Sodium Facts
Sodium Facts
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| Interesting Sodium Facts: |
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| It is the sixth most abundant metal in the Earth's crust. |
| Sodium is found in many minerals. |
| Most of its salts are water soluable. |
| Sodium was first isolated from sodium hydroxide by Humphry Davy in 1807. |
| Sodium is a vital element for living organisms. |
| Of the twenty known isotopes of sodium, only one—Na-23—is stable. |
| Another isotope, Na-24, has a half-life of 20.2 microseconds. |
| Sodium compounds are used in nearly every form of industry. |
| Elemental sodium can be very dangerous since it generates inflammable hydrogen and sodium hydroxide. |
| Powdered sodium can spontaneously combust in the presence of oxygen. |
| Typical fire extinguishers are ineffective on sodium fires and can actually increase the emergency. |
| Sodium in its compound forms has a long and important history. |
| It has been used as a form of currency, medical treatments, and trade product for thousands of years. |
| Pure sodium at standard conditions can easily be cut with a knife, despite being a metal. |
| The metal tarnishes to form a white coating of sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate very quickly at standard conditions. |
| At higher elevations, the tarnish takes on a black, red transparent, or clear transparent coating, depending on the elevation. |
| The most common compound of sodium is sodium chloride, NaCl, or ordinary table salt. |
| Sodium chloride has been known to be a part of animal diets since prehistoric times. |
| Sodium chloride is abundantly present in mines and in seawater on Earth. |
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