Alkali & Alkaline Earth Metals

209 Pages·2010·7.1 MB·English

PERIODIC TABLE
ELEMENTS
OF THE
Alkali &
Alkaline
Earth Metals

PERIODIC TABLE
ELEMENTS
OF THE
Alkali &
Alkaline
Earth Metals
Monica Halka, Ph.D., and
Brian Nordstrom, Ed.D.
ALKALI AND ALKALINE EARTH METALS
Copyright © 2010 by Monica Halka, Ph.D., and Brian Nordstrom, Ed.D.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Halka, Monica.
Alkali and alkaline earth metals / Monica Halka and Brian Nordstrom.
p. cm. — (Periodic table of the elements)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8160-7369-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4381-3184-9 (e-book)
1. Alkalies. 2. Alkaline earth metals. 3. Periodic law. I. Nordstrom, Brian. II. Title.
QD172.A4H35 2010
546'.38—dc22 2009035152
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Text design by Erik Lindstrom
Composition by Hermitage Publishing Services
Illustrations by Dale Williams
Photo research by Tobi Zausner, Ph.D.
Cover printed by Bang Printing, Brainerd, Minn.
Book printed and bound by Bang Printing, Brainerd, Minn.
Date printed: July 2010
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Contents
Preface viii
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
Overview: Chemistry and Physics Background xviii
Part 1: Alkali Metals 1
Introduction to Alkali Metals 1
Th e Discovery and Naming of Alkali Metals 2
1 Lithium 6
Th e Astrophysics of Lithium 7
Th e Chemistry of Lithium 8
Fuel for Fusion 9
Lithium and Bipolar Disorder 11
How Lithium Can Alleviate Excess CO 12
2
Technology and Current Uses of Lithium 13
2 Sodium 16
Th e Astrophysics of Sodium 17
Th e Chemistry of Sodium 18
Th e Physics of Sodium Vapor Lamps 20
Sodium and Health 22
Technology and Current Uses of Sodium 23
3 Potassium 28
Th e Astrophysics of Potassium 29
Potassium on Earth 30
The Chemistry of Potassium 32
Potassium-Argon Dating 34
Potassium and Health 35
Technology and Current Uses of Potassium 38
4 Rubidium, Cesium, and Francium 41
The Astrophysics of Heavy Alkali Metals 43
The Chemistry of Rubidium and Cesium 45
Cesium and Atomic Clocks 46
The Human Body: No Place for These Elements 48
Rubidium and Laser-Cooling 50
Technology and Current Uses of Rubidium and Cesium 51
Part 2: Alkaline Earth Metals 53
Introduction to Alkaline Earth Metals 53
The Discovery and Naming of Alkaline Earth Metals 54
5 Beryllium 56
The Astrophysics of Beryllium 57
Beryllium on Earth 59
The Chemistry of Beryllium 61
Reducing the Critical Mass in Nuclear Weapons 62
Beryllium Is Important in Particle Accelerators 64
Technology and Current Uses of Beryllium 65
6 Magnesium 68
The Astrophysics of Magnesium 69
Magnesium on Earth 71
The Chemistry of Magnesium 72
Magnesium-Diboride Superconductors 74
The Heart of Chlorophyll 76
Technology and Current Uses of Magnesium 78
7 Calcium 81
The Astrophysics of Calcium 83
Calcium on Earth 85
The Chemistry of Calcium 86
In Mortar and Bones 89
Calcium Imaging of the Brain 90
Technology and Current Uses of Calcium 91
8 Strontium and Barium 93
The Astrophysics of Strontium and Barium 95
Strontium and Barium on Earth 96
The Chemistry of Strontium and Barium 98
A Material Harder than Diamond 101
Technology and Current Uses of Strontium and Barium 102
9 Radium 105
Radium on Earth 106
The Discovery and Naming of Radium 107
The Chemistry of Radium 110
Radium Hot Springs 111
Radioluminescence and the Paint That Kills 112
Radiopharmaceuticals—A Good Use of Radioactivity 113
Technology and Current Uses of Radium 115
10 Conclusions and Future Directions 117
Understanding Patterns and Properties in the
Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metals 117
Speculations on Further Developments 118
New Physics 118
New Chemistry 119
SI Units and Conversions 121
List of Acronyms 123
Periodic Table of the Elements 124
Table of Element Categories 125
Chronology 126
Glossary 132
Further Resources 149
Index 166
Preface
S
peculations about the nature of matter date back to ancient Greek
philosophers like Thales, who lived in the sixth century b.c.e., and
Democritus, who lived in the fifth century b.c.e., and to whom we
credit the first theory of atoms. It has taken two and a half millennia for
natural philosophers and, more recently, for chemists and physicists to
arrive at a modern understanding of the nature of elements and com-
pounds. By the 19th century, chemists such as John Dalton of England
had learned to define elements as pure substances that contain only one
kind of atom. It took scientists like the British physicists Joseph John
Thomson and Ernest Rutherford in the early years of the 20th century,
however, to demonstrate what atoms are—entities composed of even
smaller and more elementary particles called protons, neutrons, and
electrons. These particles give atoms their properties and, in turn, give
elements their physical and chemical properties.
After Dalton, there were several attempts throughout Western
Europe to organize the known elements into a conceptual framework
that would account for the similar properties that related groups of ele-
ments exhibit and for trends in properties that correlate with increases
in atomic weights. The most successful periodic table of the elements
was designed in 1869 by a Russian chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev. Men-
deleev’s method of organizing the elements into columns grouping ele-
ments with similar chemical and physical properties proved to be so
practical that his table is still essentially the only one in use today.
viii
Preface ix
While there are many excellent works written about the periodic
table (which are listed in the section on further resources), recent sci-
entific investigation has uncovered much that was previously unknown
about nearly every element. The Periodic Table of the Elements, a six-
volume set, is intended not only to explain how the elements were
discovered and what their most prominent chemical and physical prop-
erties are, but also to inform the reader of new discoveries and uses in
fields ranging from astrophysics to material science. Students, teachers,
and the general public seldom have the opportunity to keep abreast of
these new developments, as journal articles for the nonspecialist are
hard to find. This work attempts to communicate new scientific find-
ings simply and clearly, in language accessible to readers with little or
no formal background in chemistry or physics. It should, however, also
appeal to scientists who wish to update their understanding of the natu-
ral elements.
Each volume highlights a group of related elements as they appear
in the periodic table. For each element, the set provides information
regarding:
• the discovery and naming of the element, including its role
in history, and some (though not all) of the important scien-
tists involved;
• the basics of the element, including such properties as its
atomic number, atomic mass, electronic configuration, melt-
ing and boiling temperatures, abundances (when known),
and important isotopes;
• the chemistry of the element;
• new developments and dilemmas regarding current under-
standing; and
• past, present, and possible future uses of the element in sci-
ence and technology.
Some topics, while important to many elements, do not apply to all.
Though nearly all elements are known to have originated in stars or stel-
lar explosions, little information is available for some. Some others that