RbRubidium

by: Howard Daniel Wood

Properties of RubidiumAtomic Number- 37

Atomic Mass- 85.47

Melting Point- 312.2K

Boiling Point- 961K

Density- 1532 kg m^-3

Very soft, silvery-white metal

Click Here to see Rubidium react with water

Liquid at room temperature Click Here to see another reaction in water

Ignites spontaneously and reacts violently in water

History of RubidiumDiscovered in 1861 by R.W. Busen and G. Kirchhoff in Germany by spectroscopic examination of lepidolite

Rubidium gets its name from the Latin word rubidius, which translates to deep red, this a reference to its dark red lines under a spectroscope

Key Isotopes

Nuclide 85Rb 86Rb 87Rb

Atomic Mass 84.91 85.91 86.91

Natural

Abundance72.17% 0% 27.84%

Half-Life Stable 18.66 days5x10^11

years

Availability of Rubidium

23rd most abundant element in the Earth’s crust

Minerals such as lepidolite, leucite, and carnallite contain Rubidium

Rubidium can be bought in small quantities for around $25 per gram

Rubidium Compounds

Most common used rubidium compound is Rubidium Chloride

It is used to induce cells to take up DNA in biochemistry

Rubidium Hydroxide is another compound that is used to make other rubidium chemical processes

And Rubidium Carbonate is used in some optical classes

Uses of RubidiumThere are few uses outside of research for rubidium

There has been some research done in the development of thinner batteries

Has been prospected for a working fluid for vapor turbines and in thermoelectric generators

Used as a photocell component

Can be found in some special optical glasses

Its slight radioactivity has been used to find brain tumors, because it collects at the site of a tumor and not normal tissue

Works Cited

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XLGopBovoI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpTHI1B0Zc8

http://www.hobart.k12.in.us/ksms/PeriodicTable/rubidium.htm

http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/37.html

http://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/visualelements/pages/data/rubidium_data.html