Gallium--A smart metal Fact Sheet By: Nora Foley and Brian W. Gallium is a soft, silvery metallic element with an atomic number of 31 and the chemical symbol Ga. Applications Health : While Gallium can be found in the human body in very small amounts, there is no evidence for it harming the body. Other applications of Gallium deal with wetting and alloy improvement: Gallium has the property to wet porcelain and even glass surfaces. Problems What is the electronic configuration of Gallium?
What do you think is one of the issues that people might have with usage of gallium? Gallium is part of which group and period? What are some applications of Gallium? Name three properties of Gallium that make it different from any other element.
Answers 1s 2 2s 2 2p 6 3s 2 3p 6 4s 2 3d 10 4p 1 The use of it in nuclear bombs. Gallium is in group 13 Boron family and in period 4. Semiconductors; cancer treatment; hypercalcemia treatment; stabilization in nuclear bombs. See section above on Application for more detail. See the section above on properties and characteristics for more detail. Gallium is blue-grey in color in its solid phase.
Instead, it has to be separated from other materials through a process called smelting. You might already know that elements fit into three categories. They can be metals, metalloids , or nonmetals. Gallium is a metal, but it has some pretty unique properties. For example, it has a very low melting point.
In fact, if you picked up a solid piece of gallium, it would melt in your hand. Even in its solid state, gallium is very soft, much like aluminum. You could cut through it with a knife. How would you know gallium if you saw it? But as a solid metal, it turns blue-grey. If gallium has been melted and cooled several times, it may feel smooth.
What is this unique element used for? Most gallium is used in electronics. It can also be used to make thermometers and mirrors.
Many believe gallium may have more future uses. This compound is similar to silicon. Some people believe it may one day be used in smartphones and computers. What other uses for gallium can you think of? Will this soft metal stay in the world of electronics?
Or will it have other uses? Only time—and lots of trial and error—will tell! Gallium is an element found in the body, but it occurs in a very small amount. For example, in a person with a mass of seventy kilograms, there are 0. If this amount of gallium was condensed into a cube, the cube would only be 0. It has no proven benefit towards the function of the body, and it most likely is only present due to small traces in the natural environment, in water, and in residue on vegetables and fruits.
Several vitamins and commercially distributed waters have been known to contain trace amounts of gallium with less than one part per million. Pure gallium is not a harmful substance for humans to touch.
It has been handled many times only for the simple pleasure of watching it melt by the heat emitted from a human hand. However, it is known to leave a stain on hands. Even the gallium radioactive compound, gallium [67Ga] citrate, can be injected into the body and used for gallium scanning without harmful effects. Although it is not harmful in small amounts, gallium should not be purposefully consumed in large doses.
Some gallium compounds can actually be very dangerous, however. For example, acute exposure to gallium III chloride can cause throat irritation, difficulty breathing, chest pain, and its fumes can cause even very serious conditions such as pulmonary edema and partial paralysis.
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