Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Favorite element

Favorite element

copperastic - 17-3-2014 at 12:17

Hi, I was wondering what everyones favorite element is. Mine is copper.

HgDinis25 - 17-3-2014 at 12:22

I believe the correct place to post this is in Miscellaneous . However my favourite element has always been mercury.
To start, it's the most beautiful metal. That shiny liquid, so so so dense, never ceases to amaze me. Having it floating around in a Petri dish is one of the most beautiful sites a human being can ever lay eyes upon.
Then you have all the ignorance and myths about elemental mercury toxicity and plain stupidity that make it look an evil demon, wich is very appealing to me.
Of course, aquous chemistry with mercury isn't as fun as other transition metals, but the possibility of amlgamation beats that xD

copperastic - 17-3-2014 at 12:24

Oh sorry i dont really get want goes in what section. My dad once got mad at me for taking the cap off my thermostat to look at the mercury.

IrC - 17-3-2014 at 13:17

Iridium

HgDinis25 - 17-3-2014 at 13:18

Quote: Originally posted by IrC

Iridium

May I ask why?

Zyklon-A - 17-3-2014 at 13:39

Iodine or sulfur, although it has changed a lot over the past few months, and likely will change again.
I like both of them because of the cool covalent compounds that they can make.

unionised - 17-3-2014 at 13:47

Gold!
Lots of Gold!

blogfast25 - 17-3-2014 at 14:01

Unununium.

plante1999 - 17-3-2014 at 14:01

Platinum, mercury, Titanium, and chlorine I think

macckone - 17-3-2014 at 14:10

Hydrogen - everything starts with hydrogen

forgottenpassword - 17-3-2014 at 15:53

Fire.

HgDinis25 - 17-3-2014 at 15:54

Quote: Originally posted by forgottenpassword

Fire.

Water beats fire...

bismuthate - 17-3-2014 at 16:04

Arsenic or antimony. (Probably arsenic)

[Edited on 18-3-2014 by bismuthate]

forgottenpassword - 17-3-2014 at 16:06

True. Lead then, because it's the lead compound.

Dany - 17-3-2014 at 16:13

Californium 252 (²⁵²Cf)

²⁵²Cf was discovered in the debris of the first U.S thermonuclear explosion (Ivy Mike, 1952). Glenn SEABORG found that 3% of ²⁵²Cf atoms decays by spontaneous fission (and the rest via alpha decaying), which make ²⁵²Cf a compact source of neutron for research. One microgram of ²⁵²Cf emits 2.314×10⁶ fast neutrons/s.

Dany.

[Edited on 18-3-2014 by Dany]

Metacelsus - 17-3-2014 at 16:58

Carbon -- its chemistry is so interesting and complex.

Zephyr - 17-3-2014 at 17:04

My favorite elements are bromine, mercury and sodium.

numos - 17-3-2014 at 17:06

Bromine!

So beautiful - dark blood red, you wouldn't think it was a pure element if you didn't know what it was. To me it's the most unique element, the only liquid nonmetal at room temp.

But so toxic - everything has a dark side.

Also it's a halogen, and like the rest of the halogens, it's so wonderfully reactive - it loves to bond!

Praxichys - 17-3-2014 at 18:41

I second Cheddite and go with carbon. It's the nuts and bolts for the world around us.

sasan - 18-3-2014 at 02:49

Chromium,cobalt
Both of these elements have a wide range of complexes in all colors
And the fat osmium !!most dense material man discovered,and very expensive and rare

nezza - 18-3-2014 at 14:17

Have to go with Caesium or Phosphorus.

Caesium - Commercial samples are a lovely pale gold colour and it melts in your hand (In a sealed vial of course). It also has some interesting reactions with water and a pretty flame colour.

White Phosphorus - So beautiful and so dangerous.

DraconicAcid - 18-3-2014 at 14:21

Quote: Originally posted by sasan

Chromium,cobalt
Both of these elements have a wide range of complexes in all colors
And the fat osmium !!most dense material man discovered,and very expensive and rare

Spoken like someone who has never worked with osmium. God, that stuff reeks. I will never, ever again work with that shit.

HgDinis25 - 18-3-2014 at 14:24

Quote: Originally posted by DraconicAcid

Quote: Originally posted by sasan

Chromium,cobalt
Both of these elements have a wide range of complexes in all colors
And the fat osmium !!most dense material man discovered,and very expensive and rare

Spoken like someone who has never worked with osmium. God, that stuff reeks. I will never, ever again work with that shit.

Hahaha the smell of Osmium Tetroxide. Don't think it is bad until you've tried Phenyl Isonitrile...

IrC - 18-3-2014 at 15:40

Quote: Originally posted by HgDinis25

Quote: Originally posted by IrC

Iridium

May I ask why?

Because it is easier to obtain than unobtainium? Because it's the shinier half of my forum name?

Brain&Force - 18-3-2014 at 16:27

Terbium! It's fluorescent and magnetic. Gallium is also pretty interesting, as are holmium, vanadium, and chromium. I'd like to get my hands on europium as well, because its different oxidation states apparently have different fluorescent properties.

The lanthanides are a really underrated group of elements.

OctanitroC - 18-3-2014 at 17:56

Osmium, Cesium, and Xenon! Heavy stuff, explosive stuff, and bright stuff. I've got a soft spot for heavy elements...

Bezaleel - 19-3-2014 at 09:09

Molybdenum. I love the large variety of structures it can build.

zig - 19-3-2014 at 11:43

Quote: Originally posted by Bezaleel

Molybdenum. I love the large variety of structures it can build.

Oh yeah, this guy gets it.

Holy molybdenum Batman!

Texium - 20-3-2014 at 16:36

Americium.
USA! USA!

Nah, just kidding. Though it is somewhat special to me, as I chose to make a model of it in 7th grade when everyone had to make a 3-D Bohr model for a project. I chose it because it's the biggest one that still has a practical everyday use (smoke detectors).
Really though I haven't picked a favorite. The periodic table is such a wonderful place with so many unique characters that as soon as I feel like I have a favorite element another one takes its place!

copperastic - 20-3-2014 at 16:42

zts16 that happens to me too (were you pick one for your favorite then you like another one).

GoldGuy - 21-3-2014 at 03:18

Gold. But I also like mercury because it can dissolve Gold

Texium - 22-3-2014 at 19:34

Wow GoldGuy, I never would have guessed! (:

The Volatile Chemist - 22-3-2014 at 19:45

All the Halides, but my favorites in-compound are Iron and Copper, so versatile!

Chemistry_Keegan - 23-3-2014 at 07:48

One element that consistently stays one of my favourites is osmium. It's the densest element, being almost two times denser than lead, and it's a blue metal, which is just flat out awesome. It's tetroxide is also a pretty transparent greenish colour, but it's ridiculously toxic. Oh well, osmium is still amazing

Zyklon-A - 23-3-2014 at 08:46

I thought that only osmium tetroxide is toxic, and because osmium forms the tetroxide in air, it is always toxic.

Texium - 23-3-2014 at 09:11

No, the tetroxide only forms in air when the osmium is a finely divided powder. If you have a nice chunk of it it's perfectly harmless. (I would love to have a nice chunk of osmium… that would be really cool)

Brain&Force - 23-3-2014 at 12:46

Osmium awesomeness:

Heating osmium chunks to 400 degrees C will cause them to start producing the tetroxide. The tetroxide is yellowish because some is reduced back to osmium dioxide.

Silicon is a pretty cool element - it's so light and shiny. It would probably be good for jewelry, but it's too brittle. I'd also like some indium, that way I could bend and scratch metal with my bare hands. Or some europium for its fluorescence: red in the trivalent state, blue in the divalent state. Or some rhodium - because it's rare and I could sell it for a big profit.

smaerd - 23-3-2014 at 13:57

Hmmm..

Carbon, bismuth, and silicon. I'm sure this will end up changing eventually but I think carbon will always be my number 1.

Love the way those osmium crystals look. Shame about osmium compounds toxicity I'd love to acquire some of the raw element for a collection.

DraconicAcid - 23-3-2014 at 13:58

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

Osmium awesomeness:

Alright, I will admit that those are beautiful crystals. But I'll take rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, or even rusty iron over osmium any day.

Zyklon-A - 23-3-2014 at 14:10

Quote: Originally posted by DraconicAcid

Alright, I will admit that those are beautiful crystals. But I'll take rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, or even rusty iron over osmium any day.

Rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium I can understand. But rusty iron?? Why?

[Edited on 23-3-2014 by Zyklonb]

Etaoin Shrdlu - 23-3-2014 at 14:19

Bismuth. I think this was always a foregone conclusion.

Although, rusty iron is also nice.

Brain&Force - 23-3-2014 at 15:25

Aw man I completely forgot about bismuth. Hopper crystals are awesome. I read that if you leave the iridescent crystals in nitric acid, the iridescent layer disappears. A tin impurity will prevent it from forming at all.

Anyone know any brands of fishing weights that contain bismuth?

The Volatile Chemist - 23-3-2014 at 16:17

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

Aw man I completely forgot about bismuth. Hopper crystals are awesome. I read that if you leave the iridescent crystals in nitric acid, the iridescent layer disappears. A tin impurity will prevent it from forming at all.

Anyone know any brands of fishing weights that contain bismuth?

Almost all of the "Bio Friendly" ones do.

rskennymore - 24-3-2014 at 15:14

Gotta go with the big W. It stay's cool no matter how hot it gets. :cool:

Texium - 24-3-2014 at 15:20

Haha, so very true

Most all of them...

Xenon1898 - 24-3-2014 at 20:00

Sorry, I just can't choose a favorite. I like most all of them for various reasons. Whether it's the super reactivity of F or the inertness of Xe, the rarity of Pt/Au/Pd, the toughness of the transition metals (in alloys), and the uniqueness of just about every one I can see on the periodic chart. Can't say I know much about elements with atomic numbers 105 and up, but when I looked at the chart as a kid they weren't there, so they are all the more mysterious. Nope, can't decide on a favorite, too many lovely elements!

Metacelsus - 25-3-2014 at 03:45

Xe is not inert.

Quote:

Although generally unreactive, xenon can undergo a few chemical reactions such as the formation of xenon hexafluoroplatinate, the first noble gas compound to be synthesized.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenon

Xenon1898 - 25-3-2014 at 19:41

Everything is relative. Xe is relatively inert, just as I would refer to other noble gases and some elements as "inert". N2 is relatively inert, but there are many N compounds. I had watched that neat old video posted by plante1999 on Xe reactivity before I posted, so I knew some Xe compounds could be formed when I referred to it as inert.

But I still can't decide on a favorite. Maybe silver, iodine, strontium, chlorine, and of course xenon would be near the top of my list.

The Volatile Chemist - 26-3-2014 at 05:53

Quote: Originally posted by Xenon1898

Everything is relative. Xe is relatively inert, just as I would refer to other noble gases and some elements as "inert". N2 is relatively inert, but there are many N compounds. I had watched that neat old video posted by plante1999 on Xe reactivity before I posted, so I knew some Xe compounds could be formed when I referred to it as inert.

But I still can't decide on a favorite. Maybe silver, iodine, strontium, chlorine, and of course xenon would be near the top of my list.

You tell 'em

Yea, strontium is probably one of my favorites too Strontium nitrate was the first oddball chemical I ever got, which triggered me buying way too much barium nitrate later on in life (I hate having large quantities of poisons).

Steam - 26-3-2014 at 06:06

Flourine, because it steals every electron it wants. :cool:

Brain&Force - 26-3-2014 at 10:00

Quote: Originally posted by rskennymore

Gotta go with the big W. It stay's cool no matter how hot it gets. :cool:

Not exactly.

http://what-if.xkcd.com/89

[Edited on 26.3.2014 by Brain&Force]

rskennymore - 29-3-2014 at 05:54

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

Quote: Originally posted by rskennymore

Gotta go with the big W. It stay's cool no matter how hot it gets. :cool:

Not exactly.

http://what-if.xkcd.com/89

[Edited on 26.3.2014 by Brain&Force]

Great, now I want a countertop made of tungsten.

Texium - 29-3-2014 at 06:03

I just looked up tungsten countertops, and unsurprisingly, they don't sell them anywhere. However, they do sell countertops in this beige color which they call tungsten for no logical reason. (:

Xenon1898 - 30-3-2014 at 19:41

Quote: Originally posted by Steam

Flourine, because it steals every electron it wants. :cool:

What is the picture of?

Zephyr - 30-3-2014 at 19:48

Quote: Originally posted by Xenon1898

Quote: Originally posted by Steam

Flourine, because it steals every electron it wants. :cool:

What is the picture of?

This is a picture from a Periodicvideos video about fluorine and is a picture of the ignition of fluorine with charcoal.

Zyklon-A - 30-3-2014 at 19:49

Fluorine reacting with carbon.
As seen in this video.
Ahh, Pinkhippo11 beat me to it.

[Edited on 31-3-2014 by Zyklonb]

krfkeith - 30-3-2014 at 23:59

Tantalum

It's exceedingly rare. According to Wikipedia, in the solar system, it is the rarest non-radioactive element, and second overall besides Uranium.

It has a beautiful blue/purple tinge to it.

It's one of the most refractory metals known.

It has utterly insane resistance to corrosion from almost any chemical you can imagine.

It can be anodized similar to Titanium and Niobium to form pretty, colorful oxide layers.

It has the only known indefinitely stable/naturally occurring nuclear isomer. Decay of Ta-180m has never been observed. In fact, Ta-180m is the rarest isotope in the universe.

Tantalum is just all around awesome!

[Edited on 31-3-2014 by krfkeith]

[Edited on 31-3-2014 by krfkeith]

Steam - 31-3-2014 at 05:49

Mercury Is one of those elements that has always made me excited!

violet sin - 31-3-2014 at 06:53

Ag, runners up Ni, Ta, Co.