Zinc»the essentials [WebElements Periodic Table] CAS Registry ID : 7440-66-6 Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous metal. It is brittle at ambient temperatures but is malleable at 100 to 150°C. It is a reasonable conductor of electricity, and burns in air at high red heat with evolution of white clouds of the oxide. The picture above shows the result from burning a mixture of zinc metal powder and sulphur (only to be demonstrated by a professionally qualified chemist). Zinc: historical information Zinc was discovered by Andreas Marggraf in 1746 at Germany. Origin of name : from the German word "zink". Centuries before zinc was recognized as a distinct element, zinc ores were used for making brass (a mixture of copper and zinc). A brass dating from between 1400-1000 BC has been found in Palestine. An alloy containing 87% zinc was found in prehistoric ruins in Transylvania. The smelting of zinc ores with copper was apparently discovered in Cyprus and was used later by the Romans.

Metallic zinc was produced in the 13th century in India by reducing calamine (zinc carbonate, ZnCO3) with organic substances such as wool. The metal was rediscovered later in Europe. William Champion set up a zinc industry in Bristol (England) in the 1740s. Other plants were established a little later in Belgium and Silesia. Sometime prior to the autumn of 1803, the Englishman John Dalton was able to explain the results of some of his studies by assuming that matter is composed of atoms and that all samples of any given compound consist of the same combination of these atoms. Dalton also noted that in series of compounds, the ratios of the masses of the second element that combine with a given weight of the first element can be reduced to small whole numbers (the law of multiple proportions). This was further evidence for atoms. Dalton's theory of atoms was published by Thomas Thomson in the 3rd edition of his System of Chemistry in 1807 and in a paper about strontium oxalates published in the Philosophical Transactions. Dalton published these ideas himself in the following year in the New System of Chemical Philosophy.

The symbol used by Dalton for zinc is shown below. [See History of Chemistry, Sir Edward Thorpe, volume 1, Watts & Co, London, 1914.] Zinc around us Read more » Zinc is essential in the diets of plants and animals. Zinc shortage in soils around the world is an important problem. Zinc is the key component of many enzymes. The protein hormone insulin contains zinc. Zinc plays a role in reproduction and also sexual maturation. Zinc deficiency resluts in stunted growth and in male sexual immaturity. This is reversed on the addition of zinc in the diet. Some organisms seem to accumulate zinc. Zinc is never found as the free metal but there are a number of important ores such as sphalerite (zincblende, zinc sulphide, ZnS), smithsonite (zinc carbonate, ZnCO3), zincspar (also zinc carbonate, ZnCO3), and marmatite (zinc sulphide, ZnS, containing some iron sulphide, FeS). Zinc is wide spread around the world. Important deposits are located in North America and Australia. Abundances for zinc in a number of different environments.

More abundance data » Location Second ionisation energy : 1733.3 kJ mol‑1 Isolation Isolation : zinc metal is readily available commercially so it is not normally necesary to make it in the laboratory. Most zinc production is based upon sulphide ores. These are roasted in industrial plants to form zinc oxide, ZnO. This may be reduced with carbon to form zinc metal, but in practice ingenious technology is required to ensure that the resulting zinc does not contain oxide impurities. ZnO + C → Zn + CO ZnO + CO → Zn + CO2 CO2 + C → 2CO The other type of extraction is electrolytic. Dissolution of crude zinc oxide, ZnO, in sulphuric acid gives zinc sulphate, ZnSO4 in solution. Cadmium is an impurity and this is removed as a precipitate of cadmium sulphate by the addition of zinc dust. Electrolysis of the ZnSO4 solution using aluminium cathodes and lead alloyed with silver anodes gives pure zinc metal coated on the aluminium. Oxygen gas is liberated at the anode.

Very pure zinc may be formed from crude zinc by zone refining and single crystals can be grown with purities of better than 99.9999%. Zinc isotopes Read more » Zinc isotopes are used extensively in both industrial and medical applications. Depleted Zn-64 is added to the cooling water of nuclear reactors in the form of oxide or acetate to prevent stress corrosion cracking. It also reduces the release of (stable) Co-59 into the cooling water by forming a thin spinel layer on the Co containing steel surfaces. Neutron irradiation of Co-59 will result in the formation of Co-60, a radioisotope which emits high energy gamma radiation and is a major contributor to the dose rate of personnel working in the reactor. Enriched Zn-67 is often used in biological research into the uptake of Zn in the human body. It can also be used for the production of radioactive Ga-67 in smaller cyclotrons. However, by far most Ga-67 is made from Zn-68.

Zn-67, Zn-68 and Zn-70 can all be used for the production of the therapeutic isotope Cu-67. Zn-66 has been proposed as an alternative target for the production of Cu-64 and Ga-67. Finally Zn-70 is also used in biological research and in research into super-heavy elements. Zinc - Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table Chemistry in its element: zinc (Promo) You're listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by Chemistry World, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry. (End promo) Chris Smith This week the chemical behind calamine lotion for itchy skin, anti dandruff shampoo for a flaky scalp and underarm deodorant for - well, I think we've probably all stood next to someone whom we wish knew a bit more about the chemistry of zinc. Here's Brian Clegg. Brian Clegg There aren't many elements with names that are onomatopoeic. Say 'oxygen' or 'iodine' and there is no clue in the sound of the word to the nature of the element. But zinc is different.

Zinc - zinc - zinc - you can almost hear a set of coins falling into an old fashioned bath. It just has to be a hard metal. In use, Zinc is often hidden away, almost secretive. It stops iron rusting, soothes sunburn, keeps dandruff at bay, combines with copper to make a very familiar gold-coloured alloy and keeps us alive, but we hardly notice it. This blue-grey metal, known commercially as spelter, is anything but flashy and attention-grabbing. Even the origins of that evocative name are uncertain. The dictionary tells us that the word zinc comes from the German (with a K at the end instead of a C), but how that name came into being is unknown. The earliest reference to zinc was in 1651. The substance was known before - objects with zinc in them date back over 2,500 years, and the Romans used that gold coloured alloy - but zinc wasn't identified as a distinct material in the west until the seventeenth century. Represented in the periodic table as Zn, zinc is a transition metal, grouped with cadmium and mercury.

With the middling atomic number 30, it has five stable isotopes of atomic weight from the dominant zinc 64 to zinc 70, plus an extra 25 radioisotopes. Because of its hazy origins, it's difficult to pin down one person as the discoverer of the element. Although it seems to have been refined in India as early as the twelfth century, the earliest specific claim to have produced the metal was back in 1668, and a process for extracting zinc from its oxide was patented in the UK in 1738 by metal trader William Champion. But it is usually the German chemist Andreas Marggraf who wins the laurels as 'discoverer' for his 1746 experiment isolating zinc. Although zinc's history is more than a little hazy, there's no doubting its usefulness. You've only got to look at a galvanized metal roof or bucket to see zinc at work. Galvanization is named after Luigi Galvani, the man who made frog legs twitch with electric current, but galvanization has nothing to do with electrical showmanship. In fact electricity's role is surprisingly subtle.

The most common form of galvanization is hot dip galvanization, where iron or steel is slid through a bath of liquid zinc at around 460 degrees Celsius, forty degrees above its melting point. The coating prevents the object treated from rusting. Initially the zinc simply stops the air getting to the iron, but later the zinc corrodes in preference to iron in an electro-chemical process, acting as a so-called sacrificial anode. This is where the 'galvanic' part of the name comes in. Some galvanization is more literally electrical - car bodies, for example, are electroplated with zinc to apply a thin, even layer. Zinc's electrical capabilities also extend to the most popular batteries. A traditional dry cell has an outer zinc casing acting as the anode (confusingly the anode, usually thought of as positive, is the negative end of a battery), while a carbon rod provides the cathode, the positive electrode. In the longer lasting alkaline batteries, the anode is formed from powdered zinc (giving more surface area for reaction), while the cathode is made up of the compound manganese dioxide.

But the most visible example of zinc at work doesn't give any indication of this greyish metal - instead it's in an alloy that mixes the sheen of gold with the common touch. When molten zinc and copper are mixed together, the result is bold as brass. In fact, it is brass. Everything from door fixings to decorative plaques for horse collars have been made in this flexible alloy. Any orchestra would be much poorer without its brass instruments. It's even likely to turn up in the zips on your clothing. Well-polished brass has a pleasant glow - but our most intimate contact with zinc, or to be precise zinc oxide - often comes when dealing with the unwanted glow of sunburn. When I was young and there was little in the way of sun block, sunburned skin would be lavishly coated in soothing pink calamine lotion. The primary ingredient of this is zinc oxide, which is white - it's small amounts of iron oxide that give it that colour. Even now, though, when we can avoid the need for calamine, zinc oxide plays its part.

Called Chinese white when it's used in paints, zinc oxide is a good absorber of ultraviolet light - so sun block often contains a suspension of tiny zinc oxide particles - as does most mineral-based makeup. And that's just the start for this versatile oxide. You'll find it used in fire retardants and foods - where it fortifies the likes of breakfast cereals - in glass and ceramics, in glues and rubber. That surprise appearance on the breakfast table reflects another important side to zinc. We need it to stay healthy. It's one of the trace elements, nutrients that our bodies need in small quantities to keep functioning. It's often present in vitamin supplements, though most of us get plenty from meat and eggs. The zinc ends up in various proteins, particularly in enzymes involved in the development of the body, digestion and fertility. A shortage of zinc in the diet can lead to delayed healing, skin irritation and loss of the sense of taste, and encourages many chronic illnesses. With zinc also appearing in anti-dandruff shampoos in the form of zinc pyrithione and in underarm deodorants as zinc chloride, this is an element that even makes us more attractive to the opposite sex. Zinc is a hidden star.

We're rarely aware of it, unlike its flashier neighbours in the period table, but zinc is a workhorse element that helps us all. Chris Smith Bristolbased science writer Brian Clegg with the onomatopoeic element, zinc. Next week, what's lurking in your basement. Katherine Holt The first reports of problems associated with radon gas in domestic buildings was in the United States in 1984, when an employee at a nuclear power plant began setting off the radiation detector alarms on his way into work. The problem was eventually traced to his home, where the level of radon gas in the basement was found to be abnormally high. Chris Smith But where was it coming from and what was the risk to his health. Katherine Holt will be here with all of the answers and the rest of the Radon story on next week's Chemistry in its Element, I do hope you can join us. I'm Chris Smith, thank you for listening, and goodbye. (Promo) Chemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by thenakedscientists.com . There's more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at chemistryworld.org/elements .

(End promo) Periodic Table of Elements: Zinc - Zn (EnvironmentalChemistry.com) Periodic Table of Elements Element Zinc - Zn Comprehensive data on the chemical element Zinc is provided on this page; including scores of properties, element names in many languages, most known nuclides of Zinc. Common chemical compounds are also provided for many elements. In addition technical terms are linked to their definitions and the menu contains links to related articles that are a great aid in one's studies. Zinc Menu Zinc's Name in Other Languages Latin: Zincum Number of Electrons (with no charge): 30 Number of Neutrons (most common/stable nuclide): 35 Number of Protons : 30 Hard, brittle, shiny bluish-white transition metal.

Elastic Modulus: Enthalpy of Atomization: 129.7 kJ/mole @ 25°C Enthalpy of Fusion: 7.32 kJ/mole Enthalpy of Vaporization: 115.5 kJ/mole Flammablity Class: Freezing Point: see melting point Hardness Scale No limits set by OSHA OSHA PEL Vacated 1989 No limits set by NIOSH Levels In Humans: Note: this data represents naturally occuring levels of elements in the typical human, it DOES NOT represent recommended daily allowances. Blood/mg dm-3: 7 Daily Dietary Intake: 5-40 mg Total Mass In Avg. 70kg human: 2.3 g Discovery Year: Unknown German: zink (German for tin). Abundance of Zinc: Sun (Relative to H=1E12): 28200 Sources of Zinc: Found in the minerals zinc blende (sphalerite) (ZnS), calamine, franklinite, smithsonite (ZnCO3), willemite, and zincite (ZnO).

Annual world wide production is around 5,020,000 tons. Primary mining areas are USA, Canada, Australia, Austria, Russia and Turkey. Uses of Zinc: Used to coat other metals (galvanizing) to protect them from rusting. Used in alloys such as brass, bronze, nickel. Also in solder, cosmetics and pigments. Additional Notes: Many sources of European origins credit Andreas Marggraf with discovering zink in 1746, however, it had been know in India and China since before the 1500s. Zinc Menu Common Chemical Compounds of Zinc References A list of reference sources used to compile the data provided on our periodic table of elements can be found on the main periodic table page. Related Resources This database focuses on the most common chemical compounds used in the home and industry. Citing this page If you need to cite this page, you can copy this text: Kenneth Barbalace. Periodic Table of Elements - Zinc - Zn. EnvironmentalChemistry.com. 1995 - 2016. Accessed on-line: 12/31/2016 .

Linking to this page If you would like to link to this page from your website, blog, etc., copy and paste this link code (in red) and modify it to suit your needs: <a href="">echo Periodic Table of Elements: Zinc - Zn (EnvironmentalChemistry.com)</a>- Comprehensive information for the element Zinc - Zn is provided by this page including scores of properties, element names in many languages, most known nuclides and technical terms are linked to their definitions. . NOTICE: While linking to articles is encouraged, OUR ARTICLES MAY NOT BE COPIED TO OR REPUBLISHED ON ANOTHER WEBSITE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. PLEASE, if you like an article we published simply link to it on our website do not republish it. 21 years on the web Started 10-22-1995 Please Share and/or Link To This Page Please share and/or link to this page if you find it useful or informative. Educators We are a great educational resource! Use online or print pages out as classroom handouts. More info.

Zinc Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements Zinc Facts Zinc Facts Zinc Chemical & Physical Properties Zinc or spelter is a silvery-gray metallic element. This photo shows a cube of zinc, crystalline zinc from an ingot and sublimed dendritic zinc. Alchemist-hp Electron Configuration : [Ar] 4s2 3d10 Word Origin: German zinke: of obscure origin, probably German for tine. Zinc metal crystals are sharp and pointed. It could also be attributed to the German word 'zin' meaning tin. Isotopes: There are 30 known isotopes of zinc ranging from Zn-54 to Zn-83 . Zinc has five stable isotopes: Zn-64 (48.63%), Zn-66 (27.90%), Zn-67 (4.10%), Zn-68 (18.75%) and Zn-70 (0.6%). Properties: Zinc has a melting point of 419.58°C, boiling point of 907°C, specific gravity of 7.133 (25°C), with a valence of 2.

Zinc is a lustous blue-white metal. It is brittle at low temperatures, but becomes malleable at 100-150°C. It is a fair electrical conductor. Zinc burns in air at high red heat, evolving white clouds of zinc oxide. Uses: Zinc is used to form numerous alloys , including brass , bronze, nickel silver, soft solder, Geman silver, spring brass, and aluminum solder. continue reading below our video 4 Tips for Improving Test Performance Zinc is used to make die castings for use in the electrical, automotive, and hardware industries. The alloy Prestal, consisting of 78% zinc and 22% aluminum, is nearly as strong as steel yet exhibits superplasticity. Zinc is used to galvanize other metals to prevent corrosion. Zinc oxide is used in paints, rubbers, cosmetics, plastics, inks, soap, batteries, pharmaceuticals, and many other products. Other zinc compounds are also widely used, such as zinc sulfide (luminous dials and fluorescent lights ) and ZrZn2 ( ferromagnetic materials ). Zinc is an essential element for humans and other animal nutrition.

Zinc-deficient animals require 50% more food to gain the same weight as animals with sufficient zinc. Zinc metal is not considered toxic, but if fresh zinc oxide is inhaled it can cause a disorder referred to as zinc chills or oxide shakes. Sources: The primary ores of zinc are sphalerite or blende (zinc sulfide), smithsonite (zinc carbonate), calamine (zinc silicate), and franklinite (zinc, iron, and manganese oxides). An old method of producing zinc was by reducing calamine with charcoal. More recently, it has been obtained by roasting the ores to form zinc oxide and then reducing the oxide with carbon or coal, followed by distillation of the metal.

It's Elemental - The Element Zinc It's Elemental Melting Point: 692.68 K (419.53°C or 787.15°F) Boiling Point: 1180 K (907°C or 1665°F) Density: 7.134 grams per cubic centimeter Phase at Room Temperature: Solid Element Classification: Metal Period Number: 4 Group Number: 12 Group Name: none What's in a name? From the German word zink. Say what? Zinc is pronounced as ZINK. History and Uses: Although zinc compounds have been used for at least 2,500 years in the production of brass, zinc wasn't recognized as a distinct element until much later. Metallic zinc was first produced in India sometime in the 1400s by heating the mineral calamine (ZnCO3) with wool. Zinc was rediscovered by Andreas Sigismund Marggraf in 1746 by heating calamine with charcoal. Today, most zinc is produced through the electrolysis of aqueous zinc sulfate (ZnSO4).

Roughly one third of all metallic zinc produced today is used in a process known as galvanization. During galvanization, an object that is subject to corrosion, such as an iron nail, is given a protective coating of zinc. The zinc can be applied to an object by dipping it in a pool of molten zinc, but it is most often applied through an electroplating process. Sacrificial zinc anodes are used in cathodic protection systems to protect exposed iron from corrosion. Metallic zinc is also used to make dry cell batteries, roof cladding and die castings. Zinc is used to make many useful alloys. Brass, an alloy of zinc that contains between 55% and 95% copper , is probably the best known zinc alloy. Brass was first used about 2,500 years ago and was widely used by the ancient Romans, who used it to make such things as coins, kettles and decorative items. Brass is still used today, particularly in musical instruments, screws and other hardware that must resist corrosion. Zinc is alloyed with lead and tin to make solder, a metal with a relatively low melting point used to join electrical components, pipes and other metallic items.

Prestal®, an alloy containing 78% zinc and 22% aluminum , is a strange material that is nearly as strong as steel but is molded as easily as plastic. Nickel silver, typewriter metal, spring brass and German silver are other common zinc alloys. Zinc oxide (ZnO), a common zinc compound, forms when metallic zinc is exposed to the air and forms a protective coating that protects the rest of the metal. Zinc oxide is used in paints, some rubber products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, printing inks, soap and batteries, among other things. Zinc sulfide (ZnS), another zinc compound, glows when it is exposed to ultraviolet light, X-rays or electrons and is used to make luminous watch dials, television screens and fluorescent light bulbs. Zinc chloride (ZnCl2) is another zinc compound that is used to protect wood from decay and insects.

Estimated Crustal Abundance: 7.0×101 milligrams per kilogram Estimated Oceanic Abundance: 4.9×10-3 milligrams per liter Number of Stable Isotopes: 3 ( View all isotope data ) Ionization Energy: 9.394 eV Pictures, stories, and facts about the element Zinc in the Periodic Table Larger | Spin | 3D Candle wicks with zinc cores. Apparently candle wicks sometimes need to be made stiffer than they ordinarily would be, and thus have wire cores put in them. I first heard about this in connection with a recall of candles that turned out to contain lead wires, which turn into lead vapor as the candle is burned. This used to be common, but is now considered something to panic about, due to the toxic nature of lead. This candle wick, one of a pack of 100 I got on eBay, supposedly has a zinc wire, not lead, which will burn up into relatively harmless zinc oxide as the candle burns.

(In high concentrations over long periods of time inhaled zinc oxide can be harmful, but it's not a cumulative poison in the way lead is, so very low levels of exposure such as you would get from a candle do not add up to a problem over the long run.) Larger | Spin | 3D Split penny. There's a guy, Gunther von Hagens , who creates museum exhibits that consist of human bodies that have been split open and displayed as perfectly preserved cross sections or expanded versions of their natural state. This is the same idea, only applied to a 1990 US penny. Modern pennies consist of a zinc core with a copper plating. See the previous sample for information about how remove the copper and leave the zinc core, and this sample for information about how to remove the zinc core and leave the copper foil. Do both and glue them together with a tiny stick of pencil lead, and you have this expanded penny, which I used in a Popular Science column. Watch the rotation video to see if from all sides. Larger | Spin | 3D Zinc penny, modern. This is an amazing object: A modern (1990) penny from which the copper plating has been completely removed.

US pennies made after 1982 have a zinc core with a copper plating over it. Removing the zinc from inside, leaving a thin foil of copper, is actually quite easy: Just sand off some of the copper around the edge and then soak the penny in hydrochloric acid (HCl, also called muriatic acid in hardware stores). I have an example of that listed under copper. But doing the converse is much harder. Any acid that will dissolve copper will dissolve zinc much faster, so it cannot be done using acid. I was at a loss, and the internet did not reveal anyone else who had done it. Fortunately Tryggvi, my chemist friend, took on the project, and found a way using cyanide complexation. Cyanide ions wrap themselves tightly around copper ions in solution, forming what's known as a complex. They do not, on the other hand, care much for zinc at all. In a concentrated solution of potassium cyanide copper is rendered slightly more vulnerable to oxidation than zinc. Under just the right conditions (cool temperatures and gentle agitation) the oxidizer potassium persulfate, combined with concentrated potassium cyanide, will slowly remove copper without touching zinc.

It took Tryggvi many tried, and many ruined pennies, to get the procedure just right, but the result was perfection itself. See the next sample for a clever example of what you can do with disassembled pennies. Larger | Spin | 3D Crow's foot zinc. The February 2007 issue of Popular Science magazine (for which I write a monthly column has my article about making an antique-style "gravity cell", a type of battery made with a solution of copper sulfate and an electrode made of cast zinc. These were known a hundred years ago as "crow's foot zincs", and were available at that time in any corner general store. But these batteries have not been used for at least 60 years, and not even on eBay can you buy a crow's foot zinc, so I was forced to machine a graphite mold to use to cast my own brand new copies, based on a photograph I found on the internet. (Within days of the article reaching subscribers I got an email from someone wondering where I got the crow's foot zincs, and if they could get some too.

I had to tell them that I've probably made the first new ones manufactured in many decades, and so far as I know there is simply no source for them. Except, of course, my little graphite mold.) Actually there's no need for such a fancy shape of electrode, any old hunk of zinc would work reasonably well. I was just showing off by making a replica of an antique style electrode: I wanted the pictures to look pretty in the magazine. Purity: 99.99% Larger Concrete parting tool. This is a tool used to create the sort of line you see in sidewalks about every 4-5 feet. After the concrete is partly set, but still soft, you run this tool along a straight board held over the concrete, forming a neat line with rounded edges. The purpose of this line is to weaken the concrete along that line, so that when the concrete cracks, it will do so at the bottom of the scribed line, where you won't see the crack. (With concrete slabs larger than a certain size, it's not a question of if, but when, it will crack.

Better to have neat-looking, regularly spaced lines that look like you meant for them to be there, than irregularly spaced cracks that look like obvious defects. It's purely a question of hiding flaws, nothing that actually improves the performance of the concrete.) This tool says on its label that it's made of zinc, and the surface looks a lot like zinc to me. It's quite heavy, presumably to make it easier to push along the concrete without riding up. Alloys referred to as "pot metal", which often contain zinc, are commonly used to cast simple shapes like this which don't need to be particularly strong, but this one claims to be all zinc, which is unusual and makes me think maybe it is. No idea why this would be better than pot metal: Maybe it's cheaper. Purity: 99.99% Larger Assorted glow-in-the-dark paints. This lovely array of glow-in-the-dark (phosphorescent) powders illustrates the range of colors and the brightness of modern luminous paints. Green and aqua are europium doped strontium aluminate, the brightest of all the modern phosphorescent powders.

Blue is a alkali earth silicate, while red and orange are older, noticeably less bright zinc sulfides. (The difference in brightness is so great it was difficult to get a photograph that showed the glowing of the zinc sulfide without overexposing the other colors!) The powder packets are meant to be mixed with paint, nail polish, or whatever, rendering them luminous. The bottle in the back is ready-made paint, while the small tub is a heat-and-dip powder. This set was kindly donated by Ready Set Glo: Visit their website at or their eBay store . (The "purity" listed below doesn't mean a whole lot since this is a mixture of several different compounds: I'm just indicating that this sample is not a simple element but rather a mixed compound.) Larger | 3D Museum-grade sample. In early 2004 Max Whitby and I started selling individual element samples identical or similar to the samples we use in the museum displays we build. These are top-quality samples presented in attractive forms appropriate to the particular element. They are for sale from Max's website and also on eBay where you will find an ever-changing selection of samples (click the link to see the current listings).

This cast ball is designed to show what the surface of the metal looks like when hammered: By comparing with similar hammered balls of other metals an idea of the hardness and working characteristics of the metal is given. (We use approximately the same hammering force on each ball, so lead will show much deeper hammer marks than zinc, for example.) Larger | 3D Museum-grade sample. In early 2004 Max Whitby and I started selling individual element samples identical or similar to the samples we use in the museum displays we build. These are top-quality samples presented in attractive forms appropriate to the particular element. They are for sale from Max's website and also on eBay where you will find an ever-changing selection of samples (click the link to see the current listings). This "crystal nest" is formed by allowing a cup of the molten metal to half-solidify, then pouring the liquid center off. Different metals form surprisingly diverse types of crystals using this very simple technique.

The size and shape of the crystals is very sensitive to the purity of the material: This bullet lead is relatively low purity and therefor forms relatively small crystals: As a rule the higher the purity, the larger the crystals, with the most spectacular example being bismuth of 99.99% or better purity. Larger | 3D Museum-grade sample. In early 2004 Max Whitby and I started selling individual element samples identical or similar to the samples we use in the museum displays we build. These are top-quality samples presented in attractive forms appropriate to the particular element. They are for sale from Max's website and also on eBay where you will find an ever-changing selection of samples (click the link to see the current listings). This ingot is designed to show what the surface of the metal looks like when hammered: By comparing with similar hammered ingots of other metals an idea of the hardness and working characteristics of the metal is given. (We use approximately the same hammering force on each ingot, so lead will show much deeper hammer marks than zinc, for example.) Larger | 3D Museum-grade sample.

In early 2004 Max Whitby and I started selling individual element samples identical or similar to the samples we use in the museum displays we build. These are top-quality samples presented in attractive forms appropriate to the particular element. They are for sale from Max's website and also on eBay where you will find an ever-changing selection of samples (click the link to see the current listings). This ingot shows two kinds of surfaces, one where the metal cooled in contact with a graphite mold, and the top that was in contact with the air. The top surface is particularly interesting in that it shows the degree of contraction when the metal cools and sometimes crystal structures that give the surface a wrinkled appearance as in copper or tin. Sample Group: RGB Samples Larger 8.4V zinc-air batteries. These batteries are the size and shape of a standard 9V battery, but they are air-breathing half-fuel cells instead. See the previous sample for more information about how zinc-air batteries work. Note that these come sealed in a metalized Mylar vacuum pack: As long as the package remains unopened their shelf-life is virtually unlimited, because one of the components needed to make the battery work, air, has been excluded.

My understanding is that after you open the package it takes a couple of minutes for the voltage to build up, then the battery is ready to use. Purity: 10% Larger Zinc-air hearing aid batteries. Batteries generate electricity by allowing two chemicals to react with each other in a way that releases electrons, which are tapped and fed through a wire to do useful work. In most batteries both chemicals are present in the battery and they stay there: It's a sealed system. Fuel cells, like the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells that are looking so promising, use the same idea except instead of being sealed, they accept a continuous flow of the two chemicals from storage tanks: This allows them to operate indefinitely. These zinc-air batteries are exactly half way in between. The chemical reaction they use is the oxidation of zinc metal by the oxygen in air. The zinc is built in to the battery and can't be replaced, while the air flows in as needed to replenish air used up in generating electricity. So, it's a fuel cell with regards to oxygen and a conventional battery with regards to zinc. These batteries provide a very large amount of energy per unit weight, because they only have to carry half the chemicals, the rest coming from the air.

It's the same reason jet engines can go further than rockets on the same weight of fuel: The jet is taking half its "fuel" from the surrounding air. And just like with jets and rockets, the reason not all batteries are zinc air batteries is that you can't get as much instantaneous power out of them, because you have to wait for enough air to get into the system. In a conventional battery you can draw a very large amount of current if you want, because both chemicals you need are right there ready to react. Same in a rocket. In a zinc-air battery you can only draw as much current as their is air flow to sustain it. Same in a jet engine. As a result, zinc-air batteries are used in applications that require slow, steady amounts of power, like a hearing aid or monitoring device. Similarly, jet engines are used in places where you need a steady amount of power for a long time, like a transatlantic flight. Rockets are used when you want a huge amount of power in a very short time, or, of course, in places where there is no air. That's right, zinc-air batteries would not work in space. Purity: 99% Larger Link in multi-metal chain.

I had been wondering about how hard it would be to make a multi-part graphite mold with which I could cast chain links around each other. That is, given an existing link, cast a new one interlinked with it. This turns out to be quite do-able: Here is the mold I made (using my drill press as a vertical mill and a round-ended router bit): In case you ever want to try this, I'll give you an important hint: The third link is the real test, not the second one. Using this mold I have cast a chain out of all the metals I can easily cast. Click the Sample Group link below to see all the links together. This chain (counted as one sample) is the 600th sample added to my collection. Click here to buy a book, photographic periodic table poster, card deck, or 3D print based on the images you see here! Larger Water dropped blobs.

I made these at a cookout at the farm to amuse some guests, by pouring just-molten zinc into a large stainless steel mop bucket (which I got at the closing out auction of the Lincoln Developmental Center in Lincoln Illinois, which was at one time the world's largest mental hospital, in case you're interested). The nodules are needle sharp! I poked myself on them as did the guests. When they first came out of the water they were bright and shiny, but unfortunately being zinc they did not stay that way: This picture was taken just a couple of days later and as you can see, they are already starting to turn dull and gray. The shapes you get from water-dropped metals are quite variable, from rounded aluminum blobs to stringy lead ropes. It also depends on how high above the melting point the metal is: For example if you heat aluminum to well beyond its melting point before pouring into water, it fragments into almost a powder when it hits the water, while if it's just barely molten, you get smooth round nodules. This zinc was just barely above its melting point.

Price: $1/pound for scrap zinc Size: 0.75" Purity: >90% Larger | Spin | 3D Mini periodic table table for Popular Science. In early 2003 I got an email from an editor at Popular Science column asking if I'd like to write a monthly column. Of course I said yes, and the second article (in the August, 2003 issue) is a story about lost wax casting as I did it when I was fifteen or so. For the photographs in the article I made a few little periodic table tables out of various metals: This one is made of zinc, and I also made ones out of copper , silver , and bismuth . Larger | Spin | 3D Oil tank sacrificial anodes. These little zinc balls are put into oil tanks to prevent rust: The idea is that the zinc oxidizes more easily than iron, so it gets consumed before the iron does. As long as you keep some zinc around, the iron will generally speaking not rust. The same idea is used to protect boat hulls, railroad tracks, and other steel structures. The zinc is simply buried in the ground near the iron and connected with a wire.

I chose this sample to represent its element in my Photographic Periodic Table Poster . The sample photograph includes text exactly as it appears in the poster, which you are encouraged to buy a copy of. Purity: >99% Larger Sample from the Everest Set. Up until the early 1990's a company in Russia sold a periodic table collection with element samples. At some point their American distributor sold off the remaining stock to a man who is now selling them on eBay. The samples (except gases) weigh about 0.25 grams each, and the whole set comes in a very nice wooden box with a printed periodic table in the lid. To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description and information about how to buy one, or you can see photographs of all the samples from the set displayed on my website in a periodic table layout or with bigger pictures in numerical order . Click here to buy a book, photographic periodic table poster, card deck, or 3D print based on the images you see here! Larger Sample from the RGB Set. The Red Green and Blue company in England sells a very nice element collection in several versions.

Max Whitby , the director of the company, very kindly donated a complete set to the periodic table table. To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description or the company's website which includes many photographs and pricing details. I have two photographs of each sample from the set: One taken by me and one from the company. You can see photographs of all the samples displayed in a periodic table format: my pictures or their pictures . Or you can see both side-by-side with bigger pictures in numerical order . The picture on the left was taken by me. Here is the company's version (there is some variation between sets, so the pictures sometimes show different variations of the samples): Larger | Spin | 3D Photo Card Deck of the Elements. In late 2006 I published a photo periodic table and it's been selling well enough to encourage me to make new products. This one is a particularly neat one: A complete card deck of the elements with one big five-inch (12.7cm) square card for every element. If you like this site and all the pictures on it, you'll love this card deck.

And of course if you're wondering what pays for all the pictures and the internet bandwidth to let you look at them, the answer is people buying my posters and cards decks. Hint hint.

Question: Which element does Zn represent in the Periodic Table?
Answer: Zinc