Why is this element important in everyday life?
Cadmium is used in many ways. It finds usage in the art world, because its salts are often used in coloring pigments for ceramics. The dry cells of rechargeable batteries are made of cadmium and nickel. Cadmium is also used as a catalyst.
Cadmium is also a valuable metal in industry. In industries that deal with corrosive materials, it replaces zinc in the plating of mechanical parts because cadmium is immune to alkalis. It also has the advantage of being able to be smoldered. Zinc, however, is still widely used because cadmium is a rare metal.
Television would not be the same without cadmium! One of the phosphor materials in television tubes is the compound, cadmium borate. The light sensitive properties of cadmium give it a wide variety of uses.
Where is this element found in nature?
Cadmium is found with zinc ore. It is not easy to separate from zinc. However, this can be accomplished if the ore is combined with sodium hydroxide. Both form oxides, but zinc's oxide is vulnerable to alkalis and cadmium's oxide is not.
What are the properties of the element?
General Characteristics =
1) Cadmium is silvery bluish-white in color.
2) It is a soft metal.
3) It is a good conductor of heat.
4) Cadmium is reactive.
5) It can be smoldered.
6) Its specific heat is 0.2311 kJ / mol.
7) Its first ionization energy is 867.7 kJ / mol.
Atomic Symbol = Cd
Period Number = 5
Group Number and Family Name = 12
Atomic Number = 48
Atomic Mass = 112.40
Density = 8.65
Melting Point = 320.9 degrees Celsius
Boiling Point = 765 degrees Celsius
Electron Configuration = 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10
Shorthand Notation = [Kr] 5s2 4d10
Common Reactions = Hydrogen sulfide and cadmium sulfide form a yellow precipitate of cadmium.
Interesting Information =
1) The abundance of cadmium in Earth's crust is 1.6 X 10-5.
2) Its name comes from the Latin phrase, cadmia fornacum, or "furnace zinc" .
3) Cadmium has a low coefficient of friction.
Who is Cadmium? ?
Late one night when Frank Skimmer came home from work, he retired to his room and decided to look at his rock collection. The year was 1816, and tonight would be his last night as a sane man.
Frank Skimmer's rock collection was the pride and joy of his life it contained samples of every known element and had hundreds of samples of rocks. Big ones and little ones, dull ones and colorful ones, precious gem stones the whole works. He loved his rock collection and there was nothing he loved better than to spend countless hours staring at it.
Tonight was a special occasion. Frank Skimmer had found a new rock to add to his collection. It was silvery blue-white, and, even though it was a little plain, it had already become one of his favorites. As he admired it, he got out a small box. On the lid Frank Skimmer wrote, "zinc".
"What do you think you're doing!" a high-pitched voice screamed.
Frank Skimmer yelped and spun around trying to find the source of the strange voice. He saw nothing. Terrified, Frank Skimmer realized that he was alone in the room.
"No, "the voice said," you've got it all wrong. Look in the box.."
His voice was barely audible. He whispered, "Zinc, is that you?"
"Zinc!" it said. "Zinc! This is an outrage! W-why I've never been so insulted in my life! To think that such a distinguished element such as myself could be mistaken for a stupid common - rock like zinc is unthinkable! How could you say such a thing - I am Cadmium!"
Horrified Frank Skimmer murmured, "No, I must be imagining things. I know all the elements by heart. There is no such element as cadmium. You must be a figure of my imagination."
Outraged, Cadmium shrieked, "I most certainly do exist! True, I am a very rare metal. But surly you must have heard of me?"
All Frank Skimmer could do was shake his head.
"Look, I'll prove it to you. You know all about zinc right?"
Frank Skimmer nodded. He was cold all over with fear, and desperately hoped that he would wake up soon from this nightmare.
"Well you know how zinc has that alkalis problem - I don't. I am 100% alkali corrosion free. And guess what?"
"What?" Frank Skimmer asked weakly.
"In the future industries are gonna pay big bucks for me if they work with corrosive materials. And I'm going to save lives and property too. With uh … a tiny bit of … er… help from … uh … some other elements -just a tiny bit now -alloys of me are going to plug the nozzles of automatic sprinkler systems. You see, I melt at very low temperatures for a metal -only at about 320 degrees Celsius. It doesn't take much to set me off. And the alloys they use on the nozzles melt at even less: 70 degrees Celsius! -And…"
"Cadmium," he said. "When you say 'in the future' how far in the future are you talking about?"
"Oh, I'm only talking about the late 20th century.
Frank Skimmer rolls his eyes and slumps in his chair.
"So you see, it's not too far in the… Hmm that's actually kind of far away for a human. What year is it?"
" It's 1816."
Awkwardly, Cadmium said, " Oh … uh it's a year before I was discovered… Um… sorry I snapped at you… if there's anything I can do to make up for… -say! I've got it! I'll tell you more about myself! I can think of no greater favor than to tell you about my regal and humble self. You, my good man, are in for a real treat. "
Frank Skimmer rolls his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Okay… uh out of curiosity, how long will this take?"
"Hmm…," Cadmium purred," …good question… Well, I should think that - if you're lucky - I might be able to keep this up all night. But, I can at least keep talking for a few more hours…"
"Give me a moment to get comfortable," Frank Skimmer murmured in a tired, subdued voice.
"Sure," Cadmium said cheerfully. "No problem. I wouldn't want you to get a cramp or something. That might make my wonderful story less wonderful."
He staggered over to his favorite red velvet chair and sat down. Frank Skimmer carefully placed Cadmium on the arm of the chair.
"Ah… much better… Now where was I? Oh yes… I am also a bit of an artist. People in the ceramics business use my salts for pigments…"
Cadmium did not lie. It truly could talk all night about itself. Frank Skimmer had never met anyone or anything as vain as the self-fascinated element. Although he had always considered himself a man of science, Frank Skimmer had trouble attributing this strange experience to a nightmare. It was far too real. He found himself beginning to believe that some sort of insane, demented spirit possessed his piece of zinc.
In the morning, Frank Skimmer awakened in his bed. It was very strange that he did not remember going there last night. All he remembered was a faint, weird dream. He found a piece of zinc on his red velvet chair. It felt warm. Slowly, memories resurfaced.
Frank Skimmer's friends noticed a change in him. He seemed nervous and jumpy. It was as though he was looking for something. However, that something was never found.
In 1817, he was sent to an asylum. He had been running through the streets entreating people to talk to a silvery blue rock. Frank Skimmer had then locked himself in his house and refused to come out. When the police came to take him away, they found his home in ruins. Frank Skimmer's precious rock collection was scattered all over the place. He was found smashing a small, whitish-blue stone to a powder with a large hammer. Spying the police, he tossed a piece of paper into the fireplace and ran. One of the officers, hoping to find a clue to the cause of the man's insanity, snatched the paper and stomped out the flames. He then followed his comrade to help catch the fleeing Frank Skimmer. The paper, which the officer had expected to be a suicide letter, offered no explanation for Frank Skimmer's current mental condition. It was apparently part of some sort of article. However, all that had been saved was part of its title. It read:
"…elemen…ium…discovered by…Stromeyer…"
