Aluminium

What is aluminium?

Elemental Structure of Aluminum

Aluminium, best known as aluminum, is an ore that makes up 8% of the Earth's crust. Since it is not a naturally occurring element, it has to be derived from the ore found in many rocks called bauxite.

 It took years for scientists to come up with the process that allowed them to produce enough aluminum for us to enjoy it in everyday objects. In fact, it wasn't until 1886 that Charles Martin Hall discovered the method used today to produce aluminum in the numbers we do.
 
After I mentioned aluminum, you probably thought automatically of foil wrap. If so, you are correct. But aluminum isn't just for small things, like everyday soda cans and foil- it is also used in much larger things, such as airplanes and cars. Since aluminum is so lightweight, durable, and doesn't rust easy, it is used in a lot of other things including:
Window and door frames
Electronics
Mirrors
Flagpoles
Boats and trains

Topaz

What is Topaz?
Topaz is a very beautiful gem that comes in many colors, including blue, red, orange, pink, yellow and brown. Naturally pale topaz is heated up to make blue topaz by irradiation, as gems with no color (other than the diamond or opal) have not a lot of value.

Red and pink topaz jewels were used in 18th and 19th century Russian Czarinas, which is why these colors are given the name "Imperial Topaz". Even though topaz is an extremely hard gemstone, a 8 on the Mohs scale, it can be split with one blow and should be worn carefully to prevent banging.

Where are topaz found?
Topaz can be found in these places:

Brazil
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
Russia

Famous topaz can be found in museums and royal jewels as well- Here are a few examples:

The Braganza Topaz- Remember what I said earlier about gems without color being worthless? (Well, not worthless, but you know what I mean.) The Braganza Topaz, originally thought to be a diamond, is a colorless topaz that is 1680 carat. It is set in the Portugese Crown Jewels. Another famous topaz is in the Green Vault in Dresden which has one of the world's most important gem collections.

Magnesium (Mg, element #12)

What is magnesium?

Magnesium metal bar, with a penny to show size.

Magnesium is the 8th most abundant element on Earth. While it does not occur in nature, it is found in minerals like magnesite and dolomite. The metal can be obtained by electrolysis of fused magnesium derived from brines and seawater.

Also, magnesium is a main part of the human body. 50% of the magnesium in your body is found in bones and teeth, 1% is found in your blood, and the rest is found in various places around your body. Your body works hard to maintain the 1%, so blood tests are not a reliable way to check your deficiency.

Where is magnesium found, and what are it's uses?
As I mentioned above, magnesium does not occur in nature. it is found in the minerals magnesite and dolomite, and also in your blood, bones and teeth. Humans are dependent on magnesium. However, magnesium does not naturally occur in your body, so your deficiency depends on the foods and supplements you give it to increase your magnesium level.

Magnesium is also alloyed with other metals to make them lighter and more easily welded. It is also used as a reducing agent in the preparation of uranium and other metals that are purified from their salts. Magnesium is also used in pyrotechnic and incendiary machines and devices.

Sodium (Na, element #11)

What is sodium?
Sodium is the 11th element on the periodic table. It is a highly reactive element that's natural form is a sheet of metal. It is kept in oil or kerosene, because it spontaneously ignites when it is in water. What's weird is, sodium metal also floats on top of water. Sodium flame is always a bright yellow, as shown on the right in a flame test of sodium carbonate.

At room temperature, sodium metal is very durable, so durable that you could easily cut it with a butter knife. Sodium is also a very abundant element. It is found in the sun and in all stars. In fact, it makes up 2.6% of the earth's crust. While sodium on it's own can be found in the places mentioned above, it is also found in various other minerals, most commonly halite.

Why is sodium important?
Sodium is crucial to animals and to us. Animals get most of their nutrition from foods with sodium in it. Sodium also maintains fluid balance throughout the cells and bodies of humans. Without it, we would die. Sodium is also used for food preservation, cooling nuclear reactors, and in sodium vapor lamps. (Sodium vapor lamps are the lights often used as street lights.)

A fireworks show fueled entirely by sodium

Sodium also plays an important role in the creation of fireworks. It is injected into it, and once the fireworks shoot into the sky, it is responsible for the yellow, gold, and orange colored sparks in a firework.

Neon

What is neon?
Neon- That's right, there is an element called neon! Now, I am not sure about you, but when someone says neon to me, I automatically think of eye meltingly bright colors. But neon is also an important element in the periodic table of elements. Neon is a very bright yellowish orange color when in gas form, as shown on the right in this sign.

Where is neon found and how is it made?
Neon occurs naturally in nature. It was discovered by two men named Sir William Ramsey and Morris W. Travers. Fake neon is also made in factories by adding a certain form of carbon dioxide to water and coloring. Neon is the 10th element in the periodic table.

The elemental structure of neon

What is neon used for?
Neon is used in, well,  neon signs. To make the signs, glass tubes are filled with colored neon gas and are then bent into whatever shape and/or symbol that is necessary.

Neon and helium are also used to make gas lasers. Neon is also used in wave meter tubes, television tubes, and high voltage indicators. Liquid neon is often used as a refrigerant due to it's cooling properties.

Opal

What are opals???
 Opals are a VERY beautiful type of gemstone. They come in many shapes, sizes, and a large variety of colors. They can come in these colors- white, blue, green, pink, and coral. There are 2 types of Boulder Opals- Koroit and Yowah. Koroit opals are usually larger and rougher, while Yowahs have a smooth edge and are relatively small.

The Mystical Opal
 The opal is the birthstone for those born in the month of October. This means that the opal is my gemstone. Opals have been believed to help with healing of eyesight and is also supposed to help inner beauty shine through. It is also a symbol of faithfulness.

Where are opals found?

Matrix Opal

Opals are found in Australia, the land down under. The opal is created within irony brownstone boulders. When the brownstone mixes with the opal, it creates a rare hybrid called the matrix opal. Opals rank a 6 on the Mohs scale of hardness. Boulder opal is very durable due to where it is created. It has such a low amount of water in it that it almost never cracks or crazes as it ages.

Myths that you SHOULD NOT BELIEVE about the opal include:

Opals should be occasionally soaked in either baby oil or water to prevent cracking. False! Oiling your opals will only make them slippery. As I mentioned before, water content in opals is low, and this in itself prevents cracking.

Opals are extremely fragile and will break easily. False! Everyone seems to overlook the water content fact... It would take a lot of damage to break a boulder opal.

Water damages opals and causes cracks. Eh, didn't you read your other incorrect fact? Just a few paragraphs ago you were telling me to SOAK my opal in water. What, do you want my opal to crack? In any case, this is not true.

Fluorine

Fluorine Gas

What is fluorine?

Fluorine is a very dangerous element. It is a gaseous and poisonous and highly flammable element most commonly recognized by it's abnormal color- pale yellow. Fluorine is very reactive to other minerals, so much so that glass, metals, and even water burn with a bright flame in a jet of fluorine gas.

Fluorine has had 2 different names, it's first name being "fluorspar". This name was given to it by a man named George Agricola in 1546. Fluorspar means "flowing" or "to flow" in Latin. It was renamed fluorine in 1813 by English chemist Sir Humphrey Davy.

Where is fluorine found?

Fluorine can be found in bones

Fluorine is present in most volcanic gasses and thermal waters, but can also be found cryolite, seawater, bones and teeth. Fluorine can only be produced by electrolysis under special and rare conditions. Fluorine is a naturally occurring element that can be found almost anywhere.

I hope everyone enjoyed this post on fluorine and learned a little something. I know I did. You learn something new every day- like did you know that fluorine is used in the chemical fluoride? Fluoride is what dentists use on your teeth to make them white- and fluoride was once used as rat poison!!!!

Oxygen

What is oxygen???

Well, oxygen is pretty easy to explain. Without oxygen, nothing on earth could survive. Plants, animals, and humans all need oxygen to survive. In fact, more than 2/3 of your entire body is made up of oxygen. The form of oxygen that we breathe, gas oxygen, is odorless, tasteless, and colorless. The same cannot be said for liquid oxygen, however... Read on to learn more.

Liquid oxygen and it's many colors

Liquid oxygen is far different from gas oxygen. For one, in liquid form it is visible. Second of all, it has many colors in liquid form. It's standard color is a periwinkle blue, as seen on the left, but when at an exaggerated  point it is responsible for the red and yellow-green colors in an aurora. 

Where does oxygen come from?

Oxygen was once believed to come from various plants and vegetation, yet this theory was proved false. If you burned up all the plants and vegetation in the world, you would use up less than 1% oxygen. Water is the true source of oxygen.When it evaporates, it lets off clouds of H2 and O. The H2, being light enough to drift, goes into space, leaving earth with a nice balance of oxygen.

Nitrogen

Nitrogen Gas: About

Nitrogen gas, otherwise known as N2, makes up 78.1% of the Earth's air. While the gas is usually inert, soil bacteria can change the gas into a form so that animals and plants can use it to make amino acids and proteins. The image shown to the right is nitrogen gas flowing through a tube and emitting a purple glow. Nitrogen is responsible for the bright colors in an aurora.

Nitrogen is sometimes referred to as the "burnt" air, since air that no longer contains oxygen is basically all nitrogen. The French chemist that discovered nitrogen, Antoine Lavoisier, name nitrogen "azote", which means "without life". The name is perfect, since without oxygen we cannot live.

So where does nitrogen come from?

Liquid Nitrogen

Nitrogen's natural form is as gas, and as I said before, this gas is created when oxygen leaves the air, hence creating nitrogen. So technically, nitrogen is created by the air we breathe. However, nitrogen gas is often compressed in high-industry machines and brought to it's liquid form. Then, it is used to help freeze things, but it can only be kept at an extremely low and cold temperature.

Well, I hope you learned a little something about nitrogen in this post. I know I did.
Thanks for reading,
Maddie

Amber

Amber is one of the most expensive gems around. It is a bit different from other gems, however- while it's value IS held by it's size and color, it is also held by the specimen encased within it- that's right, amber usually hardens around bugs. Depending on the type of bug and the size of it, amber can get very expensive.

 A piece of amber with a queen ant in it sold for $568 on the site Amberica West. Another piece from the same site of the queen ant sold for 100,000 dollars! Who would pay THAT much for something that ugly??? I would NEVER pay that much for just a little bug I could watch outside. I'd get nightmares from the stupid thing anyway!!!

So where does amber come from?

Well, amber doesn't come from where most other gems come from. Amber isn't formed by rock, but by a tree! Sticky pine resin dripped from the trees, and small bugs and other objects got caught in the sap (explaining how the bugs got in). Dirt would cover the sap, and constant heat would harden it into amber. Judging from some of the objects found in amber, scientists are lead to believe that amber dates back over 1,000,000 years ago.

Amber is a very soft gemstone, ranking a 2 1/2 on the Mohs scale of Hardness. It is easily scratched and has to be worn and cleaned with care. To prevent frequent damage, most gems are reconstituted before being set into rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Processed and reconstituted amber usually is unscratchable and has no natural inclusions.

Carbon

Carbon

We talked about diamond a few posts back, a hardened form of carbon made over billions of years. In this post I would like to talk a bit about carbon in itself. Anything living is made out of carbon, including plants and humans. Pure carbon exists free in nature and had been known about since the prehistoric days. Carbon is considered non-toxic, though the intake of finer particles, such as soot and ash, can permanently damage your lungs.

Carbon can be found in just about everything and has many uses. Elemental Carbon can be put into many different cell structures to form diamond, the hardest material known to man, and graphite, the softest element. Carbon has limitless uses. In elemental form, it can create diamond, which is used for cutting and polishing in factories, graphite is used in pencils to prevent the lead from rusting, and charcoal is used to remove odors, tastes, and toxins.

The word "carbon" comes from the Latin word "carbo", which means charcoal in French and German. The word "charcoal" is very similar in French and German. It is a perfect name, since one of the main things carbon is in is charcoal. Carbon is also the fourth most common element in the universe, the other three being hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. Carbon is nonmetal despite it's look and can bind itself to any chemical substance forming over 10,000,000 different compounds.

So where does carbon come from? Well, studies have found that carbon is created in the center of stars. However, none was emitted when the Big Bang occurred. Carbon is often the basis for organic chemistry, as in contains many living organisms. Carbon also has the highest melting/sublimation out of all elements. The melting point for a diamond is 3550 degrees Celsius  and the melting point for carbon is 3800 degrees Celsius. 

Boron

Boron is a semi metal that slightly resembles coal in appearance. It is hard and brittle, and is as black as the night. The substance made with it, boron nitride, is used to make materials that are harder than diamond.

Boron is used for many different purposes, most commonly to help in studies working to cure arthritis. It is also used to make a product called borosilicate glass. Borosilicate glass is temperature resistant, thus makes wonderful cookware that can be put in the oven, freezer, and microwave without any damage.

Boron is also a wonderful electrical insulator and source of transportation. It works it's best when at it's highest temperature (4000 degrees Celsius, it's boiling point), and works horribly at the low temperature of 2075, it's melting point.

Boron is not an element found free in nature. It is hard to find and can only be found in rare volcanic sprig water as an acid. The acid found in the spring water is very similar to the acid found in graphite, another mineral/element. There are a few boron mines across the world, but the most productive is the one in Turkey.