Rubidium

What is rubidium?

Rubidium is the 37th element in the periodic table. It was discovered by R. Bunsen and G. Kirchoff of Germany in 1861. It was discovered in a mineral petalite via its dark red spectral lines.

 It makes sense that the word rubidus in Latin means 'deepest red". However, rubidium itself is not deep red. It is actually a soft, silvery white metallic element of the alkali group.

Rubidium is liquid at room temperature, but is very dangerous as it ignites spontaneously in air and reacts violently in water, setting fire to liberated hydrogen. Therefore, it must be stored under dry mineral oil, in a vacuum, or in an inert atmosphere.


Some Facts About Rubidium:

• Rubidium melts at a temperature just above that of the human body.
• Rubidium was discovered through spectroscopy, when the two scientists discovered two deep red spectral lines in their sample of petalite. They named rubidium after the Latin term for 'deepest red'.
• Rubidium is often used in fireworks to give them a red/violet color.