14 Interesting Facts about Oxygen: Non Metal Gas Element Atomic Number 8

1 Earth has more oxygen than any other element making up half of the earth’s crust and 86% of the earth’s oceans. But as can be seen from the following, oxygen is a double-edged sword, essential for life on earth but also the basis for cell decay, global-warming and in its pure form, toxic to living things.

2 Oxygen is the third most abundant element of the universe (after hydrogen and helium). However our earth has a much higher level of oxygen than the average for our solar system.

Oxygen in Water

3 Properties of Oxygen

Atomic number: 8

Atomic weight: 15.9994

State: colorless gas

Category: non-metal

Melting point: -219°C (-362°F)

Boiling point: -183°C (-297°F)

Element Oxygen Facts

4 Oxygen is anything but a noble gas, being reactive and forming oxides with many other elements (except not for helium and other noble gases). It will combine with other gasses, metals and non-metals to form nitrous oxide, iron oxide, silver oxide and of course hydrogen to form…water. Incidentally, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen makes great rocket fuel.

5 Oxygen’s large proportion of 21% in our atmosphere is due to the oxygen emissions of early blue-green algae life forms 2.5 billion years ago, known as the ‘Great Oxygenation Event’. This was the beginning of photosynthesis – the process of plants using light and carbon dioxide to make energy and the byproduct, oxygen.

6 Just about every cell in the body need oxygen for tissue growth, metabolism and waste removal. Only four minutes of an oxygen-deprived brain will cause its cells to die. To provide a steady supply, the oxygen atom will fuse with the iron atom in hemoglobin in red blood cells to ferry oxygen to every cell of the body. Indeed, oxygen makes up 60% of the humans, as water is a hydrogen-oxygen compound. Oxygen can be found in our bones, teeth and blood to our urine and tears.

Discovery of Oxygen Facts

7 The chemists Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Joseph Priestley uncovered oxygen’s existence within a year of each other, but Priestley’s work in 1774 was published first. However, it was Leonardo Da Vinci three hundred years earlier who detected a substance vital to life and which caused the candle flame to burn.

What is Oxygen or Not

8 Oxygen is a misnomer, as the French chemist Antoine Lavosoiser named this element in 1778 on the mistaken belief oxygen is present in all acids. Oxy is Greek for acid, and gene (as he had called it oxygene at the time) means provider or former. Despite this erroneous name ‘acid former’, the name, oxygen stuck.

  

9 More oxygen can be held in cold water than in warm water. This is why air bubbles will be seen forming on the inner sides of the glass of warmed water as some of the oxygen is forced out of the liquid.

Dangerous Forms of Oxygen

Oxygen Symbol

10 Breathing pure oxygen is toxic to humans and is a concern for deep sea divers. Oxygen poisoning can cause damage to the central nervous system, myopia, disorientation, seizures, breathing difficulties and even death. However in most cases, recovery is possible after breathing normal air.

11 Ozone, a form of oxygen with three oxygen atoms is toxic to humans, causing chest pain and breathing complications. Ozone exists in the stratosphere, providing a protective layer against some of the harmful UV rays from the sun. Ozone is created by lightning but is broken down by CFC gases from aerosols, car emissions and factory wastes.

What Oxygen Does

12 Oxygen is to blame for the rusts on all metal, yeast growth on cheese, ergot on wheat, microbes in cheese, penicillin on bread and most other microbes causing food spoils and decay. A simple way of preserving food is to remove oxygen by placing a lighted flame or bottle of carbonated water within a suitable container of food.

Altitude Sickness Facts

13 Altitude sickness is attributed to low air density and rarified oxygen at a height above 11,000 feet. Symptoms like a hangover may lead to complications from nose bleeds to pulmonary edema. The Death Zone above 26,000ft of any mountain is so named because of the dangerously rarified air that has claimed the lives of hundreds of climbers. Frozen bodies dot the last stretch of Mount Everest to this day.

14 In its exited state of an Aurora Borealis or Aurora Australis (Northern or Southern Lights), oxygen is responsible for the bright green colors of the polar night sky.

12 Interesting Facts about Nitrogen Gas: Non Metal Element Atomic Number 7

1 The earth’s atmosphere comprises only 21% oxygen. Most of the air we breathe is in fact nitrogen – 78% of it. Other gases can be found in trace amounts which are argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Water vapor accounts for on average, 0.25% of our atmosphere.

                                                                 

2 Nitrogen, is the fifth most abundant element of our universe, yet takes up over two-thirds of earth’s atmosphere because of the early abundance of volcanic eruptions over millions of years. Without volcanoes, life on earth would not be possible. By contrast, only 2.6% of lifeless Mars’ atmosphere is nitrogen.

3 Rust and decay through exposure to the air is attributed to oxygen. If our atmosphere comprised only of nitrogen, metal will not oxidize and food can be preserved for many years. Nitrogen is often injected into food cans to preserve food.

Hydrogen Gas Facts

4 Nitrogen’s Vital Statistics

Atomic number: 7

Atomic weight: 14.00672

State: colorless gas

Category: non-metal

Melting point: -210°C (-346°F)

Boiling point: -196°C (-320°F)

5 Nitrogen-based compounds such as nitroglycerine are used for explosives because the nitrogen aspect wants to become gas again, but at such a rapid rate, it ‘explodes’ into the atmosphere. Enormous amounts of heat are released as it does so.

6 Alfred Nobel, from which the prize is named invented dynamite in 1866 by blending nitroglycerine with kieselguhr (a form of sedimentary rock) to create a safer, more controlled explosion that can be used in the mining industry. This saved thousands of lives.  Profits earned from his invention funds the Nobel Prize even to this day. Interestingly, kieselguhr is also used in toothpaste and in cat litter trays.

Nitrogen Symbol

Nitrogen Cycle Simplified

7 Nitrogen forms a vital part of fertilizer. In 1909, Fritz Haber, a German chemist conceived a way of making ammonium nitrate by combining nitrogen with hydrogen to produce ammonia. Ammonium nitrate is responsible for doubling crop yields worldwide. The process is known as the Haber process.

8 Plants absorb oxygen from the air, but cannot absorb nitrogen in this way. Instead, nitrogen is taken up via the roots from the soil to build proteins in the plant. Plants are eaten by animals to produce animal protein. Waste food returns the nitrogen to the soil in the form of ammonia which feeds the plant again. Microorganisms and bacteria assists in the breakdown of dead matter to release nitrogen. This cycle is known as the nitrogen cycle and is essential to life.

Odd Facts about Nitrogen

9 Laughing gas consists of nitrous oxide, also in anesthesia and gas-and-air as pain relief for women in labor. In fact, nitrogen can be found in all main drugs, from antibiotics to painkillers. It is also found in every cell of every living organism, forming a main component of DNA. Indeed, the human body consists of 3% nitrogen, the fourth most common element after carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.

10 Airbags that save thousands of lives in car accidents involves the use of a nitrogen based gas known as azine. The bag is pumped with the gas within a 25000^th of a second, following an electrical impulse.

11 Liquid nitrogen is the ideal coolant for transplant organs, cryogenics, food preservation, fire retardants and ‘freezing off’ warts. This is because liquid nitrogen can be transported easily without pressurization.

12 Discovered by the Scottish physician Daniel Rutherford in 1772, the name ‘nitrogen’ comes from a combination of the Greek words ‘nitre, the old word for potassium nitrate (the main ingredient for gunpowder) and ‘genes’ meaning ‘forming.

12 Interesting Facts about Carbon: Non Metal Element Atomic Number 6

1 The carbon atom is able to bond with four other atoms, creating 20 million different possible compounds. The most familiar are: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, chloroform, methane, ethyl alcohol, acetic acid and many others. In fact, carbon is invaluable for the building blocks of life.

2 Carbon is found in the clothes that you wear, the food that you eat, the home that you live in, the pencils that you write with, the fuel that propels your car, the air that you breathe and every cell of your body. Life would on earth could not exist without carbon.

Types of Carbon Materials

3 Carbon takes the form of amorphous graphite, charcoal, coal and diamonds. The reason for this is that the carbon atoms can be arranged in different ways – known as ‘allotropes’. In graphite - such as that used in pencils, the atoms are arranged in sheets. In diamond, the atoms are arranged in a rigid lattice (created by heat and pressure). Oddly, carbon can be found in one of the softest and the hardest natural elemental solids (graphite and diamond).

4 Carbon is added to a multitude of man-made materials, including steel, plastics, rubber, carbon fiber, Lycra, linen, glass and cotton. Its charcoal form was even used in early gunpowder.

Carbon Nanotubes in Fullerene

5 A new type of carbon has been discovered, known as fullerene. The carbon atoms are arranged in nanotubes – (small cylinders) or buckyballs (spheres). Fullerene is hundreds of times stronger than steel and has caused much interest with nanotechnologists.

Carbon 14 Diminishes in Dead Matter

6 Carbon Statistics

Atomic number: 6
Atomic weight: 12.0107

State: non metallic solid; clear (diamond) or black (graphite) forms

Category: non metal

Melting point: vaporizes before it melts

Sublimation point: 3,642°C (6,588°F)

Carbon Dioxide Cycle and Photosynthesis

7 The carbon cycle describes how carbon is absorbed in plants from carbon dioxide through photosynthesis before being returned to the atmosphere during decay. In effect, the carbon atom is being transformed into different states from gas (in carbon dioxide) to a solid compound (in the plant cells).

8 Carbon dioxide traps heat from the sun like a greenhouse, hence the ‘greenhouse effect.’ A contributing factor to the increased amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is the burning of fossil fuels from oil and coal.

9 Carbon is the fifteenth most abundant element that can be found in the earth’s crust but is the fourth most abundant in the universe (after hydrogen, helium and oxygen) but is the second most abundant element found in humans (after oxygen). Without carbon, life could not exist on earth.

Graphite Pencils and Inks

Carbon Symbol

10 When animal bones are burned without sufficient oxygen the carbon leaves a sooty deposit that is used in paints, inks and pencils. The pigments are known by various names depending on how it is treated, which include lamp black, ivory black or Mars black.

11 Radiocarbon dating is possible thanks to an isotope known as carbon 14. It takes over 5000 years for it to decay into nitrogen but does so consistently. Because the amount of carbon in living things and the environment remains constant, scientists can calculate the age of dead organic matter by how much carbon 14 has diminished within the cells.

12 Charcoal can be taken in pill form to bond with toxins in the body such as heavy metals, poisons or certain narcotics for removal. It can also be taken to treat flatulence and reduce odors.

12 Interesting Facts about Boron: Metalloid Chemical Element Atomic Number 5

1 Boron is a dull name for an element that produces a striking green flame when burned, is found in meteorites and is essential to human health.

2 French chemist Geoffroy the Younger first identified boron’s presence in borax, (a chemical composite containing boric salt) in 1732, but it was Sir Humphry Davy along with chemists Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thénard that first isolated boron from borate in 1808 with the use of potassium. Davy called it ‘boracium’ at the time.

3 Boron was used in Tudor cosmetics, notably by Queen Elizabeth I, as the powder is soluble in fluid. When mixed with oil and ground egg shell, created a white face powder, ideal for producing a porcelain and virginal look, in fashion at the time.

The Element Boron

4 Boron Facts and Boron Nitrite

Atomic number: 5
Atomic weight: 10.8111u
State: metalloid crystalline solid
Category: Metalloid
Melting point: 2,076°C (3,769°F)
Boiling point: 3,297°C (7,101°F)

5 Boron is seldom found in pure form, but has to be extracted (with difficulty) from borate minerals and composites such as borax, kernite or colemanite.

6 If boron was combined with hydrogen, the resultant boron nitride crystals would be almost as hard as diamonds and much cheaper to produce.

7 Boron is added to glass to provide heat resistance coating for fiberglass. Similarly, breakage due to sudden temperature changes can be reduced by adding boron to polymers, ceramics and borosillicate glass.

Health Benefits of Boron

Boron Symbol

8 Despite being toxic to arthropods, boron is essential to health in mammals, as it has a mild antibiotic action and strengthens cell walls. This is why boron is safe to use in pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides and detergents.

9 Boron is used to manage arthritis, osteoporosis and menopause. This is partially due to its assistance in the uptake of calcium and magnesium in the body. Boron can be found in beans, lentils, soy, tomatoes, avocado and nuts and even beer.

Properties of Boron

10 Silly putty (sometimes known as ‘thinking putty’) contains boron which provides the material’s flexibility as well as firmness when handled.

11 Borax was introduced to the west via the old Silk Road, an ancient pass that linked China with Europe, when boric salt was first mined in Tibet. The name boron is taken from the old Arabic name buraq, which simply means ‘borax’.

12 As boron is a good absorber of neutrons and is stable in volatile conditions, is used in nuclear reactors, neutron detecting and radiation shields in nuclear plants.

12 Fascinating Facts about Beryllium: Alkaline Earth Metal Element Atomic Number 4

1 Beryllium is a pale grey metal that is rare due to being formed only during the supernova of stars, an event that lasts but a few moments of the average star’s few billion years lifespan.

2 An innocuous-looking earth metal, its fumes are toxic, causing a lung condition known as berylliosis, inflammation of the lungs and shortness of breath. Beryllium poisoning was common amongst workers who were exposed to beryllium alloy. The occurrence of this disease as workers coated fluorescent lamps with beryllium oxide in the 1950s, marked the beginning of stringent protective clothing.

Beryllium's Properties

3 So, What is Beryllium?

Atomic number: 4

Atomic weight 9.012182

State: silvery white metal

Category: Alkaline earth metal

Melting point: 1,287°C (2,349°F)

Boiling point: 2,569°C (4,476°F)

Facts about Beryllium Copper and Other Beryllium Alloys

4 Beryllium is a strong, brittle metal that provides extra strength when added to different metals, such as copper, nickel and iron. Beryllium dampens the emission of sparks when metal strikes metal within an environment containing flammable substances. This makes the resultant alloy safer to work with.

5 Beryllium is also alloyed with aluminum for aircraft hulls, missile components and spacecraft. Beryllium’s attributes are that is lightweight, strong, non-corrosive and has a high melting point.

When the Neutron was Discovered

6 The discovery of the neutron was due to beryllium. It has an unusual feature of reflecting neutrons. Up to the 1920s, physicists knew that the nuclei of atoms contained another mysterious particle other than positively-charged protons. It was Sir James Chadwick who identified what this particle was after bombarding beryllium with alpha rays from radium. The discovery of the neutron earned him the Nobel Prize in 1935.

7 Beryllium’s tendency to emit neutrons is one of the reasons it is used in nuclear technology. The nuclear reaction within uranium is triggered by the to-ing and fro-ing of neutrons within the warhead of the nuclear missile.

8 X-rays pass through beryllium very easily, almost as though it is not there. For this reason, beryllium is typically used as a screen in x-ray equipment and incidentally, experiments with particle physics.

Beryllium's Symbol

9 Emerald and aquamarine, precious types of beryl were prized in ancient Egyptian times. But it wasn’t until 1828 that chemists A Bussy and Friedrich Wöhler isolated beryllium from the beryl.

10 Beryllium’s sweet taste earned it the previous label of glucinum. Unfortunately, those that ventured to sample this toxic earth metal did so at their peril, as beryllium should never be ingested or inhaled.

11 Beryllium is seldom found in its pure state but as a composite of ores and rocks. It has to be extracted to be used.

12 Beryllium is non-magnetic. Although useless for compasses, this quality makes beryllium an invaluable material for electrical components and delicate equipment used in aircraft and satellites.

12 Fascinating Facts about Lithium: Alkali Metal Element Atomic Number 3

1 Lithium, one of the three elements that formed at the Big Bang (along with hydrogen and helium), is a silvery-white alkaloid metal that is so soft, it can be cut like butter at room temperature.

2 Because lithium is highly reactive and flammable, it has to be stored in petroleum jelly or mineral oil to keep it stable. Exposure to the air will cause the surface to quickly oxidize into a dull grey color. Contact with the skin can cause burns due to caustic hydroxide (reaction with moisture).

Lithium batteries pack a punch for weight

3 Lithium's' Vital Statistics

Atomic number: 3
Atomic weight: 6.941

State: silvery-white metal
Category: alkali metal

Melting point:181°C (358°F)

Boiling point:1,342°C (2,448°F)

Lithium’s Usefulness in Industry

4 Having an atomic mass of only three, lithium is the lightest of all metals, and indeed of the solids. This also makes lithium the least dense and the lightest element for any given mass.

5 For its small atomic mass, lithium has large power-to-weight quotient, yielding high charge, which is why this metal is used within pacemakers, watches, cameras and cell phones. Similarly, as lithium is the lightest of all metals, is often blended with aluminum to form an extra light yet strong alloy on aircraft hulls, saving fuel consumption.

6 Because lithium is highly reactive, it serves many other functions within countless industries, namely pharmaceutical companies, lithium battery technology, air purification, aluminum alloys for aircraft hulls, heat-resistant glass and ceramics, polymers, firework pyrotechnics, industrial lubricants, metallurgy and crystal production.

Lithium Pharmaceutical Treatment for Mental Illness

7 Lithium is known for its sedating effects upon mood. It may have been used to treat mental illness as early as the second century AD by the physician Soranus of Ephesus. The local alkaline water (which is now known to contain lithium) had a calming effect upon patients who suffered mood disorders such as mania or melancholia.

8 Up to the 1940s, treatment for the mentally ill was crude and at worst, barbaric with electro convulsive therapy, lobotomies or coma-inducing insulin shock therapy. Only after Australian Doctor John Cade discovered lithium’s sedating effect upon highly-strung guinea pigs, did lithium therapy become standard treatment for mood disorders.

Lithium Symbol

9 Lithium carbonate is still used today to treat an array of mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, mania, anxiety, obsession, self-harming behavior and aggression. However, concentrations of above 20mg per liter of blood plasma can be fatal and therefore dosage is closely monitored.

10 Lithium is in fact not a drug, but a mineral in the same way as sodium and potassium, found in some foods. Lithium can also be found naturally in trace amounts within the body.

More Interesting Facts about Lithium

11 Lithium’s tendency to bond with other elements means it is seldom found in pure form and has to be extracted. Vast amounts can be found in seawater of up to 0.25 parts per million. Similarly, lithium is typically found in the brine deposits of lakes. However, only small amounts can be found in igneous rocks.

12 Lithium is one of only three metals that float on water, the other two being potassium and sodium.

12 Fascinating Facts about Helium: Noble Gas Element Atomic Number 2

1 Named after the ancient Greek sun god, Helios, helium is the second most abundant element of the universe, taking up about 23% of all matter, although helium is not commonly found on earth. Helium is also one of three elements that was formed after the Big Bang, the other two being hydrogen and lithium.

2 Like hydrogen, helium is a colorless, odorless gas that is lighter than air and is therefore used to provide lift for airships and hot air balloons. Helium is so light, not even the earth’s gravity can prevent it from escaping into outer space. This is why helium balloons are often used by NASA to study cosmic rays.

Helium Balloons Rising Through
our Atmosphere

3 Helium Statistics

Atomic number: 2
Atomic weight: 4.002602

State: gas
Category: noble gas

Melting point: -272°C (-458°F)

Boiling point: -269°C (-452°F)

4 The production of helium is a result of the fusion of 2 hydrogen atoms within the sun’s core, the chief energy source of all the stars in our universe. The creation of helium through fusion describes the first step to creating all the other elements of the periodic table. The heavier elements are created further down the line, as the sun’ energy begins to run out. Examples of heavy elements are iron, lead and mercury.

5 Helium was first discovered 1868 by Jules Janssen, a French astronomer after perceiving a stripe of bright yellow light within the solar spectrum during a solar eclipse. But it was the British astronomer Norman Lockyer and chemist Edward Frankland that identified the cause of this bright yellow band to be helium.

6 The fluorescent purple glow of helium lamps is caused by an electric current tearing out the electrons from the helium atom. This ionizes the gas, permitting a pathway for the current and causing the gas to glow.

Helium: Definition of a Noble Gas

7 Helium’s tag of being a noble gas is attributed to being disinclined to bond with other elements. This is due to helium’s low reactivity. The outer shell is full of electrons, permitting little room to bond with others. In this way, helium is snooty, unsociable and is loathe to bond with foreign electrons.

Helium is a Noble Gas

Interesting Facts about Helium’ Supercooling Properties

8 Liquid helium is chiefly used in cryogenics, the supercooling of organic matter. It’s zero friction in liquid-form means that helium can get into the smallest of spaces with ease, ideal for intricate equipment.

9 Helium is also used to supercool magnets in MRI scans creating a strong magnetic field. This forces the isotopes within water to point the same way. Because solid matter remains unaffected by the magnets, the computer can differentiate between soft and hard tissue, creating the MRI image of the soft organs within the body.

10 NASA uses millions of cubic meters of supercooled helium to stabilize rocket fuel. This keeps this very combustible gas cool until the rocket is ready for launch.

More Curious Facts about Helium

11 The presence of helium on earth is due mostly to the radioactive decay of the elements thorium and uranium.

12 Inhaling helium will cause the voice to take on a Donald Duck timbre. In fact, the pitch of the voice stays the same. It is the accelerated speed at which the sound waves travel through helium that causes an amplification of the higher frequencies. Interestingly, heavier gases such as xenon will have the opposite effect, slowing the speed of sound, amplifying low sound frequencies. This will result in a tone more like Louis Armstrong.