Sodium
| Atomic Number: | 11 |
| Symbol: | Na |
| Atomic Weight: | 22.98977 |
| Discovery: | Davy 1807 |
| Electron Configuration: | [Ne]3s1 |
| Word Origin: | English soda and Medieval Latin sodanum: headache remedy; Latin natrium |
| Isotopes: | Seven isotopes of sodium are known. |
| Properties: | Sodium has a melting point of 97.81 +/- 0.03°C, boiling point of 882.9°C, specific gravity of 0.971 (20°C), and a valence of 1. Sodium is a bright, silvery metal. It is soft and highly reactive. Sodium floats on water, which decomposes it to evolve hydrogen and form the hydroxide. Sodium may ignite spontaneously on water. It does not usually ignite in air at temperatures below 115°C. |
| Uses: | Sodium chloride is important for animal nutrition. Sodium compounds are used in the glass, soap, paper, textile, chemical, petroleum, and metal industries. Metallic sodium is used in manufacturing of sodium peroxide, sodium cyanide, sodamide, and sodium hydride. Sodium is used in preparing tetraethyl lead. It is used in the reduction of organic esters and preparation of organic compounds. Sodium metal may be used to improve the structure of some alloys, to descale metal, and to purify molten metals. Sodium, as well as NaK, an alloy of sodium with potassium, are important heat transfer agents. |
| Sources: | Sodium is relatively abundant in the sun and other stars. The D lines of sodium are prominent in the solar spectrum. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element on earth. It comprises approximately 2.6% of the earth's crust. Sodium is the most abundant of the alkali metals. The most common sodium compound is sodium chloride (salt). Sodium occurs in many minerals, such as cryolite, soda niter, zeolite, amphibole, and sodalite. Sodium is not found free in nature. It is obtained commercially by the electrolysis of dry fused sodium chloride. |
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