Periodic Devotions

Neon Neon is one of the Noble gases located in the far-right column of the Periodic Table What do you think of when you think of neon? Many of us think of a bright, lit up neon sign. And this is true! Neon is used in the advertising industry to create signs that light up…

Carbon A lot can be said about it.  Pure carbon takes on a few different forms. Let’s look at two. Graphite versus Diamond Both, believe it or not, are composed of pure carbon. The difference is in the way the carbon atoms are arranged. Graphite carbon atoms are arranged in layers making it soft and…

Zinc The element that protects. Let’s count some of the ways… I like that last one. What a word. Galvanize. And it’s actually a word unique to zinc. While we sometimes use it to mean “stimulate” or “excite,” the second definition according to Merriam Webster is extremely specific. Galvanize means to immerse in molten zinc…

Yttrium Never heard of it? Most haven’t. It’s a slivery metallic rare earth metal located in the middle portion of the Periodic Table. It’s not very common on earth — mostly mixed in with other elements and minerals in rocks. But Yittrium does have one fun fact. It was present in moon rock samples that…

Aluminum. Soft and malleable. Lightweight. Low density. Difficult and expensive to mine. With descriptions such as these, it would seem highly unlikely for such an element to be of much use. And yet, it is one of the most used metals in the Periodic Table! What at first glance may appear unlikely, is powerful and…