| Sodium |
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| Atomic Number - | 11 | Melting Point (°C,°F) - | 97.72 °C, 207.9 °F |
| Atomic Symbol - | Na | Boiling Point (°C,°F) - | 883 °C, 1621 °F |
| Atomic Mass - | 22.99 | Electron Configuration - | [Ne] 3s1 |
| Group - | 1 | Electrons Per Shell - | 2, 8, 1 |
| Period - | 3 | Protons - | 11 |
| Series - | Alkali Metals | Neutrons - | 12 |
| Block - | d-block | | |
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Element Description - Sodium is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Na (Natrium in Latin) and atomic number 11. Sodium is a soft, waxy, silvery reactive metal belonging to the alkali metals that is abundant in natural compounds (especially halite). It is highly reactive, burns with a yellow flame, reacts violently with water and oxidizes in air necessitating storage in an inert environment. |
Element Characteristics - Like the other alkali metals, sodium metal is a soft, light-weight, silvery white, reactive metal. Owing to its extreme reactivity, in nature it occurs only combined into compounds, and never as a pure elemental metal. Sodium metal floats on water, and reacts violently with it releasing heat, flammable hydrogen gas and caustic sodium hydroxide solution.
Sodium ions are necessary for regulation of blood and body fluids, transmission of nerve impulses, heart activity, and certain metabolic functions. It is widely considered that most people consume more than is needed, in the form of sodium chloride, or table salt, and that this can have a negative effect on the health. See Edible salt.
Under extreme pressure, sodium departs from standard rules for changing to a liquid state. Most materials need more thermal energy to melt under pressure than they do at normal atmospheric pressure. This is because the molecules are packed closer together and have less room to move. At a pressure of 30 gigapascals (300,000 times sea level atmospheric pressure), the melting temperature of sodium begins to drop. At around 100 gigapascals, sodium will melt near room temperature.
A possible explanation for the aberrant behavior of sodium is that this element has one free electron that is pushed closer to the other 10 electrons when placed under pressure, forcing interactions that are not normally present. While under pressure, solid sodium assumes several odd crystal structures suggesting that the liquid might have unusual properties such as superconduction or superfluidity. |
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