How do you know that something colorless, odorless, and tasteless is really there? How does something with no visible properties get discovered through the science of 1898? Krypton, a noble gas, is an element that although you cannot see, is definitely a big part of science today. Through the technology of 1898 to today’s incredible advancements, Krypton has been there through it all. Discovered by Sir William Ramsey and his student, Morris (M.W.) Traver, this noble gas was first “seen” as a residue left after boiling liquid air (water, oxygen, nitrogen, helium, and argon). Together, they were able to isolate the gas even though it is only one part per million in our atmosphere. The discovery of krypton was a stepping stone to discovering Neon, an element often paired with krypton. This gas received its name from the Greek word kryptos, …show more content…
Although it is colorless, it is characterized by its incredible red-orange and green spectral lines. A known property of rare gases, it is white and crystalline, with a cubic crystal structure that is face – centered (when solid). Krypton is not usually used to form compounds. However, some krypton compounds exist. Krypton is composed of thirty-six protons, meaning its atomic number is also thirty-six. It has a melting point of 115.79 K (Kelvin) and a boiling point of 119.93 K. This element is a non-metal and can be found in period 4, group 18 of the Periodic Table. Krypton has five stable isotopes and an oxidation state of 0. There are 33 known isotopes of Krypton with atomic mass numbers from 69 through 101. Naturally taking place, Krypton is made of six stable isotopes, two of which might theoretically be slightly radioactive, plus traces of radioisotopes that are produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere. The element has a relative atomic mass of 83.798. Since krypton is in the far right row of the periodic table, its outer layer contains eight
Neon has an atomic number of 10, and a mass of 20.180. Neon has three stable isotopes: neon 20, 21, and 22. These three isotopes comprise 90.92 percent of natural neon, 0.26 percent of natural neon, and 8.82 percent of natural neon, respectively. There are five other isotopes of neon, and they are all radioactive. None of these five isotopes occur in nature.
Although some of the elements have been known for thousands of years, our understanding of many elements is still young. Mendeleev’s first Periodic Table contained only 63 elements, and about that many were discovered in the following 100 years. Just like countries, emperors, philosophers, and cities, elements have histories, too.“The Disappearing spoon” by Sam Kean, is a detailed history of the elements on the Periodic Table. Kean does a important job of telling every single element’s journey throughout the history of mankind: from the earliest times, when chemistry was intermingled with alchemy, to these days of modern chemistry. For example: Thallium is considered the deadliest element, pretending to be potassium to gain entry into our cells where it then breaks amino acid bonds within proteins. The CIA once developed a plan to poison Fidel Castro by dosing his socks with thallium-tainted
Strontium was discovered by Adair Crawford, an Irish chemist, in 1790 while studying the mineral witherite (BaCO3). When he mixed witherite with hydrochloric acid (HCl), he did not get the results he expected. He assumed that his sample of witherite was contaminated with an unknown mineral, a mineral he named strontianite (SrCO3). Strontium was first isolated by Sir Humphry Davy, an English chemist, in 1808 through the electrolysis of a mixture of strontium chloride (SrCl2) and mercuric oxide (HgO). Strontium reacts vigorously with water and quickly tarnishes in air, so it must be stored out of contact with air and water. Due to its extreme reactivity to air, this element always naturally occurs combined with other elements and compounds. Strontium is very
Holmium is a chemical element and is the sixty seventh element on the periodic table. It is located in Period six and it is a member of the lanthanide group. It was discovered in 1879 by a Swedish chemist named Per Theodor Cleve. Like Carl Gustaf Monsander who discovered the elements lanthanum, erbium and terbium Theodor also used similar strategy's to find contaminants in the oxides of uncommon earth elements. He first looked at the oxide of erbium and was able to split it into two types of materials one being brown and the other green. This in turn caused Theodor to find the oxide of holmium (it was the brown material which is known as holmia) and this was how the element holmium was discovered.
The Klondike King’s Reign Everything must fall in its due course, but the end comes sooner for some people rather than later. The Klondike era is an appropriate example of this, as Klondike Kings (rich miners profiting from the Klondike Gold Rush) mostly eventually deteriorated into debt and poverty. Klondike Kings were rich for many years, but for the most part became poor after the boom towns became near ghost towns.
The element neon was discovered by Morris Travers and Sir William Ramsey. The chemists first isolated neon in 1898 by evaporating argon using low pressure. Neon was the third noble gas discovered by Ramsay and Travers, after argon and krypton. Neon has an atomic number of 10. The first neon lamp was produced by Georges Claude. Neon produces a reddish-orange color. Argon produces a faint purple. Neon most commonly used in advertising signs. Neon creates light through the application of electricity to neon in a glass tube.
Mr. Cronstedt discovered nickel in a mineral called niccolite. He originally planned to extract copper from this new mineral but got none at all. This is why nickel, at first, was called "false copper". Instead, Cronstedt got a silvery-white metal, which was eventually used for other things.
One of the least spoken about elements, cerium, is important and rather abundant for being considered a rare metal. It is more abundant than most metals in Earth’s crust. Cerium (Ce) has an atomic number of 58 and an average atomic mass of 140.116. To find it on the Periodic Table, either find atomic number 58 or use the electron configuration of [Xe]6s24f15d1. When searching across The Periodic Table, cerium is not a definitive eye catcher, however, seeing pure cerium ignite when scratched will spark interest in most people. Usually, cerium is in a solid metal form as an conductor. cerium was named after an asteroid called Ceres. All in all, cerium is a usually silvery, sometimes dark gray, malleable metal, in the Lanthanide series in period six that is very reactive but has many uses.
George Gamow, Ralph Alpher, Robert Hermen. "The Origin of Chemical Elements." [Online] 1 April 1948. .
It was discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy in England, in 1807. Sir Davy was able to isolate potassium using electrolysis. Potassium was the first metal isolated by this procedure. Today, it is still not found free in nature. It is obtained by electrolysis of chloride or hydroxide.
Antoine Lavoisier and Dalton are responsible for the discovery of 90 natural elements. Dalton also explained the variations of water vapor in the atmosphere, the base of meteorology.
Bruce Mattson. “Henry Cavendish 1731-1810”. History of Gas Chemistry. Updated September 25, 2001. Retrieved December 1, 2011
Brand was obsessed with finding the Philosopher’s Stone; this stone reputedly could change metals into gold. With his discovery, this made Brand the first known discoverer of an element. In 1669, he isolated human urine and distilled it which resulted in a white and waxy material. Brand named this material phosphorus (light bearer) because it glowed in the dark. This discovery was kept a secret until 1680 when an English chemist Robert Boyle discovered phosphorus independently. Boyle’s definition of this element was simply “a substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by a chemical reaction”. This definition of the element lasted for three centuries until the discovery of subatomic
Scientists from earlier times helped influence the discoveries that lead to the development of atomic energy. In the late 1800’s, Dalton created the Atomic Theory which explains atoms, elements and compounds (Henderson 1). This was important to the study of and understanding of atoms to future scientists. The Atomic Theory was a list of scientific laws regarding atoms and their potential abilities. Roentagen, used Dalton’s findings and discovered x-rays which could pass through solid objects (Henderson 1). Although he did not discover radiation from the x-rays, he did help lay the foundations for electromagnetic waves. Shortly after Roentagen’s findings, J.J. Thompson discovered the electron which was responsible for defining the atom’s characteristics (Henderson 2). The electron helped scientists uncover why an atom responds to reactions the way it does and how it received its “personality”. Dalton’s, Roentagen’s and Thompson’s findings helped guide other scientists to discovering the uses of atomic energy and reactions. Such applications were discovered in the early 1900’s by using Einstein’s equation, which stated that if a chain reaction occurred, cheap, reliable energy could b...