page_title: Nonmetal
section_title: Abundance and extraction
hierarchical_section_title: Nonmetal / Abundance and extraction
caption_attribution_description: English: Deep green isolated fluorite crystal showing cubic {100} and octahedral {111} faces, complete and undamaged, set upon a micaceous matrix. Overall size: 50 mm x 27 mm. Crystal size: 19 mm wide. Weight: 30 g. From Erongo Mountain, Erongo Region, Namibia.
context_page_description: In chemistry, a nonmetal is a chemical element that mostly lacks the characteristics of a metal. Physically, a nonmetal tends to have a relatively low melting point, boiling point, and density. A nonmetal is typically brittle when solid and usually has poor thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. Chemically, nonmetals tend to have relatively high ionization energy, electron affinity, and electronegativity. They gain or share electrons when they react with other elements and chemical compounds. Seventeen elements are generally classified as nonmetals: most are gases; one is a liquid; and a few are solids. Metalloids such as boron, silicon, and germanium are sometimes counted as nonmetals.
  The nonmetals are divided into two categories reflecting their relative propensity to form chemical compounds: reactive nonmetals and noble gases. The reactive nonmetals vary in their nonmetallic character. The less electronegative of them, such as carbon and sulfur, mostly have weak to moderately strong nonmetallic properties and tend to form covalent compounds with metals.
context_section_description: Hydrogen and helium are estimated to make up approximately 99 per cent of all ordinary matter in the universe. Less than five percent of the Universe is believed to be made of ordinary matter, represented by stars, planets and living beings. The balance is made of dark energy and dark matter, both of which are poorly understood at present.
  Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen constitute the great bulk of the Earth's atmosphere, oceans, crust, and biosphere; the remaining nonmetals have abundances of 0.5 per cent or less. In comparison, 35 per cent of the crust is made up of the metals sodium, magnesium, aluminium, potassium and iron; together with a metalloid, silicon. All other metals and metalloids have abundances within the crust, oceans or biosphere of 0.2 per cent or less.
  Nonmetals, and metalloids, in their elemental forms are extracted from: brine: Cl, Br, I; liquid air: N, O, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe; minerals: B (borate minerals); C (coal; diamond; graphite); F (fluorite); Si (silica) P (phosphates); Sb (stibnite, tetrahedrite); I (in sodium iodate NaIO₃ and sodium iodide NaI); natural gas: H, He, S; and from ores, as processing byproducts: Ge (zinc ores); As (copper and lead ores); Se, Te (copper ores); and Rn (uranium bearing ores). Astatine is produced in minute quantities by irradiating bismuth.
caption: Fluorite, a source of fluorine
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