DionSukhram6 - 11-6-2017 at 19:15
I'm doing a final project on the element bismuth for my AP Chem class but I need to present it and a few things are hard for me to explain.
- Why is it that Bi expands when it freezes?
- In terms of quantum mechanics, what are diamagnetism and paramagnetism and what makes Bi the most diamagnetic?
- Why does it have such a low thermal conductivity compared to other metals?
- What makes it relatively un-reactive (why won't it dissolve in HCl)?
j_sum1 - 11-6-2017 at 20:09
Two seconds on Google
https://www.boundless.com/chemistry/textbooks/boundless-chem...
You are probably going to find that we won't do your homework around here. You might find some people link to useful sites that they use. Sounds
like an interesting project actually. But you will need to do some reading.
Melgar - 12-6-2017 at 17:29
Oh, another interesting thing about bismuth is that its single stable isotope is actually radioactive, but with a ridiculously long half-life.
Although, you probably read the wikipedia page too.
Bismuth is also only twice as common as gold, but worth very little. It's an interesting example of supply and demand. Bismuth isn't mined by
itself, it's actually produced in the course of mining other metals. This has the effect of increasing supply. Demand for it is also low, because
frankly, it's not a very interesting element, at least industrially. So despite it being an uncommon element, it's hardly worth anything.
I believe that it actually is quite reactive, however in water, its chloride salt reacts to form an insoluble polymerization-type compound that
protects the surface from further reaction.
clearly_not_atara - 12-6-2017 at 18:29
I think it's diamagnetic because its unpaired electrons have a larger shell to have their orbitals deformed within. Bismuth is the biggest stable atom
(although it isn't really stable)