The Basic Characteristics of Iodine

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Iodine can be described as the heaviest among regularly occurring halogens, which are specifically found in Group 17 (VIIA) within the periodic table. The periodic table involves a diagram that demonstrates how chemical compounds or elements are associated with one another. Iodine’s chemical aspects are identical to the highly placed lighter halogens, which include chlorine, bromine, and fluorine. However, its physical outlook tends to be distinctive as it mirrors a steel-gray element, which transforms it to a mesmerizing purple vapor upon incineration.

Bernard Courtois, a French scientist, accidentally discovered the chemical element, iodine, in 1811. Iodine is mainly found in seawater, where a grayish-solid compound is often left behind after intense water evaporation. Its most important aspect regards its ability to eradicate germs. Iodine is normally blended with disinfectants and germicides besides the medical purposes it serves. Iodine equally exhibits numerous unfamiliar but vital commercial purposes.

The basic characteristics of iodine are like that of other halogens on the periodic table, but with some conspicuous differences. Iodine is rated among most memorable and striking of all the chemical elements. When in its solid form, iodine appears as a grayish-black, heavy steel compound, but when subjected to combustion, the solid iodine sublimes, as opposed to melting; hence, sublimation refers to the direct transformation of a solid element into a gaseous state. The sublimed iodine vapor exhibits a violet color coupled with a strong odor. When placed in a cold iron bar among other similar objects, the vapor transforms back to a beautiful solid element with fragile, metallic crystals, as reported by Leung...

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...ion. Iodine has also commonly been used to modify inks and dyes. Generally, iodine is found in the iodide ions state, commonly from seawater and is always injected in the food chain through seaweed besides other sea-plants and other sources such as soils and minerals. Iodine is crucial to the everyday lives of all mankind, whether we know about it or not.

Works Cited

Abraham, Guy E. “The History of Iodine in Medicine Part I: From Discovery to Essentiality.”

The Original Internist, (2006): 34-49. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Hamrick, I., and Sandra H. Counts. “Vitamin and Mineral Supplements.” Primary Care: Clinics

in Office Practice, 35.4, (2008): 729-747.

Leung, Angela M., Lewis E. Braverman, and Elizabeth N. Pearce. “History of U.S. Iodine

Fortification and Supplementation.” Nutrients. 4.11 (2012): 1740–1746.

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