The most important river is the Segura, in the south, which provides the water to Alicante, Elche, Torrevieja, Orihuela and other cities. There are others like Vinalopo, Serpis, Amadorio, Ravine of the Sheeps and Monnegre.
The biggest mountain is Aitana, and other mountains are Mariola, Puig Bell, Maigmo and Gold Head, near Alicante. In the coast there are islands, the most important is Tabarca, and other is the Benidorm island. An important coast success is the Penon of Ifach, in Calpe.
The activities in Alicante province are tourism, industry (shoes, carpets, plays, dolls, textiles) and modern agriculture of regadium (oranges, lemons, tomatoes, almonds, wine). There are two universities: University of Alicante and University of Michael Hernandez.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; , ;), also known as Turkmenia, is a country in South-Central Asia. It has borders with Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. It has no ocean but it is on the Caspian Sea to the west. The capital of Turkmenistan is Ashghabat.
The majority of the country is Muslim at 93%.
Turkmenistan is a non-aligned and fully neutral country.
Turkmenistan was a part of the Soviet Union since its creation, in 1922. At first, Turkmenistan was an autonomous republic within Russian SFSR. In 1925 it was promoted to a Soviet republic. Turkmenistan is an independent country since 1991, after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Saparmurat Niyazov became Turkmenistan’s first president in 1991.
Turkmenistan is divided into five provinces and one capital city district. The provinces are divided into districts which may be either counties or cities.
Turkmenistan is one of the driest desert areas in the world. Some places have an average annual precipitation of only . The highest temperature recorded in Ashgabat is . Kerki, an extreme inland city located on the banks of the Amu Darya river, recorded in July 1983, but this value is unofficial. 50.1C is the highest temperature recorded at Repetek Reserve, recognized as the highest temperature ever recorded in the whole former Soviet Union.
Turkmenistan is the world's 52nd-largest country. It is slightly smaller than Spain and somewhat larger than the US state of California. Over 80% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert.
The Turkmen shore along the Caspian Sea is long. The Caspian Sea is entirely landlocked, with no access to the ocean.
The major cities include Aşgabat, Türkmenbaşy (formerly Krasnovodsk) and Daşoguz.
Turkmenistan has a humid climate. Annual rainfall is low, particularly in summer. Winters are dry and mild. The wettest region in Turkmenistan is Köýtendağ Range. Köýtendağ is situated in southeastern Turkmenistan on the borders with Uzbekistan.
Caesium
Caesium (or cesium) is the chemical element with the atomic number 55 on the periodic table. Its symbol is Cs.
Caesium is an alkali metal. Its melting point is low (28 °C). It is extremely reactive. Because of its high reactivity, it is a dangerous chemical. It may set itself on fire (ignite) in air. It explodes on contact with water. It reacts more violently than the other alkali metals with water. Because of this, caesium is stored in mineral oil.
Caesium is a rare element. Since there is little caesium on the Earth, it is rather expensive. The human body does not need caesium. In large amounts, its chemical compounds are mildly poisonous because it is close to potassium, which the body does need.
Caesium was first described in 1861, by Gustav Robert Kirchhoff and Robert Wilhelm Bunsen. They were testing mineral water, from Bad Dürkheim. After they separated calcium, strontium, magnesium and lithium, they saw two lines in the "blue" range of the spectrum. Because of these lines, they concluded that in addition to the elements already found, there must be another unknown substance in the mineral water. They named this substance caesium, after the color blue.
Caesium has at least 39 known isotopes ranging in atomic mass from 112 to 151. Only one of these, Cs, is stable. Therefore, the naturally-occurring isotope of caesium is Cs, which is not radioactive. Cs is used in atomic clocks, its vibration frequency used to define the length of the second. Another isotope, Cs is not made naturally but is made after nuclear fission has been done. It is very radioactive and used as an industrial gamma ray source.
Caesium forms compounds with many other chemical elements. Caesium formate is used in oil drilling because of its high density.
Caesium is extremely reactive in air and water. Caesium rapidly oxidizes in air and can spontaneously combust (randomly catch on fire) at any moment. For this reason, it must be stored in kerosene or a mineral oil, like other group one elements (Lithium, Natrium, Rubidium, and Francium.) In water, Caesium violently reacts to make Caesium Hydroxide (2CsOH). The Caesium sinks for about one second, then explodes. The explosion is over 50 times the size of the size of the element dropped in the water, and the explosion is enough to break a common Pyrex Beaker, Flask, or Test Tube. You can find a video of the reaction here.
Rubidium
Rubidium is chemical element 37 on the periodic table. Its symbol is Rb. Its atomic mass is 85.47. It has 37 protons and 37 electrons. It is a soft silver colored metal. It was first discovered in 1861 by Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchoff in Heidelberg, Germany.
Rubidium melts at a very low temperature, for example it could melt in a person's hand. Rubidium is an alkali metal. It can make an amalgam with mercury.
Rubidium is very reactive. It will ignite in air because it reacts with many other elements in the air like oxygen and nitrogen. Rubidium reacts very violently with water to make hydrogen and rubidium hydroxide, a strong corrosive base. The reaction is normally very hot so the hydrogen ignites.
Rubidium forms chemical compounds in only one oxidation state: +1. Some rubidium compounds have a mixed oxidation state, though. Rubidium chloride is the most common rubidium compound. Rubidium hydroxide and rubidium carbonate are also used commonly. Rubidium compounds makes a red-violet color in a flame. Most rubidium compounds are colorless. Rubidium compounds are not as common as other alkali metal compounds, such get sodium compounds. Otherwise, they are similar.
Rubidium is about as common as zinc. It is the 23rd most common element in the Earth's crust. Most minerals only have a small amount of rubidium in them. It normally comes in small quantities in other minerals. It is made by reduction of rubidium ores with calcium. It is expensive because calcium is difficult to make and the rubidium needs to be kept in argon and away from water or air.
There are not many common uses for rubidium. Rubidium compounds are sometimes used in purple fireworks. It and its compounds are used mainly in science research though. It is also used to make superoxide ions. It is used in some special types of glass.
Rubidium compounds are not very dangerous in the human body; however, if a person gets too much from eating, they could get sick because it acts like other alkali metal ions such as sodium ions in sodium chloride. Rats can live with up to half of their potassium replaced with rubidium, though it is not likely for that to happen.
Rubidium metal is very dangerous. It reacts with air and water and makes the corrosive substance rubidium hydroxide.
Barium
Barium is chemical element 56 on the periodic table. Its symbol is Ba. It contains 56 protons and 56 electrons. Its mass number is about 137.3. It is a metal.
Barium is part of a group of elements known as the alkaline earth metals. It is a silvery metal that easily turns black. It is soft and ductile. It can form alloys with some metals that are partially alloys and partially chemical compounds.