odour. Sulphur dioxide is released into the atmosphere in the combustion of fossil fuels, such as gas, petroleum, and coal, and constitutes one of the most troublesome air pollutants.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 05:30:11
It's too simple! To precipitate sodium from a solution into an insoluble salt of sodium, you have to find a chemical which instead is soluble! If, e.g., you want to precipitate sodium bismuthate NaBiO3, you should show me how this pure compund can form adding some chemical to the Na+ solution. Does it exist, for example, a soluble bismuthate which forms BiO3- ions in solution and that this ions react with Na+ ions forming pure sodium bismuthate?
Do you have an answer?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 03/01/2009 09:30:26
It's too simple! To precipitate sodium from a solution into an insoluble salt of sodium, you have to find a chemical which instead is soluble! If, e.g., you want to precipitate sodium bismuthate NaBiO3, you should show me how this pure compund can form adding some chemical to the Na+ solution. Does it exist, for example, a soluble bismuthate which forms BiO3- ions in solution and that this ions react with Na+ ions forming pure sodium bismuthate?
Do you have an answer?
A possible solution of the problem is to use potassium exahydroxyantimonate:

KSb(OH)6

a solution of that salt added to an unknown solution, in the presence of sodium forms a white precipitate of sodium exahydroxyantimonate:

Sb(OH)6- + Na+ → NaSb(OH)6

To prepare KSb(OH)6 you make react KOH with antimonic acid HSbO3:

KOH + HSbO3 + 2H2O → K+ + Sb(OH)6-
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 09:32:03
Ok, I did not know that...
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 03/01/2009 09:37:48
Ok, I did not know that...
Maybe you will study that in a few months or in the second year.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 09:40:31
Is that something that you have studied? I'm wondering why you think I am a student [:)] [:-\]
I don't blame you, its probably because of my poor knowledge of science... [:D] [:D]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 03/01/2009 09:49:37
Is that something that you have studied? I'm wondering why you think I am a student [:)] [:-\]
I don't blame you, its probably because of my poor knowledge of science... [:D] [:D]
Ok, indeed I thought you were studying chem at university..
Those things are taught during the qualitative analysis courses.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/01/2009 09:53:29
I am humbled... [8)] [8)] [:I] [:I]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 03/01/2009 15:19:04
I am humbled... [8)] [8)] [:I] [:I]
Why? You would have a reason if you had already studied these things but you wouldn't know them the same... [:)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 04/01/2009 02:33:40
I am humbled... [8)] [8)] [:I] [:I]
Why? You would have a reason if you had already studied these things but you wouldn't know them the same... [:)]
Huh? I'm not sure what you mean.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 04/01/2009 02:36:35
Chlorine, greenish-yellow gaseous element, in group 17 of the periodic table. The gas has an irritating odour and in large concentrations is dangerous; it was the first substance used as a poison gas in World War I. Free chlorine does not occur in nature, but its compounds are common minerals, and it is the 20th most abundant element in the Earth's crust. Chlorine is an active element, reacting with water, organic compounds, and many metals. Four oxides have been prepared: Cl2O, ClO2, Cl 2O6, and Cl2O7. Chlorine will not burn in air, but it will support the combustion of many substances; an ordinary paraffin candle, for example, will burn in chlorine with a smoky flame. Chlorine and hydrogen can be kept together in the dark, but react explosively in the presence of light. Chlorine solutions in water are familiar in the home as bleaching agents, or in weaker solutions as a sterilizing agent, for example in swimming pools and public water systems. A few parts per million of chlorine can be added to drinking water to kill bacteria, and the chlorine then removed with sodium sulphite prior to distribution to homes. Industrial chlorine is produced by treating salt with nitrogen oxides or by oxidizing hydrogen chloride. Chlorine is shipped as a liquid in steel bottles.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 04/01/2009 02:38:27
Argon, inert gaseous element that is the third most prevalent gas in the Earth's atmosphere. In group 18 of the periodic table, argon is one of the noble gases. Argon was discovered in 1894 by the British scientists Sir William Ramsay and Baron John William Strutt Rayleigh. They were led to this discovery by a discrepancy between the density of supposedly pure nitrogen, prepared from air, and actually pure nitrogen, prepared from ammonium nitrate. Argon is composed of monatomic molecules and is colourless and odourless. It constitutes 0.93 per cent of the atmosphere. Argon is produced commercially by the fractional distillation of liquid air. It is used in large quantities to fill electric light bulbs. If air is left in incandescent bulbs, the filament burns; if the bulb is evacuated, as was formerly done, the tungsten filament tends to evaporate, blackening the inside of the bulb. To prevent this evaporation, the bulb can be filled with nitrogen, which is the least expensive gas for the purpose, or argon, which is better, as it is a poorer conductor of heat and so cools the filament less. Argon is also used in one type of neon lamp. Whereas pure neon gives a red light, argon gives a blue light. Argon tubes require a lower voltage than neon tubes, and for this reason small amounts of argon are sometimes mixed with neon. Argon is also used in electric-arc technology, in gas lasers, and in arc welding.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 04/01/2009 16:27:02
I am humbled... [8)] [8)] [:I] [:I]
Why? You would have a reason if you had already studied these things but you wouldn't know them the same... [:)]
Huh? I'm not sure what you mean.
Do you have a degree in Chemistry?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 04/01/2009 22:55:15
Ok, it seem that I have been taken out of context, what I should have said was "I am humbled that you think I am a university student [8)] [8)] [:I] [:I]"

Do you have a degree in Chemistry?
No  [:I]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 04/01/2009 23:15:57
Potassium, (from Latin kalium, “alkali”), chemically reactive, extremely soft metallic element. In group 1 of the periodic table. Potassium exists in three natural isotopic forms, with mass numbers 39, 40, and 41. Potassium-40 is radioactive and has a half-life of 1.28 billion years. The most abundant isotope is potassium-39. Several radioactive isotopes have been artificially prepared. Potassium is found in nature in large quantities, ranking eighth in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth, in various minerals such as carnallite, feldspar, saltpetre, greensand, and sylvite. Potassium bromide (KBr), a white solid formed by the reaction of potassium hydroxide and bromine, is used in photography, engraving, and lithography, and in medicine as a sedative. Potassium chromate (K2CrO4), a yellow crystalline solid, and potassium dichromate, or potassium bichromate (K2Cr2O7), a red crystalline solid, are powerful oxidizing agents used in matches and fireworks, in textile dyeing, and in leather tanning. Potassium iodide (KI), a white crystalline compound that is very soluble in water, is used in photography for preparing gelatin emulsions and in medicine for the treatment of rheumatism and overactivity of the thyroid gland. Potassium nitrate (KNO3), a white solid prepared by fractional crystallization of sodium nitrate and potassium chloride solutions, is used in matches, explosives, and fireworks, and in pickling meat.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 04/01/2009 23:19:54
Calcium, reactive, silvery-white metallic element. In group 2 of the periodic table. Calcium has six stable and several radioactive isotopes. A malleable and ductile metal, calcium rapidly tarnishes to yellow on exposure to air. Calcium is fifth in abundance among the elements in the Earth's crust, but it is not found uncombined in nature. It occurs in many highly useful compounds, such as calcium carbonate (CaCO3), of which calcite, marble, limestone, and chalk are composed; calcium sulphate (CaSO4) in alabaster or gypsum; calcium fluoride (CaF2) in fluorite; calcium phosphate (Ca3(PO4)2) in rock phosphate; and in many silicates. In cold, dry air, calcium is not readily attacked by oxygen, but when heated it unites vigorously with the halogens, oxygen, sulphur, phosphorus, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Calcium reacts violently with water, forming the hydroxide Ca(OH)2 and releasing hydrogen. The metal is obtained mainly by electrolysis of fused calcium chloride, a costly process. Until recently the pure metal had little use in industry. It is being used to an increasing extent as a deoxidizer for copper, nickel, and stainless steel. Because calcium hardens lead when alloyed with it, lead-calcium alloys are excellent for bearings, superior to ordinary lead antimony for grids in storage batteries, and more durable as sheathing for lead-covered cable. Calcium is present in teeth and bones (as a calcium hydroxyphosphate), and in many body fluids essential to muscle contraction, the transmission of nerve impulses, and the clotting of blood.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: miriam0920 on 05/01/2009 01:31:16
Since you are studying chemistry you have to know that the flame's colour it's not blue but lilac:

Lilac?  Do you want to debate with me too?

Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 05/01/2009 03:17:52
Since you are studying chemistry you have to know that the flame's colour it's not blue but lilac:
Lilac?  Do you want to debate with me too?
Are you addressing me?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 05/01/2009 15:14:23
Since you are studying chemistry you have to know that the flame's colour it's not blue but lilac:

Lilac?  Do you want to debate with me too?
No, no, it was just to give you some more informations. (Maybe I said it badly because of my not perfect knowledge of english language). They could ask you this at an exam.

I know of a teacher of analythical chemistry at university in Florence, who one day (many years ago) asked a student which colour is Ni++ in water solution. The student replied "green". The teacher: just "green"? The student replied yes, and he didn't pass the exam. The correct answer for the teacher was "apple green"!  [:)]
(It's not a joke).

http://www.uncp.edu/home/mcclurem/ptable/ni.htm
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 05/01/2009 23:18:38
Scandium, soft silver-white metallic element with an atomic number of 21. Scandium is one of the transition elements in the periodic table. Scandium was discovered in 1879 by the Swedish chemist Lars Fredrik Nilson, eight years after the Russian chemist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev had predicted, on the basis of the periodic law, that the element exists in nature and that its properties resemble those of the element boron. Scandium is sometimes regarded as one of the rare earth elements. Scandium occurs in rare minerals such as wolframite. It is 31st in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. It forms trivalent, colourless salts.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 05/01/2009 23:20:22
Titanium, silver-white metallic element used principally to make light, strong alloys. Titanium is soluble in certain acids, and aqueous solutions of the metal can be prepared, but it is not directly dissolved by water. The metal is extremely brittle when cold, but is readily malleable and ductile at a low red heat. Titanium burns in oxygen to form titanium dioxide, and it burns in nitrogen to form titanium nitride, TiN. Titanium forms the salts titanium tetrachloride, TiCl4; titanium trichloride, TiCl3; and titanium dichloride, TiCl2. It ranks ninth in abundance among the elements in the crust of the Earth but is never found in the pure state. Because of its strength and light weight, titanium is used in metallic alloys and as a substitute for aluminium. Alloyed with aluminium and vanadium, titanium is used in aircraft for fire walls, outer skin, landing-gear components, hydraulic tubing, and engine supports. The compressor blades, discs, and housings of jet engines are also made of titanium. A supersonic transport, flying at speeds between 2,410 and 3,220 km/h, uses from 14 to 45 tonnes of titanium. Titanium is also widely used in missiles and space capsules. The relative inertness of titanium makes it available as a replacement for bone and cartilage in surgery and as a pipe and tank lining in the processing of foods. It is used in heat exchangers in desalination plants because of its ability to withstand salt-water corrosion.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 06/01/2009 01:24:04
Just type 'potassium flame colour' into Google images and you can decide whether it is blue or lilac.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 06/01/2009 21:25:22
Vanadium, silver-white metallic element . Vanadium takes a high polish and is one of the hardest of all metals. Vanadium is soluble in nitric and sulphuric acids and insoluble in hydrochloric acid, dilute sodium hydroxide, and dilute alcohol. Vanadium forms several acidic oxides, the most important of which are the dark green trioxide, V2O3, and the orange pentoxide, V2O5. Other important compounds include vanadium monosulphide, VS; vanadium trisulphide, V2S3; vanadium dichloride, VCI2; vanadium trichloride, VCI3; vanadium dihydroxide, V(OH)2; and metavanadic acid, HVO3.Vanadium ranks about 19th in abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. It is never found in the pure state, but occurs in combination with various minerals throughout the world. Because of its hardness and great tensile strength, the metal is used in many alloys such as ferrovanadium, nickel vanadium, and chrome vanadium. Chrome-vanadium steels are used in the production of springs and in transmission gears and other engine parts. Titanium-vanadium alloys are used for missile cases, jet-engine housings, and nuclear-reactor components. As a catalyst, vanadium has largely replaced platinum in the manufacture of sulphuric acid and is employed widely as a photographic developer, as a reducing agent, and as a drying agent in various paints.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 06/01/2009 21:39:34
Chromium, grey metallic element that can take on a high polish. Chromium ranks about 21st in natural abundance among the elements in crustal rocks. Chromium can replace part of the aluminium or iron in many minerals, imparting to them their unique colours. Many precious gemstones owe their colour to the presence of chromium compounds. In chromites and chromic salts, chromium has a valence of +3. Most of these compounds are green, but some are red or blue. Chromic oxide (Cr2O3) is a green solid. Potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) is a red-orange, water-soluble solid that, when mixed with gelatin, gives a light-sensitive surface that is very useful in photographic processes. More than half the production of chromium goes into metallic products, and about another third is used in refractories. It is an ingredient in several important catalysts. The chief use of chromium is to form alloys with iron, nickel, or cobalt. The addition of chromium imparts hardness, strength, and corrosion resistance to the alloy. In the stainless steels, chromium makes up 10% or more of the final composition. Because of its hardness, an alloy of chromium, cobalt, and tungsten is used for high-speed metal-cutting tools. When deposited electrolytically, chromium provides a hard, corrosion-resistant, lustrous finish. For this reason it is widely used as body trim on cars and other vehicles.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 06/01/2009 23:17:08
Manganese, a silvery-white, brittle metallic element used principally in making alloys. Manganese metal corrodes in moist air and dissolves in acid. The metal does not occur in the free state, except in meteors, but is widely distributed over the world in the form of ores. It ranks about 12th in abundance among elements in the Earth's crust. Manganese is used principally in the form of alloys with iron, obtained by treating pyrolusite in a blast furnace with iron ore and carbon. The most important of these alloys, which are used in steelmaking, are ferromanganese, containing about 78% manganese, and spiegeleisen, containing from 12 to 33% manganese. Small amounts of manganese are added to steel as a deoxidizer; large amounts are used to produce a very tough alloy, resistant to wear. Safes, for example, are made of manganese steel containing about 12% cent manganese. Non-ferrous manganese alloys include manganese bronze (composed of manganese, copper, tin, and zinc), which resists corrosion from sea water and is used for propeller blades on boats and torpedoes, and manganin (containing manganese, copper, and nickel), used in the form of wire for accurate electrical measurements because its electrical conductivity does not vary appreciably with temperature.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Bored chemist on 07/01/2009 19:57:36
I think Iron's next in the sequence. A fairly well known metal since about the 3rd millennium BC.
The second commonest metal in the earth's  crust (after Al). Seldom used in the pure state but very widely used as the major component of the collection of alloys called steel. The name, so I believe, is derived from the Anglo Saxon "iren", but I don't know where they got the name from. The symbol Fe is from the Latin word for iron; Ferrum.
One of the few elements that is magnetic.
There are a number of biological roles for iron, but the best known is hemoglobin the red, oxygen carrying, pigment of blood (at least in most vertebrates, some other animals use a copper based pigment)
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Make it Lady on 07/01/2009 20:19:48
Name: Mercury
Symbol: Hg
Atomic Number: 80
Atomic Mass: 200.59 amu
Melting Point: -38.87 °C (234.28 K, -37.966 °F)
Boiling Point: 356.58 °C (629.73 K, 673.844 °F)
Number of Protons/Electrons: 80
Number of Neutrons: 121
Classification: Transition Metal
Crystal Structure: Rhombohedral
Density @ 293 K: 13.456 g/cm3
Color: Silver



Atomic Structure
   
Number of Energy Levels: 6

First Energy Level: 2
Second Energy Level: 8
Third Energy Level: 18
Fourth Energy Level: 32
Fifth Energy Level: 18
Sixth Energy Level: 2 


Isotopes
Isotope Half Life
Hg-194 520.0 years
Hg-196 Stable
Hg-197 2.7 days
Hg-197m 23.8 hours
Hg-198 Stable
Hg-199 Stable
Hg-200 Stable
Hg-201 Stable
Hg-202 Stable
Hg-203 46.6 days
Hg-204 Stable
Hg-206 8.2 minutes


Facts

Date of Discovery: Known to the ancients
Discoverer: Unknown
Name Origin: After the planet Mercury
Symbol Origin: From the Latin word hydrargyrum (liquid silver)
Uses: thermometers, barometers, fluorescent lamps, batteries
Obtained From: cinnabar ore
This is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature. If people are exposed to it for long periods it effects their balance. School children used to be allowed to play with the "beads" on a tray until some started falling over. I just love it, my favourite element. If you want to know how to remember its symbol it is Hg as mercury comes from H.G. Wells.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 08/01/2009 02:12:14
Cobalt, silvery-white, magnetic, metallic element used chiefly for making alloys. Cobalt was discovered in 1735 by the Swedish chemist George Brandt. It has a relatively low strength and little ductility at normal temperatures, but is ductile at high temperatures. Of several known cobalt isotopes, the radioactive cobalt-60 is the most important. It has a half-life of 5.7 years and produces intense gamma radiation. Cobalt-60 is used extensively in industry and in radioisotope therapy. Cobalt is about the 30th most abundant element in crustal rocks. Cobalt occurs as the arsenide CoAs2, known as smaltite or speiss cobalt; as cobalt sulpharsenide (CoAsS), known as cobalt glance or cobaltite; and as a hydrated arsenate of cobalt (Co(AsO4)2 • 8H2O), known as cobalt bloom or erythrite. The chief commercial sources of cobalt are the cobaltite ores of Ontario in Canada, and the central African nations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, which, along with Canada, are the world's leading producers of the metal. Thermally resistant alloys, called super alloys, containing cobalt are used in industry and aircraft gas turbine engines. An alloy with steel known as cobalt steel is used for making permanent magnets. With tungsten carbide, cobalt forms Carboloy, a hard material used for cutting and machining steel; alloyed with chromium, cobalt produces Stellite, used for the same.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 08/01/2009 02:14:53
Nickel, silvery-white, magnetic metallic element used chiefly in making alloys. Nickel is a hard, malleable, ductile metal, capable of taking a high polish. It exists in five stable isotopic forms. Metallic nickel is not very active chemically. It is soluble in dilute nitric acid and becomes passive in concentrated nitric acid; it does not react with alkalis. Nickel occurs as a metal in meteors. Nickel is used as a protective and ornamental coating for metals, particularly iron and steel, that are susceptible to corrosion. The nickel plate is deposited by electrolysis in a nickel solution. Finely divided nickel absorbs 17 times its own volume of hydrogen and is used as a catalyst in many processes, including the hydrogenation of oils. Nickel is used chiefly in the form of alloys. It imparts great strength and corrosion resistance to steel. Nickel steel, containing about 2 to 4% nickel, is used in car parts such as axles, crankshafts, gears, valves, and rods; in machine parts; and in armour plate. Some of the most important nickel-containing alloys are German silver, Invar, Monel metal, Nichrome, and Permalloy. The nickel coins used for currency are an alloy of 25% nickel and 75% copper. Nickel is also a main component of nickel-cadmium batteries. Most of the world supply of nickel is mined in Canada.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 08/01/2009 02:36:39
Copper, brownish-red metallic element that is one of the most widely used of metals. Because of its many desirable properties, such as its conductivity of electricity and heat, its resistance to corrosion, its malleability and ductility, and its beauty, copper has long been used in a wide variety of applications. The principal uses are electrical, because of copper's extremely high conductivity, which is second only to that of silver. Because copper is very ductile, it can be drawn into wires of any diameter from about 0.025 mm upwards. It can be used in outdoor power lines and cables, as well as in house wiring, lamp cords, and electrical machinery such as generators, motors, controllers, signaling devices, electromagnets, and communications equipment. Copper has been used for coins throughout recorded history and has also been fashioned into cooking utensils, vats, and ornamental objects. Copper can easily be electroplated, alone or as a base for other metals. Copper was at one time used extensively for sheathing the bottom of wooden ships to prevent fouling. Pure copper is soft but can be hardened somewhat by being worked. Alloys of copper, which are far harder and stronger than the pure metal, have higher resistance and so cannot be used for electrical purposes. They do, however, have corrosion resistance almost as good as that of pure copper and are very easily worked in machine shops. The two most important alloys are brass, a zinc alloy, and bronze, a tin alloy. Both are used in enormous quantities. Copper is also alloyed with gold, silver, and nickel. Copper forms two series of chemical compounds: cuprous, in which the copper has a valence of 1, and cupric, in which the copper has a valence of 2. Cuprous compounds are easily oxidized to cupric, in many cases by mere exposure to air; cupric compounds are stable. Certain copper solutions have the power of dissolving cellulose, and large quantities of copper are for this reason used in the manufacture of rayon.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 08/01/2009 23:12:31
Zinc, bluish-white metallic element that has many industrial applications. Pure zinc is a crystalline metal, insoluble in hot and cold water and soluble in alcohol, acids, and alkalies. It is extremely brittle at ordinary temperatures, but becomes malleable between 120°C and 150°C  and may be rolled into sheets between heated rollers. The first step in the metallurgy process is to transform the ores into oxides by subjecting them to high temperatures. The oxides are then reduced by carbon in an electric furnace, the zinc boiling and distilling in the retort in which the reduction takes place. The zinc obtained by distillation contains small amounts of iron, arsenic, cadmium, and lead and is known in metallurgy as spelter. Electrolytic zinc is pure and has superior qualities, such as high resistance to corrosion. The metal is used principally as a protective coating, or galvanizer, for iron and steel; as an ingredient of various alloys, especially brass; as plates for dry electric cells; and for die castings. Zinc oxide, known as zinc white or Chinese white, is used as a paint pigment. It is also used as a filler in rubber tyres and is employed in medicine as an antiseptic ointment. Zinc chloride is used as a wood preservative and as a soldering fluid. Zinc sulphide is useful in applications involving electroluminescence, photoconductivity, and semiconductivity and has other electronic uses.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 08/01/2009 23:14:39
Gallium, metallic element that remains in the liquid state over a wider range of temperatures than any other element. Gallium is in group 13 of the periodic table; its was discovered spectroscopically by the French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875; a year later he isolated the element in its metallic state. Gallium is blue-grey in colour as a solid and silvery as a liquid. It is one of the few metals that is liquid at or near room temperature. Like water it can be supercooled and it expands upon freezing. The element is about 34th in order of abundance in the crust of the Earth. Gallium melts at 30° C, boils at about 2400° C, and has a relative density of 5.9; Gallium occurs in small quantities in some varieties of zinc blende, bauxite, pyrite, magnetite, and kaolin. Gallium resembles aluminium in forming trivalent salts and oxides; it also forms a few monovalent and divalent compounds. The low melting point and high boiling point of the metal are used to advantage in high-temperature thermometers. Certain gallium compounds are excellent semiconductors and have been extensively used in rectifiers, transistors, photoconductors, and laser and maser diodes.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 08/01/2009 23:16:53
Germanium, hard, brittle, greyish-white, crystalline semimetallic element. It is in group 14  of the periodic table. Germanium is in the same chemical family as carbon, silicon, tin, and lead, and resembles these elements in forming organic derivatives such as tetraethyl germanium and tetraphenyl germanium. Germanium forms hydrides—germanomethane, or germane (GeH4); germanoethane (Ge2H6); and germanopropane (Ge3H8)—analogous to those formed by carbon in the alkane series . The most important compounds of germanium are the oxide GeO2 (germanic acid) and the halides. Germanium is separated from other metals by distillation of the tetrachloride. Germanium ranks around 54th in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. Germanium occurs in small quantities in the ores of silver, copper, and zinc, and in the mineral germanite, which contains 8% germanium. Germanium and its compounds are used in a variety of ways. Suitably prepared germanium crystals have the property of rectifying, or passing electrical currents in one direction only, and so were used extensively during and after World War II as detectors for ultra-high-frequency radio and radar signals. Germanium crystals also have other specialized electronic uses. Germanium was the first metal used in the transistor. Germanium oxide is used in the manufacture of optical glass and as a drug in the treatment of pernicious anaemia.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 09/01/2009 15:30:37
Gallium, metallic element that remains in the liquid state over a wider range of temperatures than any other element.
...
I have ~ 30 g of it! Very amazing!
(Sometimes I make this joke: When liquid, I give it the shape of a little heart, then I freeze it at room T to make it solid; then, without saying what material it is, I ask a woman to take that shiny, hard, metal heart in her hand and I tell her that if she loves me, her heart will melt for me. After some minutes she opens her hand and...surprise!   [8D])
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: yor_on on 09/01/2009 21:57:21
Strange but nice:)
Like a personal library.

If I ever want to check up some chemical element.
But how about compounds?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/01/2009 22:44:48
But how about compounds?
This topic might never end if we go into compounds! Anything you have in mind?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/01/2009 22:46:36
I have ~ 30 g of it! Very amazing!
(Sometimes I make this joke: When liquid, I give it the shape of a little heart, then I freeze it at room T to make it solid; then, without saying what material it is, I ask a woman to take that shiny, hard, metal heart in his hand and I tell her that if she loves me, his heart will melt for me. After some minutes she opens his hand and...surprise!   [8D])
Very nice lightarrow  [;)] Very clever  [;)] Any other strange elements you got at home? [:)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/01/2009 22:49:08
Selenium (Greek, selēnē, “Moon”), Selenium is in group 16 of the periodic table. Chemically, selenium closely resembles sulphur and is related to tellurium. Like sulphur, it exists in several allotropic (distinctly different) forms: a brick-red powder; a brownish-black, glassy, amorphous mass called vitreous selenium; red monoclinic crystals of relative density 4.5; and grey, lustrous crystals called grey selenium. Grey selenium conducts electricity; it is a better conductor of electricity in light than in darkness, the conductivity varying directly with the intensity of light. It is therefore used in many photoelectric devices . In the form of red selenium or as sodium selenide the element is used to impart a scarlet red colour to clear glass, glazes, and enamels. It is also used to a great extent as a decolorizer of glass because it neutralizes the greenish tint produced by iron (ferrous) compounds. Small amounts of selenium are added to vulcanized rubber to increase its resistance to abrasion. Sodium selenate is an insecticide used to combat insects that attack cultivated plants, particularly chrysanthemums and carnations; the insecticide is scattered around the roots and is carried by the sap throughout the plant. Selenium sulphide is used in the treatment of dandruff, acne, eczema, seborrhoeic dermatitis, and other skin diseases. Selenium is also an essential micronutrient for animals and humans and it is found naturally in some soils. However, in larger amounts this element is toxic to animals, humans, and nearly all plants.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/01/2009 22:50:53
Bromine, poisonous element that at room temperature is a dark, reddish-brown liquid. In group 17 of the periodic table. Bromine is so similar in its chemical properties to chlorine, with which it is almost invariably associated, that it was not recognized as a separate element until 1826. At room temperature, bromine is an extremely volatile liquid, giving off a poisonous, suffocating, reddish vapour composed of diatomic molecules. If the liquid comes in contact with the skin, it causes sores that heal very slowly. Bromine is slightly soluble in water, 100 parts water dissolving about 4 parts bromine when cold or 3 parts when hot; at temperatures below 7° C  it forms, with water, a solid, reddish hydrate, Br2•10H2O. In the presence of alkalis, bromine reacts chemically with water to yield a mixture of hydrobromic acid (HBr), and hypobromous acid (HOBr). Bromine is very soluble in a wide variety of organic solvents, such as alcohol, ether, trichloromethane (chloroform), and carbon disulphide. It reacts chemically with many compounds and metallic elements and is slightly less active than chlorine. Bromine does not occur in nature as a free element, but is found in bromide compounds. It was formerly a by-product of the production of common salt or of potassium from brines rich in bromides. Bromine has been used in the preparation of certain dyes and of dibromoethane, a constituent of antiknock fluid for leaded petrol. Bromides are also used in photographic compounds and in natural gas and oil production.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 10/01/2009 08:47:16
I have ~ 30 g of it! Very amazing!
(Sometimes I make this joke: When liquid, I give it the shape of a little heart, then I freeze it at room T to make it solid; then, without saying what material it is, I ask a woman to take that shiny, hard, metal heart in his hand and I tell her that if she loves me, his heart will melt for me. After some minutes she opens his hand and...surprise!   [8D])
Very nice lightarrow  [;)] Very clever  [;)] Any other strange elements you got at home? [:)]
Don't know if they could be considered strange, however I have bismuthe, mercury, tungsten, antimonium, iodine and many other compounds.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 10/01/2009 09:03:48
May I ask where you purchased these elements? From a company perhaps?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 10/01/2009 13:23:09
May I ask where you purchased these elements? From a company perhaps?
From a shop who sells chemicals and instruments for firms ( especially firms who work precious metals). If they don't have a chemical, it's possible to order it; however they don't sell forbidden chemicals. Some of the compounds I have, I prepared myself (copper acetate, lead nitrate, iodine, ammonium nitrate, ammonium chloride, ecc.)
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: yor_on on 10/01/2009 14:12:57
Got to admit that I was teasing a little here.
As you say the list may never end if so.

But if we are discussing compounds?
Well, how about those new combinations they use in super conductive experiments.
http://www.nanotechnologydevelopment.com/energy/researchers-create-high-temperature-super-conducting-nanowires.html

Did you know that diamonds are superconductive too?
http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/presse/news08/pm594e.html
Eh, those traces of boron do make it into a compound I hope?

Btw:
Read that "Gallium is a byproduct of the smelting of other metals, notably aluminum and zinc, and it is rarer than gold. "
You had thirty gram of it?
A layman 'Billionaire' :)
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 10/01/2009 15:55:03
Read that "Gallium is a byproduct of the smelting of other metals, notably aluminum and zinc, and it is rarer than gold. "
You had thirty gram of it?
A layman 'Billionaire' :)
I paid it ~ 60€ if I remember correctly.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: yor_on on 10/01/2009 16:11:38
A very good value it seems to me.
So many melted hearts from such a small investment :)
I will try the same.

Cross my heart and .. :)
Those videos are very nice Lightarrow.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/01/2009 02:13:32
Did you know that diamonds are superconductive too?
http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/presse/news08/pm594e.html
Eh, those traces of boron do make it into a compound I hope?
Very interesting, thanks yor_on

Those videos are very nice Lightarrow.
Are they meant to be on this topic? [???] I don't see no videos [???]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/01/2009 02:15:30
Gallium, metallic element that remains in the liquid state over a wider range of temperatures than any other element.
...
I have ~ 30 g of it! Very amazing!
(Sometimes I make this joke: When liquid, I give it the shape of a little heart, then I freeze it at room T to make it solid; then, without saying what material it is, I ask a woman to take that shiny, hard, metal heart in his hand and I tell her that if she loves me, his heart will melt for me. After some minutes she opens his hand and...surprise!   [8D])
Ummm... sorry to bring this up  [:I] but did you mean women or man (his/her)?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/01/2009 02:19:48
Krypton (Greek, kryptos, “hidden”), colourless, odourless gaseous element that makes up a tiny fraction of the Earth's atmosphere. In group 18 of the periodic table. Krypton was first isolated in 1898 by the British chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris William Travers by fractional distillation of a mixture of the noble gases. Krypton is present in the atmosphere to the extent of 1 part in 20 million by volume or 1 part in 7 million by weight. Several compounds of krypton were discovered in 1962 and 1963. Krypton is used alone or with argon and neon in incandescent bulbs. It emits a characteristic bright, orange-red colour in an electric-discharge tube; such tubes filled with krypton are used in lighting airfields because the red light is visible for long distances and penetrates fog and haze to a greater extent than ordinary light. In 1960 the International Bureau of Weights and Measures adopted as the length of the standard metre 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of light emitted by the isotope krypton-86.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/01/2009 02:21:12
Rubidium (Latin, rubidus, “red”), chemically reactive metallic element. In group 1 of the periodic table. Metallic rubidium is silvery-white and very soft. Rubidium is the third most active of the alkali metals, following francium, the most active, and caesium, the second most active. It tarnishes immediately upon exposure to air and ignites spontaneously to form rubidium oxide. It reacts violently with water. In general chemical behaviour, rubidium resembles sodium and potassium. It is a widely distributed element, ranking 16th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth. It is not found in large deposits but occurs in small amounts in certain mineral waters and in many minerals usually associated with other alkali metals. It is also found in small quantities in tea, coffee, tobacco, and other plants, and trace quantities of the element may be required by living organisms. Rubidium is used in making certain catalysts and in photoelectric cells. The rate of radioactive decay of the isotope rubidium-87 can be used in geologic age determination.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 11/01/2009 11:14:48
Gallium, metallic element that remains in the liquid state over a wider range of temperatures than any other element.
...
I have ~ 30 g of it! Very amazing!
(Sometimes I make this joke: When liquid, I give it the shape of a little heart, then I freeze it at room T to make it solid; then, without saying what material it is, I ask a woman to take that shiny, hard, metal heart in his hand and I tell her that if she loves me, his heart will melt for me. After some minutes she opens his hand and...surprise!   [8D])
Ummm... sorry to bring this up  [:I] but did you mean women or man (his/her)?
Ah, yes, it was a bit of confusion...
I've corrected it.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: yor_on on 11/01/2009 12:27:47
Chemistry4me:)

Yeah I know.
didn't have anything to do with this:(

Lightarrows videos were in another thread.
Just needed to say that they are quite good.
Also that I actually could understand how Walter Lewin created that math.
Which I found to be quite a 'kick':)

Wonder why there are so few teachers with that freedom of thought.

anyway, won't do it again, I hope:





Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/01/2009 22:42:48
Strontium, chemically reactive, malleable, ductile metallic element. In group 2 of the periodic table. Strontium has a silvery colour when freshly cut. It oxidizes readily upon exposure to air, and reacts with water to produce strontium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Like the other alkaline earth metals, it is prepared by transforming the carbonate or sulphate into the chloride, which, upon electrolysis, yields the metal. Strontium is never found in the elemental state, occurring chiefly as strontianite, SrCO3, and celestite, SrSO4. Strontium ranks about 15th among the elements in natural abundance in the Earth's crust and is widely distributed in small quantities. The greatest amounts are mined in Mexico, England, and Scotland. Because it emits a brilliant red colour when burned in air, strontium is used in the manufacture of fireworks and flares. Strontia (strontium oxide), SrO, is used in recovering sugar from sugar-beet molasses. A radioactive isotope of the element, strontium-85, is used in the detection of bone cancer. Strontium-90 is a dangerous radioactive isotope found in the radioactive fallout that results from the detonation of some nuclear weapons.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/01/2009 22:44:06
Yttrium, silver-white metallic element with an atomic number of 39. Yttrium was isolated by the Swedish chemist Carl Gustav Mosander in 1843. Yttrium metal can be prepared by the reduction of yttrium triflouride (YF3) with calcium. It oxidizes readily in air to the oxide Y2O3 and dissolves in hot water to form the hydroxide Y(OH)3. Yttrium ranks about 29th in abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. Yttrium is found as an oxide in most of the rare earth minerals. It is used extensively in phosphors employed in colour television tubes. Yttrium melts at about 1520° C, boils at about 3340° C, and has a relative density of 4.47. Yttrium is sometimes included among the rare earth elements.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/01/2009 22:46:20
Zirconium, metallic element with an atomic number of 40. In its pure state zirconium exists in two forms: the crystalline form, a soft, white, ductile metal; and the amorphous form, a bluish-black powder. Both forms are insoluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol, and completely soluble in hydrofluoric acid. The metal burns in air at 500° C . Zirconium ranks 18th in abundance among the elements in the crust of the Earth. Zirconium is used in the manufacture of steel, porcelain, certain non-ferrous alloys, and refractories. It is also used in vacuum tubes to remove traces of gases because it combines readily with oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen at high temperatures. Zirconium is used in heat exchangers, pump housings, valves, and other equipment subject to corrosion by acids. Special alloys of the metal called zircaloy-2 and zircaloy-4, which contain 1.5 per cent tin, are used in nuclear reactors as a cladding material for uranium-fuel elements and as a structural material. Zirconium is especially suitable in water-moderated reactors because of its low neutron-absorption cross section, excellent corrosion resistance at moderately elevated temperatures, strength, ductility, and ease of fabrication. Australia is the largest producer of zirconium in the world, accounting for more than 70 per cent of world production.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 12/01/2009 17:36:03
Niobium
Niobium was discovered by Charles Hatchett (GB) in 1801. The origin of the name comes from the Greek word Niobe meaning daughter of Tantalus in Greek mythology (tantalum is closely related to niobium in the periodic table).
Niobium is a rare, soft, malleable, ductile, gray-white metal. It has a body-centered cubic crystalline structure and in its physical and chemical properties it resembles tantalum. It must be placed in a protective atmosphere when processed at even moderate temperatures because it tends to react with oxygen, carbon, the halogens, nitrogen, and sulfur. The metal is inert to acids, even to aqua regia at room temperatures, but is attacked by hot, concentrated acids, and expecially by alkalis and oxidizing agents.

Applications
Niobium is used for the production of high-temperature-resistant alloys and special stainless steels. Small amounts of niobium impart greater strenght to other metals, especially those that are exposed to low temperatures. Niobium carbide is used in cutting tools. It is used in stainless steel alloys for nuclear reactors, jets, missiles, cutting tools, pipelines, super magnets and welding rods.

Niobium-tin and niobium-titanium alloys are used as wires for superconducting magnets capable of producing exceedingly strong magnetic fields. Niobium is also used IN its pure form to make superconducting accelerating structures for particle accelerators. Niobium alloys are used in surgical implants because they do not react with human tissue.

Atomic number: 41
Group numbers: 5
Period: 5
Electronic configuration: [Kr] 4d4 5s1
Formal oxidation number: +3 +5
Electronegativities: 1.6
Atomic radius / pm: 142.9
Relative atomic mass: 92.90638 ± 0.00002
Crystal structure:body-centered cubic
 
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Density / gdm-3: 8570 (293 K)
 7830 (m.p.)
Molar volume / cm3mol-1:10.84 (293 K)
 11.87 (m.p.)
Electrical resistivity / μΩcm: 12.5 (20 °C)

THERMAL PROPERTIES
Thermal conductivity / W m-1K-1:53.7
Melting point / °C: 2477
Boiling point / °C: 4744
Heat of fusion / kJ mol-1: 27.2
Heat of vaporization / kJ mol-1: 680.19
Heat of atomization / kJ mol-1: 722.819

IONIZATION ENERGIES
1st ionization energy / kJ mol-1: 652.13
2nd ionization energy / kJ mol-1: 1381.68
3rd ionization energy / kJ mol-1: 2416.01

ABUNDANCE OF ELEMENTS
in the atmosphere / ppm: -
in the Earth's crust / ppm: 11
in the oceans / ppm: 0.00001

ISOTOPES
Isotope     Relative atomic mass     Mass percent (%)
93Nb         92.906378(2)                100

REDUCTION POTENTIALS
Balanced half-reaction                                               Eo / V
NbV + 2e- <=> NbIII                                                 -0.373    (6 mol dm-3 H2SO4)
Nb3+ + 3e- <=> Nb(s)                                              -1.1
Nb2O5(s) + 10H+ + 10e- <=> 2Nb(s) + 5H2O               -0.65
NbO3+ + 2H+ + 2e- <=> Nb3+ + H2O                          -0.343
NbO(SO4)2- + 2H+ + 2e- <=> Nb3+ + H2O + 2SO42-      - 0.1
NbO(SO4)2- + 2H+ + 5e- <=> Nb(s) + H2O + 2SO42-      -0.63
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/01/2009 22:30:54
You want to take up the responsibility now of doing the rest of the elements Mr. lightarrow?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/01/2009 22:34:53
Molybdenum, metallic element with chemical properties similar to those of chromium. Molybdenum is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. Molybdenum is dissolved by dilute nitric acid and aqua regia, and is attacked by fused alkalis; it is not attacked by air at ordinary temperatures, but burns at temperatures above 600° C to form molybdenum oxide. Molybdenum does not occur free in nature, but in the form of its ores, the most important of which are molybdenite and wulfenite. It ranks 56th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth and is an important trace element in soils, where it contributes to the growth of plants. The metal is used chiefly in alloying steel. The alloy withstands high temperatures and pressures and is very strong, making it useful for structural work, aircraft parts, and forged car parts. Molybdenum wire is used in electron tubes, and the metal also serves as electrodes in glass furnaces. Molybdenum sulphide is used as a lubricant in environments requiring high temperatures. About two-thirds of the world supply of the metal is obtained as a byproduct of copper mining, with the United States the single largest producer, followed by Canada.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/01/2009 22:36:46
Technetium, radioactive metallic element, the first element to be created artificially. Technetium is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. In 1937 Emilio Segrè and Carlo Perrier created technetium by bombarding molybdenum targets with deuterons (particles consisting of a proton and a neutron). Because technetium is not part of the decay series of any naturally radioactive element, scientists had thought that technetium does not occur in nature. In 1988, however, minute quantities of it were detected in ore from a deep molybdenum mine in Colorado. Isotopes ranging in mass number from 90 to 111 are known; the most common isotope has a mass number of 99. Technetium forms oxides, sulphides, and technetiates, such as ammonium technetiate (NH4TcO4). Compounds and alloys containing technetium oxide can prevent the corrosion of iron by water. Technetium-99 is used for imaging in medicine. Technetium melts at about 2200° C, boils at about 4570° C , and has a relative density of 11.5.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 12/01/2009 23:02:58
You want to take up the responsibility now of doing the rest of the elements Mr. lightarrow?
Ah, no, I posted that because it was the shorter I found...   [:)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/01/2009 23:04:26
Alright [:)], I thought you might have relieved me from my duties  [;)] 
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 12/01/2009 23:18:13
Alright [:)], I thought you might have relieved me from my duties  [;)] 
Don't worry! By the way, which is your source of information? I think it's not wiki because you wrote something I haven't found there.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/01/2009 23:20:17
Encyclopedia. I have actually done all of the research a few years back and I have already typed everything up on my computer. So now, I just have to get the relevant information and post it here [:)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 14/01/2009 00:14:38
Ruthenium, chemically unreactive, greyish-white metallic element. Ruthenium is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. Ruthenium was discovered in 1844 by the Russian chemist Karl Karlovich Klaus. The name of the element is derived from the region of Ruthenia, now a part of Ukraine. The metal occurs in the metallic state in platinum ores. Ruthenium ranks 80th in natural abundance among elements in crustal rocks. The addition of ruthenium to platinum and palladium alloys makes the alloys very hard. Such alloys have a high resistance to wear and are used in the manufacture of jewellery, in porcelain-metal restorations in dentistry, as tips for fountain-pen nibs, and for non-magnetic instrument pivots. The alloy ruthenium-molybdenum is a superconductor at temperatures below -263° C. The pure metal is superior to platinum in resistance to attack by acids, including aqua regia.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 14/01/2009 00:16:58
Rhodium (Greek rhodon, “rose”), brilliant silvery-white metallic element used principally in alloys. Rhodium is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. Rhodium was discovered in 1803 by the British chemist William Hyde Wollaston. Rhodium metal is very durable. It is insoluble in ordinary acids and is very difficult to fuse. It has a hardness of 4. The compounds of rhodium span oxidation states of one to six. Aqueous solutions of many of its salts are rose coloured, from which its name is derived. The metal occurs as an alloy in platinum ores, in osmiridium, and in gold-rhodium ores called rhodite. Of the elements in the crust of the Earth, it ranks 81st in order of abundance. Rhodium is used mostly as an alloy with platinum; the resulting alloy has the desirable properties of platinum and is also hard and durable. Rhodium-platinum alloys are used in thermocouples, for measuring high temperatures. Pure rhodium is used as a mirror surface in searchlights and as a plating finish for jewellery and silverware. Rhodium black is a finely divided metal that contains some oxide and hydride. It is used both as a catalyst and as a black pigment for porcelain ware.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 14/01/2009 22:24:57
Palladium, relatively rare, silvery-white, soft metallic element. The element is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. Palladium was discovered in 1804 by the British chemist William Hyde Wollaston. Palladium has a hardness of 4.8. Like platinum, it is ductile, malleable, and resistant to corrosion; it fuses more easily than platinum and can be welded easily. Finely divided palladium is an excellent adsorbent for some gases; it adsorbs 1,000 to 3,000 times its volume of hydrogen or ethyne (acetylene) gas when heated to 100° C. Palladium is dissolved readily by aqua regia. It forms divalent and tetravalent compounds and resembles platinum chemically. Palladium ranks about 71st in natural abundance among the elements in crustal rock. The metal occurs in the pure state in platinum ores and in the combined state in Canadian nickel ore. The chief use of the metal is in the field of communications, where it is used to face electrical contacts in automatic switchgear. It is also used in dentistry; for non-magnetic springs in clocks and watches, for coating special mirrors; and in jewellery, alloyed with gold, in what is called white gold.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 14/01/2009 22:42:53
Silver, white, lustrous metallic element that conducts heat and electricity better than any other metal. Chemically silver is not very active. It is insoluble in dilute acids and in alkalis but dissolves in concentrated nitric or sulphuric acid, and it does not react with oxygen or water at ordinary temperatures. Sulphur and sulphides attack silver, and tarnishing is caused by the formation of silver sulphide on the surface of the metal. Eggs, which contain a considerable quantity of sulphur as a constituent of protein, tarnish silver extremely quickly. Small amounts of sulphide, which occurs naturally in the atmosphere and which, as hydrogen sulphide (H2S), is added to natural gas used domestically, tarnish silver. Silver ranks about 66th among elements in natural abundance in crustal rocks. It occurs in the pure state to a small extent. Pure silver is also found associated with pure gold in the form of an alloy known as electrum, and considerable amounts are recovered in the processing of gold.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 16/01/2009 02:03:56
Cadmium, silvery-white metallic element that can easily be shaped. The element ranks about 65th in natural abundance among the elements in the Earth's crust. When heated, cadmium burns in air with a bright light, forming the oxide CdO. Cadmium may be electrolytically deposited as a coating on metals, chiefly iron or steel, on which it forms a chemically resistant coating. Cadmium lowers the melting point of metals with which it is alloyed; it is used with lead, tin, and bismuth in the manufacture of fusible metals for automatic sprinkler systems, fire alarms, and electric fuses. An alloy of cadmium with lead and zinc is used as a solder for iron. Cadmium salts are used in photography and in the manufacture of fireworks, rubber, fluorescent paints, glass, and porcelain. Cadmium has been used as a control or shielding material in atomic energy plants because of its high absorption of low-energy neutrons. Cadmiun sulphate (3CdSO4•8H2O) is used as an astringent. Cadmium sulphide (CdS), formed as a bright yellow precipitate when hydrogen sulphide is passed through a solution of cadmium salt, is an important pigment known as cadmium yellow. The selenide CdSe is also used as a pigment. Cadmium and solutions of its compounds are highly toxic, with cumulative effects similar to those of mercury poisoning.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 16/01/2009 02:04:44
Indium, soft, malleable, silvery-white metallic element. The element is in group 13 of the periodic table. It ranks 63rd in order of abundance of the elements in the surface of the Earth. Indium never occurs as a free metal and is usually found as the sulphide In2S3; in certain zinc blendes; and in tungsten, tin, and iron ores. It is used as an alloying agent with non-ferrous metals, in bearing alloys, and in nuclear-reactor control rods. Certain indium compounds have unique semiconductor properties.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 17/01/2009 00:05:33
Tin, metallic element that has been used by people since ancient times. Tin is in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin forms stannic acid, H2SnO4, when heated in air or oxygen at high temperatures. It dissolves in hydrochloric acid to form stannous chloride, SnCl2, and in aqua regia to form stannic chloride, SnCl4, and it reacts with sodium hydroxide solution to form sodium stannite and hydrogen gas. In cold and very dilute nitric acid, tin dissolves to form stannous nitrate and ammonium nitrate; in concentrated nitric acid, it produces metastannic acid, H2SnO3. The two hydroxides of tin, Sn(OH)2 and Sn(OH)4, are produced by adding a soluble hydroxide to solutions of stannous and stannic salts. Stannous oxide, SnO, a black insoluble powder, is obtained by heating stannous oxalate in the absence of air. In the presence of air, stannous oxide burns to form the dioxide, or stannic oxide, SnO2, a white insoluble solid. Tin is a widely sought metal and is used in hundreds of industrial processes throughout the world. In the form of tinplate, it is used as a protective coating for copper vessels, various metals used in the manufacture of tin cans, and similar articles. Tin is important in the production of the common alloys bronze (tin and copper), solder (tin and lead), and type metal (tin, lead, and antimony). It is also used as an alloy with titanium in the aerospace industry and as an ingredient in some insecticides. Stannic sulphide, known also as mosaic gold, is used in powdered form for bronzing articles made of plaster of paris or wood.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 17/01/2009 00:06:57
Antimony, bluish-white, brittle, semi-metallic element. Antimony generally shows the properties of a metal, but sometimes shows those of a non-metal. It exists in several distinctly different physical forms, the most common of which is metallic in appearance. Antimony ranks about 64th in natural abundance among the elements in crustal rock. It occasionally occurs as a free element, usually associated with silver, arsenic, or bismuth. It crystallizes in the hexagonal system but crystals are rarely found. It has a hardness of 3. The principal ore of antimony is stibnite, a sulphide of antimony. Among the important compounds of antimony are tartar emetic, a double tartrate of antimony and potassium used as a medicinal agent; red antimony sulphide, used on safety matches and in vulcanizing rubber; glass of antimony, a mixture of antimony sulphide and oxide, used as a yellow pigment in glass and porcelain; and butter of antimony, antimony trichloride, used for bronzing steel, as a mordant in dyeing, and as a caustic in medicine.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 18/01/2009 04:26:56
Tellurium (Latin, tellus, “Earth”), silver-white, brittle, semimetallic element. Tellurium is a comparatively stable element, insoluble in water and hydrochloric acid but soluble in nitric acid and aqua regia. Tellurium reacts with an excess of chlorine to form tellurium dichloride, TeCl2, and tellurium tetrachloride, TeCl4. It is oxidized by nitric acid to produce tellurium dioxide, TeO2, and by chromic acid to produce telluric acid, H6TeO6. In combination with hydrogen or certain metals, it forms tellurides such as hydrogen telluride, H2Te, and sodium telluride, Na2Te. Tellurium ranks about 78th in natural abundance among the elements in the Earth's crust. It occurs in the pure state or is found in combination with gold, silver, copper, lead, and nickel in such minerals as sylvanite, petzite, and tetradymite. Occasionally it is found in rocks as tellurite (or tellurium dioxide), TeO2. The slime from lead and copper refineries and the flue dust from telluride-gold deposits are the principal commercial sources. It is also prepared by reduction of telluric oxide, forming a greyish-white, metallic powder. Tellurium is used in the manufacture of rectifiers and thermoelectric devices and in semiconductor research. With other organic substances, it is employed as a vulcanizing agent in the processing of natural and synthetic rubber; and in antiknock compounds for petrol. It is used also to impart a blue colour to glass. Colloidal tellurium is an insecticide, germicide, and fungicide.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 18/01/2009 04:28:42
Iodine, chemically reactive element, a blue-black solid at room temperature. In group 17 of the periodic table. Unlike the lighter halogens, iodine is a crystalline solid at room temperature. The lustrous, blue-black, soft substance sublimes when heated, giving off a violet vapour with a stinging odour like that of chlorine. The vapour rapidly condenses again on a cold surface. The only isotope that occurs in nature is stable, but several radioactive ones have been produced artificially. The element in its pure form is poisonous. Iodine, like all halogens, is chemically active. It is only slightly soluble in water, but it dissolves readily in an aqueous solution of potassium iodide. It is also soluble in alcohol, chloroform, and other organic reagents. Iodine is a relatively rare element, ranking about 62nd in abundance on Earth, but its compounds are widespread in sea water, soil, and rocks. Iodine is medicinally very important because it is an essential trace element, present in a hormone of the thyroid gland that is involved in growth-controlling and other metabolic functions. Without iodine, stunted growth and conditions such as goitre can result. Thus in areas where iodine is not sufficiently abundant naturally, iodine-containing salt serves to make up the deficit. In medicine, iodine-alcohol solutions and iodine complexes have been used as antiseptics and disinfectants. More broadly, various iodine compounds find use in photography, the making of dyes, and cloud-seeding operations. In chemistry, various iodine compounds serve as strong oxidizing agents, among other uses.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 19/01/2009 03:14:32
Xenon, symbol Xe, colourless, odourless gaseous element with an atomic number of 54. In group 18 of the periodic table, xenon is one of the noble gases. Xenon was discovered in England by William Ramsay and Morris Travers on July 12, 1898, shortly after their discovery of the elements krypton and neon. Naturally occurring xenon is made of nine stable isotopes, the most of any element with the exception of tin, which has ten. It was formerly believed to be chemically inert, but since 1962 several compounds of xenon have been prepared. Xenon hexafluoroplatinate was the first chemical compound of xenon. Xenon is used principally in such lighting devices as high-speed photographic tubes. Xenon is present in the atmosphere in minute amounts.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 19/01/2009 03:16:15
Caesium, symbol Cs, white, soft, chemically reactive metallic element. In group 1 of the periodic table, caesium is one of the alkali metals. Caesium ranks about 46th in natural abundance among the elements in crustal rocks. The natural source yielding the greatest quantity of caesium is the rare mineral pollux (or pollucite). Caesium also occurs in lepidolite, carnallite, and certain feldspars. It is extracted by separating the caesium compound from the mineral, transforming the compound thus obtained into the cyanide, and electrolysis of the fused cyanide. Caesium can also be obtained by heating its hydroxides or carbonates with magnesium or aluminium and by heating its chlorides with calcium. Commercial caesium usually contains rubidium, with which it usually occurs in minerals and which resembles it so closely that no effort is made to separate them. Like potassium, caesium oxidizes readily when exposed to air and is thus used to remove residual oxygen from radio vacuum tubes. Because of its property of emitting electrons when exposed to light, it is used in the photosensitive surface of the cathode of the photoelectric cell. The radioactive isotope caesium-137, which is produced by nuclear fission, is a useful by-product of atomic-energy plants. Caesium-137 emits more energy than radium and is used in medical and industrial research, for example as an Isotopic Tracer.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: lightarrow on 19/01/2009 14:30:42
Rubidium and Caesium in water:
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 19/01/2009 21:47:42
Barium, soft, silvery, highly reactive metal. Barium was first isolated in 1808 by the English scientist Sir Humphry Davy. The element reacts vigorously with water and rapidly corrodes in moist air. In fact, the element is so reactive that it only occurs in nature as a compound. Its most important compounds are the minerals barium sulphate and barium carbonate (witherite), BaCO3. An alkaline earth metal, barium is the 14th most common element, making up 1/2000th of the crust of the Earth. Barium metal has few practical applications, although it is sometimes used in coating electrical conductors in electronic apparatus and in car ignition systems. Barium sulphate (BaSO4) is used as a filler for rubber products, in paint, and in linoleum. Barium nitrate is used in fireworks, and barium carbonate in rat poisons. A form of barium sulphate, which is opaque to X-rays, is used for the X-ray examination of the gastrointestinal tract
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 19/01/2009 21:49:48
Lanthanum (Greek lanthanein, “to escape notice”). Lanthanum is often regarded as the first member of the lanthanide series, to which it gives its name. It burns in air at about 450° C to form lanthanum oxide, La2O3. It forms colourless trivalent salts, including one of the strongest trivalent bases, which is used by analytical chemists. It generally occurs with other rare earth elements in such minerals as apatite and monazite and in certain kinds of calcite and fluorspar. It is fairly common, ranking 28th in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. Impure lanthanum is used in alloys such as misch metal, of which lanthanum is a major constituent. Cigarette-lighter flints are made from this alloy. Lanthanum oxide is used in certain types of optical glass.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 20/01/2009 23:55:24
Cerium, soft, grey metallic element that is the most abundant of the rare earth elements. Cerium ranks 26th in natural abundance among the elements in the Earth's crust. It occurs with other rare earth metals in monazite, which is found widely distributed worldwide. It also occurs in the minerals cerite, found in Sweden, and allanite, found in Greenland and the United States. Metallic cerium is chiefly found in an iron alloy that composes the flints used in cigarette lighters. Ceric oxide was formerly employed in the manufacture of gas mantles. Compounds of cerium are employed in small quantities in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, arc-lamp electrodes, and photoelectric cells. Cerous nitrate has been used medicinally in the treatment of seasickness and chronic vomiting. Ceric sulphate is used as an oxidizing agent.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 20/01/2009 23:56:33
Praseodymium, silvery metallic element with an atomic number of 59. Praseodymium is one of the rare earth elements in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Praseodymium was discovered in 1885 by the German chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach, who separated it from neodymium. A mixture of the two elements had formerly been considered a single element, called didymium. Praseodymium is a paramagnetic metal that corrodes rapidly in moist air. It forms green trivalent salts. Praseodymium is widely distributed in nature and ranks 37th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth. It is found in cerite and other rare earth minerals. It is used, with small amounts of other rare earth metals, in magnesium alloys and in misch metal, an alloy used for cigarette-lighter flints and as a deoxidizer in alloys and vacuum tubes. A mixture of praseodymium and neodymium is used to tint goggles for welders.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 21/01/2009 22:38:02
Neodymium, silvery metallic element with an atomic number of 60. Neodymium is one of the rare earth elements in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Neodymium and praseodymium had previously been regarded as a single element, called didymium. Neodymium ranks 27th in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. It forms trivalent salts, which are rose-red or reddish-violet in colour. The metal's oxide, Nd2O3, is used in the glass of colour-television tubes to increase contrast, and in lasers
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 21/01/2009 22:38:48
Promethium, radioactive metallic element with an atomic number of 61. Promethium is one of the rare earth elements in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Promethium was one of the last elements to be identified. In 1926 evidence from spectroscopic analysis indicated the existence of the element in various minerals, and the names illinium and florentium were proposed for the element. The fission of uranium is known to produce several radioactive isotopes with atomic number 61. Isotopes with mass numbers from 134 to 155 have been investigated. The most stable isotope of promethium, which has a mass number of 147, has a half-life of 2.6 years; visible amounts of this isotope have been prepared. The metal has been used in atomic batteries and as a beta-particle source in thickness gauges.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 22/01/2009 00:36:47
Please stick to the order the elements appear in the periodic table..
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: erickejah on 22/01/2009 01:48:08
Please stick to the order the elements appear in the periodic table..
done
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 22/01/2009 20:49:22
Samarium, hard, brittle, lustrous metallic element. Samarium is one of the rare earth elements in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. The metal ignites in air at about 150°C. Like other rare earth metals, it is found in minerals such as cerite, gadolinite, and samarskite. It is 40th in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. Samarium forms chiefly trivalent compounds; the salts are pale yellow in colour. Samarium oxide is used in the control rods of some nuclear reactors.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 22/01/2009 20:50:01
Europium, soft, silvery metallic element that is among the least abundant of the rare earth elements. Europium is in the lanthanide series of the periodic table.It ranks 50th in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust; it occurs in monazite, bastnaesite, and other rare earth minerals, as well as in fission products of uranium, thorium, and plutonium. Europium is used as a phosphor activator. The screen of a colour-television tube is treated with europium, which, when bombarded with electrons, produces the colour red. Because it readily absorbs neutrons, europium is used in the control of nuclear fission in reactors
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: erickejah on 22/01/2009 23:12:17
Rubidium and Caesium in water:
I wonder how much Caesium cost??
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 22/01/2009 23:15:24
Have a look here (http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/Cesium.html)
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 23/01/2009 20:54:08
Gadolinium, silvery-white metallic element. Gadolinium is one of the rare earth elements in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Gadolinium occurs with other rare earth elements in many minerals, such as samarskite, gadolinite, monazite, and some varieties of Norwegian ytterspar. It is the 41st element in order of abundance in the crust of the Earth. Gadolinium oxide was first separated from other rare earth elements by the Swiss chemist Jean de Marignac in 1880. The oxide and many salts of gadolinium have been prepared. Gadolinium oxide is white and the salts are colourless. Because gadolinium has the largest known cross section, or stopping power, for neutrons of any element, it is used as a component of control rods in nuclear reactors. Like the other rare earth elements, it is used in electronic apparatus such as capacitors and masers; in metal alloys; in high-temperature furnaces; and in apparatus for magnetic cooling.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 23/01/2009 20:55:12
Terbium is one of the rare earth elements in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. It ranks about 58th in natural abundance among the elements in crustal rock. It occurs in minute quantities as a white oxide known as terbia, Tb2O3, in such minerals as gadolinite. Terbium has potential applications in alloys, refractory (high-temperature) materials, and electronic apparatus.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 25/01/2009 01:06:47
Dysprosium, metallic element. Dysprosium is one of the rare earth elements in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Dysprosium is 42nd in abundance among the elements in the Earth's crust. The compounds of dysprosium are found in gadolinite, xenotime, euxenite, and fergusonite in Norway, the United States, Brazil, India, and Australia. Its salts are either yellow or yellow-green in colour, the most common being a chloride (DyCl3), a nitrate (Dy(NO3)3•5H2O), and a sulphate (Dy2(SO4)3•8H2O). The salts of dysprosium have an extremely high magnetic susceptibility. Dysprosium usually occurs as the white oxide dysprosia (Dy2O3), with erbium and holmium, two other rare earth elements. Dysprosia is sometimes used in the control rods of nuclear reactors
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 25/01/2009 01:07:23
Holmium, silver-coloured metallic element. Holmium is one of the most paramagnetic substances known. The element has few practical applications, though it has been used in some electronic devices and as a catalyst in industrial chemical reactions. Holmium is one of the least abundant of the rare earth metals, ranking 55th in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. Holmium occurs in gadolinite and other minerals containing rare earths. Holmium oxide, Ho2O3, a greyish-white powder, and a few salts, such as the sulphate, have been prepared.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 26/01/2009 00:22:20
Erbium, metallic element. The Swedish chemist Carl Gustav Mosander discovered erbium in 1843. Erbium occurs mostly in the same minerals and in the same areas as dysprosium. One of the rare earth elements, erbium is 43rd in abundance among the elements of the Earth's crust. The atomic weight of erbium is 167.26. The element melts at about 1530°C , boils at about 2870°C , and has a relative density of 9.1. Metallic erbium has a bright silvery lustre. Erbium oxide, Er2O3, is a rose-red compound slowly soluble in many mineral acids, forming a series of rose-coloured salts, solutions of which have a sweet, astringent taste. Erbium is used in experimental optical amplifiers that amplify light signals sent along fibre-optic cables
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 26/01/2009 00:24:21
Thulium, silver-grey metallic element that is the rarest of the rare earth elements. Thulium is in the lanthanide series of the periodic table the atomic number of thulium is 69. Thulim was discovered in 1879 by the Swedish chemist Per Teodor Cleve. Thulium ranks 61st in abundance among the elements in the crust of the Earth and is found in small quantities in such rare earth minerals as euxenite, gadolinite, and blomstrandine. The metal can be isolated by reduction of its oxide, Tm2O3, and is soft, malleable, and ductile. Thulium had little practical application until the development in the 1950s of a small, portable X-ray machine that utilizes artificially radioactive thulium as its X-ray source. Thulium melts at about 1545°C, boils at about 1950°C, and has a relative density of 9.34.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 26/01/2009 21:44:09
Ytterbium, soft, malleable, ductile metallic element that has a bright, silvery lustre. Ytterbium is one of the rare earth elements in the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Ytterbium is reasonably stable but reacts slowly with water to liberate hydrogen. Ytterbium occurs in combination with such minerals as xenotime, euxenite, monazite, and gadolinite. It ranks about 44th in natural abundance among the elements in the Earth's crust. Ytterbium has potential applications in alloys, electronics, and magnetic materials.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 26/01/2009 21:46:32
Lutetium, silvery-white metallic element with an atomic number of 71. Lutetium was discovered independently by two investigators, the French chemist Georges Urbain in 1907 and the Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach about the same time. It was named by Urbain, who derived the word from Lutetia, the ancient name of Paris. Lutetium occurs in various rare earth minerals, usually associated with yttrium. It was the rarest of the rare earth elements when classified in that group and it ranks 59th in order of abundance of the elements in the Earth's crust. Several trivalent salts are known. A natural radioactive isotope of lutetium that has a half-life of about 30 billion years is used in determining the age of meteorites in relation to the age of the Earth. Lutetium melts at about 1665°C, boils at about 3400°C and has a relative density of 9.84.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 27/01/2009 21:49:56
Hafnium, metallic element that closely resembles zirconium. Hafnium is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. On the basis of a prediction by the Danish physicist Niels Bohr that element 72 would resemble zirconium in structure, they looked for the element in zirconium ores. Hafnium is found in nearly all ores of zirconium and is 45th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth. It resembles zirconium so closely in chemical properties and crystal structure that separation of the two elements is extremely difficult. Separation is accomplished most efficiently by means of the ion-exchange technique. Hafnium is used in the manufacture of tungsten filaments. Because of its resistance to high temperatures, it is used with zirconium as a structural material in nuclear power plants.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 27/01/2009 21:51:42
Tantalum, white, ductile, malleable metallic element. Tantalum is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. Tantalum belongs to the group of metals that includes vanadium and niobium. It occurs mainly in the mineral tantalite, FeTa2O6. Tantalum ranks about 53rd among the elements in natural abundance in the Earth's crust. Principal deposits of the metal occur in Australia and Scandinavia. Most tantalum minerals contain some niobium metal, which is separated by solvent extraction or selective-crystallization procedures. Commercially, tantalum is prepared by the electrolysis of fused potassium tantalifluoride or of tantalum compounds dissolved in dilute sulphuric acid. Because it is more resistant than platinum to many corrosive agents, tantalum has largely replaced platinum in standard weights and in laboratory ware. The largest use of tantalum is for capacitors in electronic circuits and rectifiers in low-voltage circuits, such as railway-signalling systems. Because of its resistance to attack by acids of the human body and its compatibility with body tissue, it is used to pin together broken bones. Tantalum is also used in surgical and dental instruments and in chemical heat exchangers. The oxide is an ingredient in special optical glass for aerial camera lenses.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 28/01/2009 22:53:27
Tungsten, symbol W (from the earlier name, wolfram), metallic element that has the highest melting point of any metal. Tungsten is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. Pure tungsten is silver-white in colour and is ductile; the more easily obtained impure form is steel-grey and is hard and brittle. Tungsten is insoluble in hot and cold water and in alcohol, slightly soluble in ammonia and nitric acid, and soluble in hot, concentrated potassium hydroxide. Tungsten ranks 57th in abundance among the elements in the crust of the Earth. It is never found free in nature, but occurs in combination with other metals, notably in the minerals scheelite and wolframite, which are the important tungsten ores. Mines in South Korea, Portugal, Austria, and Australia produce more than half of the world's supply of these ores. To separate the element from its ore, the ore is first fused with sodium carbonate to give sodium tungstate, Na2WO4. The soluble sodium tungstate is then extracted with hot water and treated with hydrochloric acid to yield tungstic acid, H2WO4. The latter compound is washed and dried to produce the oxide WO3, which is reduced by hydrogen in an electric furnace. The resulting fine powder is reheated in moulds in an atmosphere of hydrogen and pressed into bars, which are hammered and rolled at high temperature to compact them and make them ductile. The principal uses of tungsten are as filaments in incandescent lamps, as wires in electric furnaces, and in the production of hard, tenacious alloys of steel. It is used also in the manufacture of spark plugs, electrical contact points, and cutting tools, and as a target in X-ray tubes.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 28/01/2009 22:54:18
Rhenium, rare, silvery-white, metallic element. Rhenium is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. The existence of rhenium and the similarity of its chemical properties to those of the element manganese were predicted in 1871 by the Russian chemist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev, who named it dvi-manganese. Rhenium metal is very hard; with the exception of tungsten, it is the least fusible of all common metals. Overall, it ranks about 79th in natural abundance among elements in crustal rocks. Rhenium is used in electrical filaments, welding rods, thermocouples, cryogenic magnets, and photographic flashbulb filaments; it is also used as a catalyst.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 29/01/2009 21:56:04
Osmium, bluish-white, brittle metallic element that has a density second only to iridium (although uncertainty has been expressed as to this and claims have been made for osmium having the highest relative density). The element is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. Osmium is not attacked by ordinary acids, but dissolves in aqua regia or fuming nitric acid. The metal occurs naturally in platinum ores and as an alloy, osmiridium, with iridium. Osmium ranks about 74th in natural abundance among the elements in crustal rock. The chief use of the metal is in the alloy osmiridium. Alloyed with platinum, it is used for standard weights and measures.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 29/01/2009 21:57:19
Iridium, white, brittle, extremely hard, metallic element. Iridium is extremely inert chemically, resisting even the action of aqua regia. In its chemical compounds it forms tetravalent and trivalent salts. It is an extremely rare metal, ranking 77th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth. Iridium is found in alluvial deposits alloyed with platinum as platiniridium and with osmium as osmiridium. Iridium is used chiefly as an alloying material for platinum; the alloy, which contains about 10 per cent iridium, is much harder than pure platinum. Platinum-iridium alloys containing larger percentages of iridium are used in making precision instruments, surgical tools, pen points, and standard weights and lengths. Iridium was discovered by the British chemist Smithson Tennant in 1804 and was named after the iridescent nature of some of its compounds.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 30/01/2009 21:32:14
Platinum, relatively rare, chemically inert metallic element that is more valuable than gold. The element is one of the transition elements in group 10 of the periodic table. Platinum is a greyish-white metal with a hardness of 4.3. It has a high fusing point, is malleable and ductile, expands slightly upon heating, and has high electrical resistance. Chemically the metal is relatively inert and resists attack by air, water, single acids, and ordinary reagents. It dissolves slowly in aqua regia, forming chloroplatinic acid (H2PtCl6); is attacked by halogens; and combines upon ignition with sodium hydroxide, sodium nitrate, or sodium cyanide. Platinum ranks about 72nd in natural abundance among the elements in crustal rock. Except for the mineral sperrylite, which is platinum arsenide and is found only sparingly in a few localities, platinum occurs in the metallic state, often alloyed with other platinum metals. Nuggets of the metal weighing up to 9.5 kg have been found. Because of its chemical inertness and high fusing point, platinum is valuable for laboratory apparatus, such as crucibles, tongs, funnels, combustion boats, and evaporating dishes. Small amounts of iridium are usually added to increase its hardness and durability. Platinum is also used for contact points in electrical apparatus and in instruments used for measuring high temperatures. Finely divided platinum in the form of platinum sponge or platinum black is used extensively as a catalyst in the chemical industry. A considerable amount of platinum goes into jewellery, in which it is often alloyed with gold. It is also used for dental fillings.

Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 30/01/2009 21:35:14
Gold, Au, (from Latin aurum, “gold”), soft, dense, bright yellow metallic element. Pure gold is the most malleable and ductile of all the metals. It can easily be beaten or hammered to a thickness of 0.000013 cm, and 29 g could be drawn into a wire 100 km long. It is one of the softest metals (hardness, 2.5 to 3) and is a good conductor of heat and electricity. Finely divided gold, like other metallic powders, is black; colloidally suspended gold ranges in colour from ruby red to purple. Gold is extremely inactive. It is unaffected by air, heat, moisture, and most solvents. It will, however, dissolve in aqueous mixtures containing various halogens such as chlorides, bromides, or some iodides. It will also dissolve in some oxidizing mixtures, such as cyanide ion with oxygen, and in aqua regia, a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids. Gold is found in nature in quartz veins or seams, nuggets, flakes, and secondary alluvial deposits as a free metal or in a combined state. There are several chemical and physical processes that may cause these formations, and it is also likely that colonies of soil bacteria and fungi play a part in gold agglomerations. Gold is widely distributed although it is rare, being 75th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth. It is almost always associated with varying amounts of silver; the naturally occurring gold-silver alloy is called electrum. Gold occurs, in chemical combination with tellurium, in the minerals calaverite and sylvanite along with silver, and in the mineral nagyagite along with lead, antimony, and sulphur. It occurs with mercury as gold amalgam. It is generally present to a small extent in iron pyrites; galena, the lead sulphide ore that usually contains silver, sometimes also contains appreciable amounts of gold. Gold also occurs in sea water to the extent of 5 to 250 parts by weight to 100 million parts of water. Although the quantity of gold present in sea water is more than 9 billion tonnes, the cost of recovering the gold would be far greater than the value of the gold that could thus be recovered. The major portion of the gold produced is used in coinage and jewellery. For these purposes it is alloyed with other metals to give it the necessary hardness. The gold content in alloys is expressed in carats. Coinage gold is composed of 90 parts gold to 10 parts silver. Green gold used in jewellery contains copper and silver; white gold contains zinc and nickel, or platinum metals. Gold is also used in dentistry. Radioisotopes of gold are used in biological research and in the treatment of cancer.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 31/01/2009 21:44:01
Mercury, (Latin, hydrargyrum, “liquid silver”), metallic element that is a free-flowing liquid at room temperature. Mercury, once known as liquid silver and as quicksilver, was studied in alchemy. At ordinary temperatures mercury is a shining, mobile liquid, silvery-white in colour. Slightly volatile at room temperature, mercury becomes solid when subjected to a pressure of 7,640 atmospheres (5.8 million torrs), and this pressure is used as a standard in measuring extremely high pressures. The metal dissolves in nitric or concentrated sulphuric acid but is resistant to alkalis. Mercury is acutely hazardous as a vapour and in the form of its water-soluble salts, which corrode membranes of the body. Chronic mercury poisoning, which occurs when small amounts of the metal or its fat-soluble salts, particularly methylmercury, are repeatedly ingested over long periods of time, causes irreversible brain, liver, and kidney damage. Because of increasing water pollution, significant quantities of mercury have been found in some species of fish, which has aroused concern regarding uncontrolled discharge of the metal into the environment.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 31/01/2009 21:46:13
Thallium (Greek, thallos, “young shoot”), soft, malleable metallic element that acquires a bluish-grey colour upon exposure to the atmosphere. Thallium forms a hydroxide in water, and is soluble in nitric acid and sulphuric acid. Thallous oxide, Tl2O, a black solid that, when molten, attacks glass and porcelain, is made by heating thallium in air at very high temperatures. Thallium has a high index of refraction and is therefore important in the manufacture of several types of optical glass. Thallium ranks 60th in abundance among the elements in the crust of the Earth and is a member of the aluminium family of metals. Thallium sulphate, which is odourless, tasteless, and very poisonous, is used to exterminate rodents and ants. Thallium-activated sodium iodide crystals mounted in photomultiplier tubes are used in some portable scintillation counters to detect gamma radiation. The abilities of thallium bromoiodide crystals to transmit infrared radiation and of thallium oxysulphide crystals to detect the same radiation have been employed extensively in military communication systems. Thallium alloyed with mercury forms a fluid metal that freezes at -60°C; it is used in low-temperature thermometers, relays, and switches. Thallium salts, which burn with a bright green flame, are used in rockets and flares.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 02/02/2009 00:33:34
Lead, symbol Pb (Latin, plumbum, a lead weight), dense, bluish-grey metallic element that was one of the first known metals. Metallic lead is a soft, malleable, ductile metal. When gently heated it can be forced through annular holes or dies. It has a low tensile strength and is a poor conductor of electricity. A freshly cut surface has a bright silvery lustre, which quickly turns to the dull, bluish-grey colour characteristic of the metal. Lead is used in enormous quantities in storage batteries and in sheathing electric cables. Large quantities are used in industry for lining pipes, tanks, and X-ray apparatus. Because of its high density and nuclear properties, lead is used extensively as protective shielding for radioactive material. Among numerous alloys containing a high percentage of lead are solder, type metal, and various bearing metals. A considerable amount of lead is consumed in the form of its compounds, particularly in paints and pigments. Lead is widely distributed all over the world in the form of its sulphide, the ore galena. Lead ranks about 36th in natural abundance among elements in the Earth's crust. Ores of secondary importance are cerussite and anglesite. The principal method of extracting lead from galena is to roast the ore—that is, convert it to the oxide, and reduce the oxide with coke in a blast furnace. Lead is also used in ceramic glazes and in making other pigments. In recent years, however, because of the dangers of lead poisoning, the use of lead-based paints for interior use has largely been discontinued. The so-called Dutch process is the oldest method still in use for making white lead. In this process earthenware pots containing lead gratings and ethanoic acid are wrapped in tanbark (small pieces of bark that are rich in tannin); the reaction of the fermenting tanbark and the ethanoic acid is allowed to process the lead over a period of 90 days. More rapid processes, such as electrolysis or forcing hot air and carbon dioxide through large rotating cylinders containing powdered lead and ethanoic acid, are now industrially important. Lead monoxide, or litharge (PbO), a yellow, crystalline powder formed by heating lead in air, is used in making flint glass, as a drier in oils and varnishes, and in the manufacture of insecticides. Red lead, or minium (Pb3O4), a scarlet, crystalline powder formed by oxidizing lead monoxide, is the pigment in paint used as a protective coating for structural ironwork and steelwork. Lead(II) ethanoate (Pb(C2 H3O2)2•3H2O), a white, crystalline substance called sugar of lead because of its sweet taste, is prepared commercially by dissolving litharge in ethanoic acid. It is used as a mordant in dyeing, as a paint and varnish drier, and in making other lead compounds.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 02/02/2009 00:35:00
Bismuth, rare metallic element that has a pinkish tinge. Ranking about 73rd in natural abundance among the elements in the Earth's crust, it is about as rare as silver. Most industrial bismuth is obtained as a by-product. There are several nitrates, notably bismuth nitrate, Bi(NO3)3, or bismuth trinitrate; and bismuth nitrate pentahydrate, Bi(NO3)3•5H2O. The latter form decomposes into bismuth nitrate. Bismuth nitrate is also known as bismuth oxynitrate, bismuthyl nitrate, pearl white, and Spanish white, and may be used in medicine and cosmetics. Bismuth expands on solidifying; this unusual property makes it useful for castings. Some of its alloys have unusually low melting points. One of the most strongly diamagnetic (difficult to magnetize) of all substances, bismuth tends to turn at right angles to a magnetic field. It is a poor conductor of heat and electricity, and its electrical resistance is further increased in a magnetic field; because of this property, it is used in instruments for measuring the strength of such fields. Bismuth is opaque to X-rays and can be used in fluoroscopy.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 02/02/2009 20:19:31
Polonium, rare, radioactive metallic element. Polonium is one of the elements in the uranium-radium series of radioactive decay, the first member of which is uranium-238. Polonium occurs in radium-containing ores and is found in isotopic forms with mass numbers ranging from 192 to 218. Polonium 210 (also called radium-F), the only naturally occurring isotope, has a half-life of 138 days. Because most polonium isotopes disintegrate by emitting alpha particles, the element is a good source of pure alpha radiation. It is also used in nuclear research with elements such as beryllium that emit neutrons when bombarded by alpha particles. In printing and photography equipment, polonium is used in devices that ionize the air to eliminate accumulation of electrostatic charges.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 02/02/2009 20:20:33
Astatine (Greek, astatos, “unstable”), symbol At, radioactive element that is the heaviest of the halogens. The first isotope synthesized had an atomic weight of 211 and a half-life of 7.2 hours. Subsequently, astatine-210 was produced and found to have a half-life of about 8.3 hours. Isotopes of astatine with mass numbers from 200 to 219 have been catalogued, some with half-lives measured in fractions of a second. Astatine is the halogen that behaves most like a metal and that has only radioactive isotopes. It is highly carcinogenic.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/02/2009 21:12:35
Radon, colourless, odourless radioactive gaseous element that is the heaviest of the noble gases of the periodic table. Radon-222, which is the most abundant isotope of radon, is formed by the radioactive decay of radium-226. Radon-222 has a half-life of 3.8 days, decaying by the emission of alpha particles into an isotope of the element polonium. Small quantities, formed by the decay of uranium minerals, are found in rock and soil, and radon makes up most normal background radioactivity. Concentrations of the gas, however, are believed to pose a serious health hazard. Radon-222 is obtained by passing air through a solution of radium salt and collecting the air and the radon gas that was present in the solution. This isotope can be used in the treatment of malignant tumours. The gas is enclosed in a tube, usually made of glass or gold, called a radon seed, which is inserted in the diseased tissue. Nineteen other isotopes of radon are known. The isotope of mass 220, discovered in 1899 by Ernest Rutherford, is a product of the radioactive decay of an isotope of thorium and is known as thoron; it has a half-life of 55 seconds. The isotope of mass 219, with a half-life of 4 seconds, is a product of the radioactive decay of an isotope of actinium and is known as actinon.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 03/02/2009 21:13:31
Francium, symbol Fr, radioactive metallic element that closely resembles caesium in chemical properties. Francium is produced when the radioactive element actinium disintegrates. Francium is naturally radioactive; its longest-lived isotope, francium-223, or actinium-K, has a half-life of 22 minutes. It emits a beta particle of 1,100,000 electronvolts (eV) energy. Isotopes ranging in mass number from 204 to 224 are known. Francium is the heaviest of the alkali metals; it is the most electropositive element. All its isotopes are radioactive and short-lived.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 04/02/2009 21:54:36
Radium (Latin, radius, “ray”), chemically reactive, silvery-white, radioactive metallic element. The element oxidizes immediately upon exposure to air. The element is used and handled in the form of radium chloride or radium bromide and practically never in the metallic state. Radium is formed by the radioactive disintegration of uranium and is consequently found in all uranium ores. Radium is present in uranium ore to the extent of one part of radium to three million of uranium. Radiation from radium has a harmful effect upon living cells, and radium burns are caused by overexposure to the rays. Cancerous cells, however, are often more sensitive to radiation than normal cells, and such cells may be killed without seriously injuring healthy tissue by controlling the intensity and direction of the radiation. Radium is now used in the treatment of only a few kinds of cancer; radium chloride or radium bromide is enclosed in a sealed tube and inserted in the diseased tissue. When a radium salt is mixed with a substance such as zinc sulphide, the substance is caused to luminesce by the bombardment of the alpha rays emitted by the radium. Small amounts of radium were once used in the production of luminous paint, which was applied to clock dials, doorknobs, and other objects, to make them glow in the dark.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 04/02/2009 21:56:00
Actinium, radioactive metallic element found in all uranium ores. The element is found in uranium ores to the extent of 2 parts to every 10 billion parts of uranium. Two naturally occurring isotopes of actinium are known. Actinium-227 is a member of the actinium series, called the actinium decay series, resulting from the radioactive decay of uranium-235. It has a half-life of 21.8 years. The other isotope, actinium-228, is a member of the thorium series resulting from the decay of thorium-232. This isotope, known also as mesothorium-2, has a half-life of 6.13 hours. Isotopes ranging in mass number from 209 to 234 are known. Actinium melts at about 1050° C, boils at about 3200° C, and has a relative density of about 10.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 05/02/2009 21:22:50
Thorium, radioactive metallic element with an atomic number of 90. The element is dark in colour, slowly attacked by water, soluble in hydrochloric and sulphuric acids, and slightly soluble in nitric acid. It ranks 39th in abundance among the elements in the crust of the Earth. Small quantities of thorium are found in thorite, or thorium silicate; in orangite, a variety of thorite; and in thorianite, a radioactive mineral composed of thorium oxide and uranium. The larger deposits occur mainly as thorium oxide, ThO2, in the monazite sands of India and Brazil. Thorium-232 occurs naturally, has a half-life of about 14 billion years, and is the first member of the radioactive-decay series, ending with the stable lead isotope lead-208. Thorium is currently important as a potential atomic-fuel source, because bombardment of thorium-232 by slow neutrons yields the fissile isotope uranium-233. This process is comparable to the process by which fast neutrons “breed” fissile plutonium-239 from non-fissile uranium-238. The thorium-uranium fuel cycle is being studied by scientists as an alternative to the uranium-plutonium fuel cycle. Two types of reactors, the molten-salt breeder reactor and the light-water breeder reactor, are being considered. Thorium metal is used in magnesium alloys and as a stabilizing component of electronic tubes. Thorium oxide is used in light filaments and electrodes and also as a catalyst.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 06/02/2009 22:29:47
Protactinium, formerly protoactinium, symbol Pa, radioactive metallic element with an atomic number of 91. It was discovered in 1918 by the Austrian-Swedish physicist Lise Meitner and the German physical chemist Otto Hahn. Protactinium is a member of the uranium-actinium radioactive-decay series and is found in uranium ores. Isotopes of protactinium ranging in mass number from 215 to 238 are known. Protactinium-233 has a half-life of 27 days. Protactinium-231, the most stable isotope, has a half-life of more than 32,000 years; by emission of an alpha particle it decays to actinium. Protactinium melts at about 1550° C, boils at about 4230° C, and has a relative density of about 15.37.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 06/02/2009 22:33:06
Uranium, chemically reactive radioactive metallic element that is the main fuel used in nuclear reactors. Uranium has three crystalline forms, of which the one that forms at about 770° C  is malleable and ductile. Uranium is soluble in hydrochloric and nitric acids, and it is insoluble in alkalis. Uranium displaces hydrogen from mineral acids and from the salt solutions of such metals as mercury, silver, copper, tin, platinum, and gold. When finally divided, it burns readily in air at 150°to 175°C. At 1000° C , uranium combines with nitrogen to form a yellow nitride. Uranium never occurs naturally in the free state but is found as an oxide or complex salt in minerals such as pitchblende and carnotite. It has an average concentration in the crust of the Earth of about 2 parts per million, and, among the elements, ranks about 48th in natural abundance in crustal rocks. Pure uranium consists of more than 99 per cent of the isotope uranium-238, less than 1 per cent of the fissile isotope uranium-235, and a trace of uranium-234, formed by radioactive decay of uranium-238. In the classical procedure for extracting uranium, pitchblende is broken up and mixed with sulphuric and nitric acids.
Uranium dissolves to form uranyl sulphate, UO2SO4; radium and other metals in the pitchblende ore are precipitated as sulphates. With the addition of sodium hydroxide, uranium is precipitated as sodium diuranate, Na2U2O7•6H2O, known also as the yellow oxide of uranium.  After the discovery of nuclear fission, uranium became a strategic metal, and its uses were at first restricted mainly to the production of nuclear weapons. In 1954 the United States government relaxed controls to permit leasing of uranium enriched in the isotope uranium-235 to various private and foreign agencies for the development of nuclear power. The potential of uranium as a vast source of industrial power became apparent with the launching in 1954 of the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus. Conventional power plants producing 60,000 kW of electricity consume about 18 million kg of coal per month. A 60,000 kW nuclear power plant requires only 7kg of uranium-235 per month.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 08/02/2009 01:03:58
Neptunium, radioactive metallic element with an atomic number of 93. Neptunium is one of the transuranic elements in the actinide series of the periodic table. Neptunium is a silvery metal that exists in at least three different crystalline forms, hence the variations in relative density (from 18 to 20). The element is reactive and shows four ionic oxidation states. It is produced by bombardment of uranium-238 with neutrons; the resultant uranium-239 decays radioactively by emitting a beta particle to form neptunium-239. The neptunium isotope in turn emits a beta particle, forming the important isotope plutonium-239, one of the materials of which atomic bombs are made. Isotopes of neptunium with mass numbers from 228 to 242 are known. The most stable, neptunium-237, has a half-life of 2.14 million years. Neptunium occurs in nature in trace amounts in uranium ores but is produced artificially. It is used as a component in neutron detection devices.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 08/02/2009 01:05:18
Plutonium, radioactive metallic element that is used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Trace amounts of the element have been found in uranium ores, but plutonium is prepared in relatively large quantities today in nuclear reactors. Chemically, plutonium is reactive, its properties resembling those of the rare earth elements. The silvery metal, which becomes slightly yellow through oxidation caused by exposure to air, exists in six crystalline forms and has four different oxidation states. The metal gives off heat because of its radioactivity; 15 different isotopes of plutonium, ranging in mass number from 232 to 246, are known. The most important isotope, plutonium-239, has a half-life of 24,360 years, and is produced by   bombarding uranium-238 with slow neutrons. This forms neptunium-239, which in turn emits a beta particle and forms plutonium-239. Plutonium is the most economically important of the transuranic elements because plutonium-239 readily undergoes fission and can be both used and produced in quantity in nuclear reactors. It is also used in making nuclear weapons. It is an extremely hazardous poison due to its high radioactivity. Plutonium-238 has been used to power equipment on the Moon by means of the heat it emits.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/02/2009 03:01:40
Americium, symbol Am, artificially created, malleable, radioactive metallic element somewhat similar to lead. It was discovered in 1944 and 1945 by the American physicist Glenn Seaborg and his associates at the University of Chicago. They synthesized the americium isotope of mass number 241 by bombarding plutonium 239 with neutrons. Americium isotopes with mass numbers 237 to 247 have been formed; they are all radioactive, with half-lives of from 0.9 minute (americium 232) to about 7,400 years (americium 243). Americium 243 is used as target material in nuclear reactors or particle accelerators for the production of even heavier synthetic elements.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/02/2009 03:02:43
Curium, symbol Cm, radioactive element with an atomic number of 96. The element is made by bombarding the synthetic element plutonium with accelerated particles. Curium is a heavy metal similar in properties to uranium, plutonium, and americium. Thirteen isotopes, ranging in mass number from 238 to 250, have been discovered; the most stable isotope of curium has an atomic weight of 247. Most isotopes of curium decay by emission of alpha particles; because alpha radiation is not highly penetrating, curium isotopes, particularly curium-244, can be used without heavy shielding as sources of thermoelectric power for use in satellites and crewless space probes. In another application, curium-242 carried to the Moon by the Surveyor 5, 6, and 7 spacecraft was used to bombard the soil of the Moon with alpha particles. Measurements of the energy of alpha radiation backscattered from the soil revealed the kind and quantity of chemical elements in the soil.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/02/2009 03:03:10
Berkelium, artificially created radioactive metallic element. An isotope of mass number 243 with a half-life of 4.6 hours was produced by bombarding americium-241 with alpha particles accelerated in a particle accelerator called a cyclotron. Nine more isotopes were subsequently produced, bringing the total range of mass numbers from 242 to 251. The most stable isotope of berkelium, with a half-life of about 1,400 years, has a mass number of 247.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/02/2009 03:03:47
Californium, symbol Cf, artificially created radioactive element with an atomic number of 98. The scientists created californium-245 by bombarding curium-242 with alpha particles in a 152-cm cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator. Californium-245 rapidly decays, with the emission of alpha particles, having a half-life of 44 minutes. Isotopes, with mass numbers from 240 to 255, were subsequently prepared. Californium-249 is the result of beta decay of berkelium-249. The heavier californium isotopes are produced by neutron bombardment of berkelium-249, which increases the number of protons in the nucleus. Californium-252, with a half-life of 2.6 years, has an unusually high rate of spontaneous fission, with an abundant emission of neutrons. It has practical application as a high-intensity neutron source in electronic systems and in medical research. The most stable isotope of californium, with a half-life of about 900 years, has a mass number of 245.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/02/2009 03:04:54
Einsteinium, symbol Es, artificially created radioactive element with an atomic number of 99. Isotopes of einsteinium with mass numbers ranging from 243 to 256 are known. The element was discovered in 1952 in the debris produced by a thermonuclear explosion. The isotope first identified had an atomic mass of 253 and a half-life of 20 days. Subsequently, the most long-lived of all the known einsteinium isotopes, einsteinium-254, was prepared by irradiating plutonium in a nuclear reactor; however, only small amounts are now being produced.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 09/02/2009 03:05:28
Fermium, artificially created radioactive element with an atomic number of 100. Subsequently fermium was prepared synthetically in a nuclear reactor by bombarding plutonium with neutrons and in a cyclotron by bombarding uranium-238 with nitrogen ions. Isotopes with mass numbers from 242 to 259 have been produced; fermium-257, the longest-lived of these isotopes, has a half-life of 80 days. The element was named fermium in 1955 in honour of the Italian-American nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi. Fermium does not have any industrial applications.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: aysha on 09/02/2009 10:10:24
what is the role of solutions[solute+solvent in chemistry?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 10/02/2009 02:51:42
No please, not in this thread.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 10/02/2009 03:22:04
Mendelevium, symbol Md, artificially created radioactive element with an atomic number of 101. Named after the Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleyev, mendelevium-256 was discovered in 1955 at the University of California, Berkeley; it was produced by bombarding einsteinium-253 with alpha particles accelerated in a cyclotron. The isotope produced had a half-life of about 1.3 hours. The most stable isotope, mendelevium-258, has a half-life of 54 days.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 10/02/2009 03:22:52
Nobelium, symbol No, radioactive metallic element with an atomic number of 102. The element is named after the Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Bernhard Nobel. Nobelium is not found in nature but is produced artificially in the laboratory. The isotope was created by bombarding curium isotopes with carbon ions. Chemically, the properties of nobelium are unknown, but because it is an actinide, its properties should somewhat resemble those of the rare earth elements. Isotopes with mass numbers from 250 to 259 and 262 are known. The most stable isotope, nobelium-259, has a half-life of 58 minutes. The most common isotope, nobelium-255, has a half-life of a few minutes.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 10/02/2009 03:23:52
Lawrencium, symbol Lr, artificially created radioactive metallic element with an atomic number of 103. Named in honour of the American physicist Ernest Lawrence. A mixture of californium isotopes was bombarded with boron ions to produce short-lived lawrencium isotopes. Isotopes with mass numbers from 255 to 260 have been prepared. The most stable isotope, with a half-life of about 3 minutes, has a mass number of 260. Only small amounts of lawrencium have been produced.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 10/02/2009 03:25:35
Rutherfordium, unstable chemical element with atomic number 104. Russian scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia, who claimed to have synthesized the element in 1964, proposed the name kurchatovium, in honour of Russian atomic physicist I. V. Kurchatov. According to a convention adopted in 1980 for naming elements 104 and beyond, however, the element was named unnilquadium. In 1997 the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted the recommendation of the American Chemical Society to name the element rutherfordium. Modern atomic theory  predicts that element 104 would be chemically similar to hafnium. At least 14 isotopes of rutherfordium have been synthesized.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/02/2009 03:12:41
Dubnium, symbol Db, produced artificially by nuclear fusion. Each dubnium atom has a very large nucleus. The large number of particles in the nucleus makes the atom unstable and causes the atom to split apart into smaller components soon after it is created. Element 105 was previously called hahnium, after German physical chemist Otto Hahn. Russian scientists first created dubnium by bombarding atoms of the element americium with neon atoms, creating unstable dubnium isotopes. Because the nucleus of the dubnium atom contains so many particles, the atom undergoes spontaneous fission, a process in which the atom quickly breaks into smaller “daughter” components. In 1970, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the United States produced dubnium-260 through high-speed collisions of californium atoms with nitrogen atoms, yielding an element with a lifespan of 3.0 seconds.
Dubnium-262, the most stable isotope of element 105 was produced in 1970 and 1971, which has a lifespan of 68 seconds. Scientists expected dubnium to be a corrosion-resistant, shiny, silvery metal that reacts with oxygen under certain conditions. However, scientific observations reveal that dubnium deviates from other Group 5 elements, and appears to share complex properties of the elements plutonium and protactinium instead. Scientists theorize that the properties of dubnium may diverge from other Group 5 elements because the massive positive charge of all the protons in the Db nucleus causes the surrounding electrons to orbit at rates approaching the speed of light. This phenomenon, known as the relativistic effect, may alter the expected paths of the electrons spinning around the dubnium nucleus, possibly affecting the chemical properties of this element.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/02/2009 03:15:59
Seaborgium, symbol Sg, it is produced artificially by nuclear fusion. The large number of particles in the nucleus makes the atom unstable and causes the atom to split apart into smaller components soon after it is created. The IUPAC named element 106 seaborgium to honour Nobel Laureate Glenn T. Seaborg, who co-discovered plutonium and nine other transuranic elements. Seaborgium, which was previously called unnilhexium, is the first element that was named after a living person. The scientists made seaborgium by the nuclear fusion of the smaller elements californium and oxygen. Scientists at the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, also produced seaborgium at nearly the same time in 1974. The Berkeley scientists discovered seaborgium-263, an isotope with a lifespan of about 1.6 seconds. A joint research effort between American and Russian scientists produced the most stable isotopes of element 106, seaborgium-265 and seaborgium-266, with a lifespan of about 32 seconds and 40 seconds, respectively. The most stable isotope of this element is the seaborgium-266. Scientists expected seaborgium to share properties with other Group 6 elements. Supporting this expectation, scientists have found that seaborgium forms the chemical complex, SgO2Cl2, with chlorine and oxygen. This complex is analogous to complexes that molybdenum and tungsten form with chlorine and oxygen.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/02/2009 03:17:39
Bohrium, it is produced artificially by nuclear fusion. The IUPAC changed the name of element 107 from unnilseptium to bohrium to honour Danish physicist and Nobel laureate Niels Bohr, who made important contributions to nuclear physics and the understanding of atomic structure. Bohrium was first created in 1981 by researchers at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany, by the nuclear fusion of two smaller elements, bismuth and chromium. German scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory created bohrium-262, an isotope with a lifespan of only 0.204 seconds. It is the most stable isotope of element 107. Bohrium belongs to Group 7 in the periodic table. Manganese, technetium, and rhenium all form stable oxides, are all metallic solids with melting points above 1200° C , and all readily dissolve in acids. Because elements in the same group, or column, on the periodic table often share similar properties, scientists expect bohrium to share properties with other Group 7 elements. However, because of the limited amount of bohrium that can be produced and its short lifespan, scientists have been unable to determine the chemical properties of this unstable element.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 02:45:14
Hassium, symbol Hs. It is produced artificially by nuclear fusion. In 1997, the IUPAC named element 108 hassium, which was previously called unniloctium, to honour the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany. Researchers at this laboratory discovered elements 107, 108, 109, 111, and 112. The name “hassium” is derived from the German state Hassia, which is where the research was performed. Hassium was first created in 1984 by nuclear fusion of the smaller elements lead and iron. Scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory discovered hassium-265, an isotope with a lifespan of only 0.0036 seconds. The most stable isotope of element 108 is hassium-263, which has a lifespan of 2 seconds. Hassium belongs to Group 8 (VIIIb) on the periodic table together with iron, ruthenium, and osmium which are all shiny, silvery metallic solids with melting points above 1500° C. These elements form stable oxides. Because elements in the same group, or column, on the periodic table often share similar properties, scientists expect hassium to share properties with other Group 8 elements. However, because of the limited amount of hassium that can be produced, and its short lifespan, scientists have been unable to determine the chemical properties of this unstable element.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 02:47:43
Meitnerium, symbol Mt. The IUPAC changed the name of element 109 from unnilennium to meitnerium in order to honour Austrian-Swedish physicist Lise Meitner, a pioneer in the field of nuclear fission. Meitnerium was first created in 1982 by researchers at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany, by nuclear fusion of the smaller elements bismuth and iron. Because the meitnerium nucleus contains so many particles, meitnerium is unstable. German scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory created meitnerium-266, an isotope with a lifespan of only 0.0068 seconds. The most stable isotope of element 109 is meitnerium-268, which has a lifespan of 0.14 seconds. Meitnerium belongs to Group 9 on the periodic table, which also includes cobalt, rhodium, and iridium which are shiny, silvery metallic elements with melting points above 1500°C. Scientists expect meitnerium to share properties with other Group 9 elements. However, because of the limited amount of meitnerium that can be produced, and its short lifespan, scientists have been unable to determine the chemical properties of this unstable element.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 02:49:15
Darmstadtium, symbol Ds, previously called ununnilium. It is produced artificially by nuclear fusion. Darmstadtium was created by nuclear fusion of the smaller elements lead and nickel. Because the darmstadtium nucleus contains so many particles, darmstadtium is unstable. German scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory discovered darmstadtium-269, an isotope with a lifespan of only 0.0022 seconds. Bombarding lead with nickel for over two days in the German laboratory produced only three atoms of darmstadtium. The most stable isotope of darmstadtium is darmstadtium-271 which has a lifespan of 0.0172 seconds. Darmstadtium belongs to Group 10 on the periodic table, which also includes the naturally occurring elements nickel, palladium, and platinum which are all whitish-silver, shiny metals that are both malleable and ductile. Under normal conditions, these metals are resistant to corrosion, each forms a complex with four chloride ions, and all react with oxygen when heated. Because of the limited amount of darmstadtium that can be produced, and its extremely short lifespan, scientists have been unable to fully determine the chemical properties of this highly unstable element.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 02:50:36
Roentgenium, symbol Rg, previously called unununium. It was named roentgenium in 2004 after the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, the discoverer of X-rays. Roentgenium was created by nuclear fusion of the smaller elements bismuth and nickel. Because the roentgenium nucleus contains so many particles, roentgenium is unstable. Roentgenium-272, the first confirmed isotope of the element, has a very brief lifespan of 0.003 seconds. Roentgenium-279, with a lifespan of 0.34 seconds, and roentgenium-280, with a lifespan of 7.2 seconds, have since been created. Roentgenium belongs to Group 11 on the periodic table, which also contains the naturally occurring elements copper, silver, and gold which all have the ability to conduct heat and electricity, and to form alloys with other metals. Scientists expect roentgenium to share properties with other Group 11 elements. However, because of the very limited amount of roentgenium that has been produced, and its extremely short lifespan, scientists have been unable to fully determine the chemical properties of this unstable element.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 02:51:54
Ununbium, symbol Uub. chemical element with atomic number 112. Scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory created an atom of ununbium that contained 165 neutrons, labelled ununbium-277. Ununbium was created by nuclear fusion of the smaller elements lead and zinc. Ununbium-277 has a very brief lifespan of 0.00048 seconds. By 1998, ununbium-277 was the only confirmed isotope of ununbium. Other isotopes of ununbium would be forms of the element with the same number of protons in the nucleus, but a different number of neutrons. Ununbium belongs to Group 12 on the periodic table, which also contains the naturally occurring elements zinc, cadmium, and mercury which have high boiling points and low melting points, they are all reactive with oxygen, sulphur, and the halogens. Because elements in the same group, or column, on the periodic table often share similar properties, scientists expect ununbium to share properties with other Group 12 elements. However, because of the very limited amount of ununbium that has been produced, and its extremely short lifespan, scientists have been unable to determine the chemical properties of this unstable element.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 02:54:28
Ununquadium, symbol Uuq, chemical element with atomic number 114. The element is not found in nature but can be produced artificially by nuclear fusion. Ununquadium belongs to Group 14, a column of the periodic table that also contains naturally occurring elements such as tin and lead. Because elements in the same group of the periodic table often share similar properties, scientists expect ununquadium’s properties to resemble those of tin and lead. Scientists have been unable to examine ununquadium’s chemical properties, however, because of the limited amount and short life span of the isotope of ununquadium that has been produced. Scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, produced an atom of ununquadium late in 1998. They produced the new element artificially by using a particle accelerator to bombard a plutonium target with a highly accelerated beam of calcium atoms. When a calcium atom slammed into a plutonium atom in just the right way, they apparently fused into an isotope of ununquadium, called ununquadium-289. The super-heavy ununquadium-289 isotope produced at Dubna took about 30 seconds to decay; all other known atoms with similar numbers of particles packed into their nuclei decay in a fraction of a second.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 03:03:04
Ununpentium, chemical element with an atomic number of 115 it is presumably a solid at 298 K, and probably metallic and silvery white or grey in appearance. Not commercially available. Experiments resulting in the formation of element 115 were reported on the 2nd February 2004. Only four nuclei were identified and the claim has not yet been ratified, but the results are now published in a reputable peer-reviewed journal. Currently, the identification of element 115 is yet to be confirmed by IUPAC, but the experiments leading to element 115 are now published in a prestigious peer reviewed journal. Atoms of americium-243 were bombarded with ions of calcium-48 using a device called a cyclotron. This produced one atom of ununpentium-287 and three atoms of ununpentium-288. All four atoms quickly decayed into other elements.  These decays resulted in isotopes of element 113. These isotopes of element 113 are also radioactive and underwent further a-decay processes to isotopes of element 111 and so on down to at least element 105. Ununpentium’s most stable isotope, ununpentium-228, has a half-life of about 87 milliseconds. It decays into ununtrium-284 through alpha decay..Since only a few atoms of ununpentium have ever been produced, it currently has no uses outside of basic scientific research.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 03:04:24
Ununhexium, symbol Uuh, chemical element with atomic number 116. Ununhexium has never been found in nature but can be produced in the laboratory by nuclear fusion. They produced ununhexium by using a particle accelerator to accelerate atoms of calcium to a very high velocity and then smashing them into atoms of curium. In a very small percentage of these collisions, an atom of calcium combines with an atom of curium to form an isotope of ununhexium called ununhexium-292. Ununhexium-292 contains 116 protons and 176 neutrons. Like most of the other known atoms with large numbers of particles packed into their nuclei, ununhexium-292 breaks down very quickly, taking an average of only about 76 milliseconds to decay. Scientists have been unable to examine ununhexium’s chemical properties because of the limited amount of ununhexium-292 that has been produced and its short life span. Scientists suspect, however, that ununhexium’s properties will turn out to resemble those of the naturally occurring element polonium. Ununhexium belongs to Group 16, a column of the periodic table that also contains polonium.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 03:04:49
I think that is all [:)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: erickejah on 12/02/2009 21:58:16
 [:D] well done!!
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 12/02/2009 23:47:21
Thank you sir. [:)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: syhprum on 27/02/2009 17:51:55
I confess I may not have read every word of this long and very interesting post but I  could not find any mention of the important Isotopes of Hydrogen ie Deuterium and tritium that are important in nuclear research and possible fusion reactors
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 27/02/2009 22:37:47
I am afraid that I have not done any research on deuterium and/or tritium. Of course, that information won't be too hard to find [:)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Dr.IC on 26/03/2009 03:29:01
how did u get gallium?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 26/03/2009 05:05:56
Sorry, can't remember. [???]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 10/07/2009 00:30:34
Hey, but you have more, keep 'em coming!
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/07/2009 01:48:06
Huh? No quite what I had in mind, oddly enough [;)]
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 11/07/2009 04:00:11
Wow! Are you a linguist?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Bored chemist on 11/07/2009 19:26:41
Do you know enough to explain what all that has to do with chemsitry?
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: glovesforfoxes on 12/07/2009 12:53:24
let's not get too personal, eh discovererdave? i'm sure boredchemist did not mean to offend..
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Bored chemist on 12/07/2009 18:44:18
DiscoverDave,
Just for the record, it doesn't look like I will have any kids of my own for you to save, but I do earn my crusts by keeping adults (and occasionally kids) alive.
Also, if you take the trouble to look, you might see that I a fair amount of rebutting the dross that some people post.
None of that seems to have any relevance to the issue.
I'm sure that your posts would ahve been better received and more widely read in an apropriate part of the site. YOu might want to try that next time.
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Bored chemist on 13/07/2009 11:44:52
Hi,
How's the weather on Zoltan?
:-)
Title: Name a chemical and its origin or where it comes from?
Post by: Karen W. on 12/12/2009 02:43:25
Wow!! My thread has grown and many thanks to all who are posting.. i still have several posts to read and wish I could thank Doc beaver for all his Participating in this thread as well as his humor!.. Thanks everyone keep up the good work..