Argon

What is argon?
Argon is a gaseous element. It is the 3rd most common gas on Earth. It was discovered by Sir William Ramsay of Scotland in 1894. Argon forms a clathrate with b hydroquinone, which is stable yet without true chemical bonds. Argon is two and a half times more soluble in water than nitrogen, which is the exact same solubility as water has to oxygen.


Argon is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless noble gas, but turns electric blue when mixed with other elements, as seen to the right. The blue inside the tube is argon, while the glow is being produced by the mercury around the tube's inside.

What is argon used for?
While argon doesn't have AS MANY uses as some other elements I have covered previously, it is very important and is used in:

• Electric Lights
• Fluorescent Tubes
• Photo Tubes
• Glow Tubes
• Lasers

Argon is also used as an inert gas for welding and cutting, blanketing reactive elements, and as a protective atmosphere for growing silicon and germanium crystals.

Where does argon come from?
Argon is prepared by fractionating liquid air. The Earth's atmosphere contains 0.94% argon, while Mars' atmosphere contains 1.6% argon. Argon was the first noble gas ever to be discovered. Along with argon, Sir Ramsay discovered all of the other noble gases except for raden. Argon is also produced commercially by fractional distillation of air.

Tiger's Eye Gemstone

What is a tiger's eye?
Tiger's eye, also known as tiger iron, is a member of the quartz group of chalcedonies. It is one of the chatoyant gemstones, meaning that it has many mixed colors in one stone. Chatoyancy exhibits a changeable silky luster as light is reflected within the thin parallel fibrous bands. This effect is due to the fibrous structure of the material.

Tiger iron is made out of tiger's eye, red jasper, and black hematite. The rippled wavy bands of color often resemble a scenic view. Marra Mamba is a form of tiger iron found in one area of Australia near Mount Brockman. It is a very rare type of tiger iron that contains shades of red, green, yellow, and blue. This area has been mined out for many years so very little of the "true" marra mamba is available today.

Where is tiger iron found?
As mentioned above, tiger iron can be mined in Australia. However, it can also be mined in these places:

• South Africa
• USA
• Canada
• India
• Namibia
• Burma

Tiger Iron is often turned into artwork using carving tools to make beautiful landscapes using different colors of Marra Mamba, as seen in the picture to the right. The picture shows a carving depicting a mountain range.

The mystic Tiger's Eye

Wearing tiger iron is supposed to be good for health and spiritual well being. Legend says it is a great psychic protector and is good for business.

Chlorine

What is chlorine?

Pure chlorine in gas form

Chlorine is a very disgusting element... but not really. I am only calling it disgusting because when in pure gas form, it looks a lot like urine. It has the same greenish yellow color- yuck. Chlorine is often made from organic chemistry reactions, but is also found free in nature when combined with other elements, mainly sodium and carnallite. It is known to be very irritating. When at a high pressure point, it turns red.

What is chlorine used for?
Chlorine is used for many things, it's main use being disinfection of drinking water. It is also used in the production of:

• Textiles
• Papers
• Dyes
• Petroleum Products
• Medicines
• Disinfectants
• Foods
• Plastics
• Paints

And many other things too.... the list goes on. Chlorine was also used as a chemical warfare agent, and chlorine gas was used as a chemical weapon during World War I. Chlorine, being heavier than air, would form a deadly layer over foxholes and trenches. Also, chlorine leaks in containers were found using ammonia. When the ammonia gas found the leak, the chlorine and ammonia gas would mix, creating a whitish mist.

Chlorine is also used in many bleach products.

Sulfur

What is sulfur?
Pure sulfur is a rock mineral that is pale yellow, brittle, and odorless. It is insoluble to water. While strong smells are usually connected to sulfur, pure sulfur is odorless. The smell comes from other minerals mixed in with the sulfur. Sulfur burns a blue flame when tested on. Molten sulfur comes out red. This is the only time sulfur can be a color other than yellow without being mixed with something else.

Where is sulfur found?
Sulfur is a naturally occurring mineral that can be found in the following:

• Meteorites
• Hot Springs
• Volcanoes
• Natural Gas
• Petroleum Oil

It is also found in other minerals, as listed:

• Galena
• Iron Pyrite
• Sphalerite
• Stibnite
• Cinnabar
• Epsom Salts
• Gypsum
• Celestite
• Barite

The Frasch process may also be used to extract sulfur from water using a process where heated water and salt are forced into a well, thus releasing the sulfur.

What is sulfur used for?

Sulfur has a number of different uses. It is needed to make gunpowder. Sulfur is used in making fertilizers, fumigants, and fungicides. Sulfur is used to make paper and also as a bleaching agent. Sulfric acid is also made with sulfur. While sulfur is an element essential in our lives, it is also highly toxic, and a overdose on smell can affect your nose to the point of losing all sense of smell.

Phosphorus

What is phosphorus?
Phosphorus is a rather colorful element that comes in wax form and in 4 different colors- red, black, violet, and yellow. However, its base color is always white. It is colorless and transparent in its natural form. Phosphorus is insoluble to water, but soluble to carbon disulfide.

Phosphorus burn spontaneously in air due to its pentoxide. It is extremely poisonous, its lethal dose being only 50 mg. Phosphorus should be stored underwater at all times and handled with forceps. If it comes in contact with your skin, it can leave deep burns. White phosphorus is converted to red phosphorus when put in the sunlight or boiled in its own vapor at 250 degrees celsius.  

What is phosphorus used for?
Different types of phosphorus are used for different things. For example, red phosphorus is used for the tips of safety matches, while white phosphorus is used in the making of glass and fertilizer. However, red phosphorus IS the most stable, and is used in the following products:

Chinaware
Baking Powder
Tracer Bullets
Incendiary Devices
Pesticides
Cleaners
Water Softener
Steel
Bronze

In animals, phosphorus is an important part of cytoplasm. For humans, it is essential for proper nervous system and skeletal structure and function.

Pearl

What is a pearl? (and where does it come from)
Pearls are nature-made gemstones that are very beautiful. They are made by mollusks such as oysters and clams. Formation starts when a tiny bit of sand or a small stones gets into a mollusk's shell. To protect itself from scratches (as mollusks have very soft insides), the mollusk leaks a substance called nacre out of it's shell, and as the layers of nacre form, so does the pearl. The building of a pearl can take up to 7 or 8 years. (Pearls are also the official birthstone of those born in June.)

The most valuable pearls are perfectly spherical, are large, and have a special iridescent shine to them. The best pearls come from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Chinese pearls come from ponds and rivers, while Japanese pearls come from the saltwater shores of the sea. There are many different types of pearls:

Natural Pearls- Made without human interference
Cultured Pearls- When an object is intentionally shoved inside of a mollusk, forming a pearl. This technique was first tried in 1893.
Baroque Pearls- Pearls with irregular shapes
Biwa Pearls- They are irregularly shaped pearls that are found in Lake Biwa, Japan.
Blister Pearls- Pearls that grow attached to the inside of the mollusk.
Black Pearls- Pearls in gray to black colors.
Seed Pearls- The small, cultured pearls that are used in Victorian jewelry and are sewn onto clothing.

A pearl can be from pink to black. Coloring depends on what type of mollusk it is from and where the mollusk lived. Since the nacre that coats the pearls is organic, pearls are very heat sensitive and care should be taken when storing them. They are also very soft, only a 3.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness, and should not be worn often to prevent damage.

Silicon

What is silicon?
Silicon is the 14th element in the periodic table. It is the second most abundant element found next to oxygen, and makes up 27% of the Earth's crust. It is also the most useful element, as many things can be made from it. But more about that later. Right now you probably want to know what silicon looks like. Silicon's natural form is a brown or gray powder, depending on the type of silicon. Amorphous is brown, and crystalline is gray.

Where is silicon found?
As mentioned above, silicon makes up 27% of the Earth's crust. However, it can also be found in bones and plant ashes. Diatoms extract silicon from water to build their cell walls. While silicon is not found free in nature, it can be found inside of most gemstones and even sand. It is also found in the stars and the sun.

What is silicon used for?
Silicon is the most used element, and is very important in the lives of animals and plants. As I said above, Diatoms extract it for their cells. Silicon is a main component in making steel. It is also used to create lasers and wafers for computers. It comes in hard and liquid form, and when in liquid form can be used for an adhesive, a sealant, and an insulator. Sand and clays (hard form) are used to make building materials.

Silicon can be made by heating silica and carbon in an electric furnace using carbon electrodes. It can also be made into a mineral form, to be melted or vaporized. I hope everyone learned a lot about silicon. I know I did.

Maddie