Zinc Essay

Zinc, the thirtieth element on the periodic table, has many uses in our modern lives. It’s uses vary from directly making many consumer goods to making alloys used in the development of other everyday products. And it’s uses do not stop at the industrial. Zinc is also important for natural growth and healing in plants and animals, including humans. In all, zinc is a very important element for our lives, both in our natural and commercial well-being.

As for it’s history, the usage of zinc dates back to the Roman times. Zinc and copper ores can be found in Roman coinage from as early as the 100s B.C. However, the first publication of a study of zinc as an element was by a German chemist by the name of Andreas Sigismund Marggraf in 1746. Zinc is a metallic element, being bluish-white in color, and very hard and brittle. It is never

Zinc oxide, a white, powdery covering that forms when zinc is exposed to oxygen, is used in a wide variety of products, from cosmetics and soaps to rubbers and plastics. Zinc oxide is also extracted from some compounds and heated in order to revert it back into pure zinc (Davis, 2016). Zinc phosphate is another compound, often used in paints as a pigment. However, it’s use in the paint also creates protection for metals against rust (Danker, 2016). Zinc chloride, when mixed with water, can also help to protect wood from decay and insects (Davis, 2016). Brass, a mixture of zinc and copper, is also used very frequently in modern projects. Brass is made by melting copper in a furnace and adding solid chunks of zinc, which rapidly melts into the copper. A layer of charcoal is often placed over the mixture to reduce the loss of zinc through vaporization. Brass’s uses range from hardware and electrical fixtures to musical instruments and jewelry. It’s first extensive use, however, was by Romans almost two-thousand years ago, who used brass for ornaments, coins, and kettles (Melford,