The Element Cesium
Cesium was discovered in 1860 by R. Bunsen using the process of spectroanalysis ( spectroanalysis is the chemical analysis of a mixture of substances or of a complex substance by study of a spectra). Cesium is the heaviest of all alkali metals because of it’s atomic weight. Cesium’s description, however, seemingly contradicts this statement because it is described as, “ A soft, light, very low-melting metal, and is the most reactive of all the elements” (Sittig p. 446). Before 1958, little was known about Cesium because of it’s relative unavailability in the chemical market; Cesium compounds were very expensive until lithium by- products were found to have trace amounts of isolatable ...
Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers
|
violently with organic compounds, it is considered the most reactive of Alkali metals. There are four principle compounds that make up Cesium’s structure: Cesium Chloride, Cesium Fluoride, Cesium Carbonate, and Cesium Sulfate. The most important compound is Chloride, which is used as a constituent of getter mixtures of vacuum tubes. Cesium is identified qualitatively by it’s blue flame. When determining quantitative amount of Cesium, the fact that Cesium forms an extremely insoluble alum is a major factor.
Cesium is not very abundant on in the earth’s crust- only around seven parts per million . This does, however, place Cesium concentration above that of Beryllium, Arsenic, Uranium, and Boron in abundance. Trace amounts of Cesium have been detected in sea water, plant/animal organisms, mineral water, and soil. Cesium is not considered a pure halide form (like Potassium or Sodium), but a Cesium -rich mineral, pollucite, can be found in Elba, South Africa; Maine and South Dakota, ...
Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.
Already a member? Login
|
CITE THIS PAGE:
The Element Cesium. (2005, September 19). Retrieved November 5, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Element-Cesium/33525
"The Element Cesium." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 19 Sep. 2005. Web. 5 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Element-Cesium/33525>
"The Element Cesium." Essayworld.com. September 19, 2005. Accessed November 5, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Element-Cesium/33525.
"The Element Cesium." Essayworld.com. September 19, 2005. Accessed November 5, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Element-Cesium/33525.
|
Save
Report