An Introduction to Elements

Periodic Table

What's an Element? The substance that can't be broken down any further, or the core of an object is called an Element. All major elements are grouped in a table according to their atomic mass. This table is called the Periodic Table. Dimitri Mendeleev, A Russian chemist, created the periodic table for the first time in 1869. And after that, the Periodic Table was slowly improved.


The Elements are everywhere. Starting from the pencil you write with to the planet we live in, everything contains at least one element. Even human body contains elements. There are more than 117 different elements. Starting from Hydrogen to Lithium, Sodium, Barium, Boron, Carbon and 100s more. But to me the most important element is the Oxygen.

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OXYGEN- An Element

Oxygen is the 8th element on the Periodic Table. With an Atomic number of 8 and an atomic mass of 16, the symbol that describes Oxygen is O. Oxygen is a gas. It is known to be a highly reactive non-metallic element that could form oxides. You may be surprised to know this, but Oxygen comprises of two-third of human body's mass! Proteins, Carbohydrates or Fat found in living organism also contain Oxygen. Let's try breathing. Take a long deep breath, and let go. What is it that you just took in? You took in Oxygen.

Oxygen on the Periodic Table

Where did this oxygen come from? It came from air. 20.95% of Earth's atmosphere contains Oxygen. 78.08% Nitrogen and .038% of Carbon Dioxide and the rest contains some other gases. Thus, Oxygen is a gas that our lives depend on. We can't even spend 1 minute without appropriate amount of Oxygen.

That's how big a role is played by Oxygen in our daily lives.

Oxygen-The History

Oxygen was produced in many experiments conducted by scientists like Robert Hooke, Ole Borche, Mikhail Lomonosov and Pierre Bayen. But none of them realized that Oxygen was an element.Oxygen was first discovered by Swedish pharmacist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. He produced Oxygen gas by heating Mercuric-oxide and various nitrates. 

Carl Wilhelm Scheele

Scheele named Oxygen "Fire Air" because it was the only combustible gas then known to exist. He wrote a manuscript on account of his discovery that he titled "Treatise on Air and Fire". 
He sent the manuscript to his publisher in 1775. But the document was not published till 1777.

"Treatise on Air and Fire"
By Carl  Wilhelm Scheele

In the meantime, A British clergyman Joseph Priestley conducted an experiment regarding the production of a gas on August 1, 1774. He noted that the gas that he produced could make the candle burn brighter. It could also make a mouse be more active and live longer. He also noticed that this gas filled his lungs with an odd full sensation.
Later during 1777, Lavoisier first discovered that Oxygen was an element. First the gas was named "vital air".
But later, Lavoisier named "Vital Air" Oxygene in 1777. And that's how Oxygen entered the English language.

The Properties Of Oxygen

Part 1 Physical Properties  
As we all know, Oxygen has no color, odor or taste. The density of Oxygen is a bit more than air. The liquid and solid state of Oxygen takes a pale blue color. Oxygen is invisible as are most of the gases. The boiling point of Oxygen is 183 degree Celsius. The melting point of Oxygen is 218.4 degree Celsius. Oxygen is the leading member of the group VIA Elements-The Chalcogens. Some metallic elements absorb considerable amount of oxygen gas in their liquid state. Molten Silver, Gold, Platinum, Finely Divided Platinum, Palladium and Palladium Sponge all absorbs Oxygen. 

Oxygen (The gas is not visible as it is colorless)

Part 2  Chemical Properties

Oxygen has a lot of chemical properties. Some are listed below-

1. It is the essential element for the respiration processes of most of the living cells.

2. Oxygen supports combustion, although its non-combustible itself. All substance that usually burns in air, would burn with an extended amount of brilliance in presence of Oxygen.

3. Oxygen combines with almost all elements.

4. Oxygen is the component of hundreds of thousands of organic compounds.

5. Oxygen can be separated from air by distillation.

6. It is a very reactive oxidizing agent.

7. The electronegativity of Oxygen is 3.4.

8. We have to breathe Oxygen to live.

9. Dissolved Oxygen in rivers and other bodies of water breaks down organic wastes such as raw sewage

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Oxygen Anyone?



Even Batman needs Oxygen!!





Sources of Oxygen

Where and how is the element naturally found?

Oxygen is extensively found in a lot of sources of nature. Oxygen can be found in water. As we know, water s also known as H20, which means that water is a combination of 1 part oxygen and 2 parts hydrogen. Thus, water contains Oxygen. That's how Fish and other aquatic creatures breathe. They breathe in Water and their body separates the hydrogen atoms from the oxygen atoms. When we are near any trees or green plants we are definitely in presence of Oxygen. Because as we may all know that trees breathe out Oxygen and take in Carbon-Dioxide (CO2). Thus, the Oxygen breathe out by Oxygen accumulates around its surroundings and slowly moves on to some other place. Therefore, when we are near trees or plants, we are surrounded by Oxygen and only a small amount of other gases. Oxygen is found in the bloodstream of all living animals. Human body contains a considerable amount of Oxygen.

What is the relative abundance of Oxygen in nature?
The Isotopic abundance of Oxygen in Earth's atmosphere is 99.759%.

How is Oxygen isolated or obtained from it's natural form?

*What is the name of the process used to extract Oxygen?

Oxygen is mainly found in the air, which means its almost everywhere. Oxygen is extracted from air by changing it into a liquid state. This process is usually known as fractional distillation of air. German physicist Karl P.G von Linde pioneered the liquefaction of air(Oxygen) for the first time. Georges Claude also devised machines in 1902 by himself, for the liquefaction and distillation of air. During this process air is contained and then put through a variety of purification, heat, temperature and some other steps. At the end of the distillation a few gases including Nitrogen is distilled leaving liquid Oxygen. Oxygen also produced through multiple fractionation is 99.5% pure, which is sufficient for most industrial applications. Oxygen is then distributed through steel cylinders, or pipelines to places that needs Oxygen to perform various tasks. Liquid Oxygen is stored in special tanks, that can hold Oxygen at its normal temperatures and away from its boiling point. Oxygen could also be extracted from water using Electrolysis. It can be extracted also by conducting Thermal Decomposition of Peroxides.

Cryogenic Air Separation Plant

Therefore, the processes used to extract Oxygen is called fractional distillation, multiple fractionation, Electrolysis and Thermal Decomposition of Peroxides. Some other ways in which Oxygen can be produced are Cryogenic Air Separation and Pressure Swing Absorption. (psa)

Similar Elements And Compounds

Oxygen is highly reactive and combines with almost all elements on the periodic table except for some highly inert noble gases. Oxygen forms compound with even the rarest of elements, like-Promethium, Neptunium, Technetium etc. It also forms compounds with some of the least reactive elements like-Xenon, Gold and Platinum. The synthetic elements that Oxygen reacts with includes Americium, Curium, Berkelium, Einsteinium and Californium. The noble gases that Oxygen usually do not react with include Helium, Neon, Argon and Krypton.
Most non-metals react similarly to Oxygen. But if we want to be more specific, all elements from the group of Oxygen (Group 16) reacts similarly to Oxygen. This is because of one of the most important property of the periodic table. Which is, the elements in each group has their individual and unique properties which are similar to each other. And the element that has the most closest properties to Oxygen is Sulphur. We will know about Oxygen compounds further more a bit later.

Uses of Oxygen

Natural Use
1. All living organisms, including animals or human needs Oxygen for respiration, which is usually found in the surrounding air. The process is named as Aerobic Respiration.
2. Atmospheric Oxygen O2 is helpful to support combustion but is not a combustive gas itself.

Mechanical and Industrial Use
1. Supply of Oxygen packed in cylinders aid people who have trouble breathing due to inadequate amount of Oxygen. For example- Patients in hospitals, Mountaineers at high latitude, Under water divers, astronauts walking in space etc.
2. The combustive property of Oxygen is used to produce energy automobiles, ships, generators etc.
3. Liquid Oxygen is used in burning fuel in spacecrafts for generating required thrust in space where there is either air or oxygen.
4. Oxygen is used in the following industrial applications- Steel Manufacturing, Chemical Processing, Pulp and Paper, Metal Production and Fabrication, Glass Manufacturing and Petroleum Recovery and Refining.
5. Oxygen is used to convert coal to electricity for power generation.
6. Oxygen is used in Oxy-Acetylene torch. The Oxygen makes the flame more hotter.

Oxy-Acetylene Torch 

Some Compounds of Oxygen and their uses
Ozone is a well known compound of Oxygen. It is almost like Oxygen but it has an extra Oxygen atom. That's why, its sometimes called trioxygen. due to having more than two atoms, Ozone is much less stable than Oxygen. Ozone in the lower atmosphere pollutes air, causing problems of breathing for animals and burning sensitive plants. Therefore, Ozone exists on the upper atmosphere where it prevents damaging sun rays to reach us.


Some Machines and Process that uses Oxygen
The most known process that Oxygen is used in, is Oxygen Therapy. Its a kind of operation that is  used extensively all over the world. What this operation does is supplies human body with extra Oxygen. This kind of Therapy is usually used for a lot of emergency breathing problems. The most common one is acute Asthma or Pneumonia. 
Oxygen is used in Hyperbaric chambers. Hyperbaric chambers are usually used in Oxygen Therapies. It's also used when deep sea divers suffer from Oxygen shortage.
Some of the most often used Oxygen powered objects are for instance-Aircraft Emergency Oxygen System. This system is simply an air tight bag filled with purified Oxygen that is to be used during aircraft emergencies over normal latitude and atmosphere. There are other smaller version of Oxygen sprayers, almost like an EpiPen, but much more easier to use. These small Oxygen containers don't make a real difference during big emergencies but they do provide a refreshing effect after a long day's walk. (Oxygen containers containing 100% pure Oxygen is sometimes bad for your heart and lungs, so don't blame me if you end up having a heart disease due to immense consumption of purified Oxygen!!)


What are some positive impacts of Oxygen on Society?
Oxygen is something we are used to breathing form the very first day we were born. While we all need to sleep or drink to survive, the most basic and simple work like breathing and filling our lungs with oxygen is the most important necessity of life. As the number of population increase every single day, the amount of plants decrease, decreasing the level of Oxygen too. This may not seem like a big problem but within 10 or 20 years, Oxygen may turn into a rare gas, and if that happens, it would immediately diminish Humankind. Thus, Oxygen may be the most important thing on Earth. We should try to conserve it.

The Good and Bad of Ozone

Ozone is produced when three instead of two oxygen atoms (O3) combines. Its an unstable and highly reactive form of Oxygen. From our perspective, Ozone is both useful and harmful for us.


Benefits of Ozone

• Ozone is found in Stratosphere which is part of the earth's upper atmosphere. At that level, Ozone helps us immensely by absorbing the extremely dangerous ultra-violet ray of the sun.
• Without Ozone we would have turned sick as soon as we came in contact with our skin. We would have got skin cancer, cataract etc. our crops would have been damaged. And it would have killed specific marine life.

Risks of Ozone

• The man-made Ozone that forms in the troposphere is extremely toxic and corrosive.
• people who inhale Ozone during repeated exposure may permanently damage their lungs or suffer from respiratory infections.
• Ozone exposure may reduce lung function or aggravate respiratory condition like asthma, emphysema or bronchitis.
• Ozone may also cause chest pain and coughing.

Overall, its better to stay away from direct contact with Ozone in the atmosphere, because its as harmful as helpful Oxygen is.

Health hazards of Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

Sulfur Dioxide is a moderate to strong irritant. Sulfur Dioxide when consumed, usually just penetrates the nose or throat, whereas it doesn't reach the lungs. Sulfur Dioxide only reaches lungs when a person is breathing heavily in chemical air filled with sulfur dioxide, or he is breathing it only through his mouth.
But when the sulfur dioxide concentration is extremely heavy in a particular closed space, SO2 can cause severe health diseases related to our lungs and air passage. Some such severe situations are-Hypoxemia, Pulmonary Edema and may even cause death in minutes. Severe exposure may cause permanent lung disease.
Skin contact with SO2 can cause irritation, liquid SO2 can cause burns due to freezing. Affected area will have numbness, prickling and itching. Blistering and Gangrene may occur. Exposure to SO2 without eye protection can cause severe corneal burns and could even damage the nerves in the eye. Sulfur Dioxide is one of those Oxygen compounds that are extremely harmful for human. One interesting fact about SO2 is that its the major component on the gas that is emitted from a volcano!!

How many compounds can Oxygen create?

Uranium Oxide: One of the rare compounds of Oxygen

The question that how may compounds Oxygen can make is almost impossible to find out. Suppose you have a periodic table, and you can see all the elements in it. Now try pairing up each of these elements with Oxygen and see if actually a compound like that exists. For example- suppose you choose calcium and pair it up with Oxygen, making a compound that may sound like Calcium-oxide. Now, if you research, you will find out that a compound like that actually exists. Almost all the elements in the periodic table can pair up with oxygen. Even the most rarest of element like Neodymium, can pair up with Oxygen and form the compound Neodymium sesquioxide or ND2O3. Oxygen can literally pair up with everything. That's one of the many unique characteristics of Oxygen.

Neodymium sesquioxide

Can Oxygen be harmful?

Did you ever think about Oxygen being harmful? Probably not. So, now I will reveal a very astonishing fact about Oxygen. Even though Oxygen is our daily necessity, it could be as harmful as helpful it is. Oxygen could be toxic at elevated partial pressures which could lead to convulsions or other health problems. In the past, premature babies were put into incubators containing enriched O2 air, but this practice was discontinued after some babies turned out to be blinded because of the excess Oxygen. Oxygen is a very sensitive gas. It must always be balanced in the atmosphere. Slight increase or decrease in the Oxygen level could turn out to be catastrophic in some situations. Oxygen toxicity could occur in the lungs or central nervous system in deep scuba diving and surface supplied diving. But we need not be worried about the toxicity of Oxygen in our day to day life as our atmospheric oxygen level is equally balanced.

Finale

Sadly, nothing goes on forever. and the same rule applies to me. Even if you like this blog a lot, I must stop now. Well, don't be sad. I may come back again, with a whole new topic, and whole new inspirations. But before I go, it would be a breach of manners to not mention the names of the websites that helped me write this awesome blog. So, lets look at the bibliography before we move on to a second blog.


Bibliography:
Oxygen. Wikipedia. Retrieved November 29, 2011. From www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/oxygen

Whitmire, K. H. (2011). Oxygen. The New Book of Knowledge. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from Grolier Online http:-//nbk.grolier.com/ncpage?tn=/encyc/article.html&id=a2022170
h&type=0ta

Franzen, H. F. (2011). Oxygen. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from Grolier Online http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0217370

Kornblum, Z. C. (2011). Oxygen. Encyclopedia Americana. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from Grolier Online http://ea.grolier.com/article?id=0299610-00