They were invented in 1920, according to the Edison Tech Center.Ī humble (and inexpensive) sodium compound could tackle a big task: Halting global warming. Sodium lamps use a mix of neon gas and solid sodium to achieve their golden hue. Yellow street lamps often owe their color to sodium.Sodium is a component in MSG, or monosodium glutamate.Dead animals that wash up on the lake shores are often preserved by this sodium carbonate, as documented in an eerie 2013 photography project. Lake Natron in Tanzania is alkaline, or basic, due to natural sodium carbonate deposits. The natron once used in mummification has natural effects.With emergency treatment, the man survived without lasting side effects. The excess sodium in the blood caused water to move out of the brain into the bloodstream, causing seizures and then unconsciousness. In 2013, doctors reported on the case of a 19-year-old man who went into a coma after chugging a bottle of soy sauce. Ever wonder what the difference is between kosher salt and regular table salt? The grains contain about half the sodium, for one thing.Sodium is the sixth-most abundant element on Earth, according to the Jefferson Lab.(Image credit: Pumbaa/Creative Commons, Andrei Marincas Shutterstock) Who knew? (Recent research has raised questions about the appropriate amount of salt in the diet, with an August 2014 study finding that moderate consumption may reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems.) Most Americans get 3,400 milligrams a day. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), adults should consume about 1,500 milligrams a day. In the body, sodium helps regulate water levels, making it crucial for maintaining blood pressure. Borax is used in detergents and cosmetics sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, is used to leaven bread and other baked goods sodium nitrite is used to preserve food, particularly deli meats. Mostly, though, sodium is used as part of one of the compounds it so readily creates. According to Hitachi, which makes some of these reactors, using a metal as a coolant is an added safety feature, since the sodium easily conducts and dissipates any excess heat. Some nuclear reactors use liquid sodium as a coolant.
Pure sodium metal does that fun flash-bang trick in water, but its practical uses are limited. Natron is a mixture of sodium-containing soda ash (sodium carbonate) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) that occurs naturally.Ĭredit for discovering pure sodium, however, goes to English chemist Humphry Davy, who used electrolysis to isolate the element from sodium hydroxide, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry. Ancient Egyptians, for example, used a substance called natron to pack mummies and their organs, drying out the flesh and preserving it. Sodium-containing compounds have been known and used since ancient times. They're always bonded with at least one other element to form compounds. As a result, sodium and the other alkali metals are so reactive that they're never found alone in nature. Atoms share electrons with other atoms in order to bond, and a single electron dangling out on the edge is simply too tempting to pass up, molecularly speaking. What all of these alkali metals have in common is a single electron in their outermost shell. Sodium is an alkali metal, found on the leftmost side of the Periodic Table with its compatriots: lithium, potassium, rubidium, cesium and francium. Most common isotopes: Na-23 (100 percent natural abundance).Number of isotopes (atoms of the same element with a different number of neutrons): 21 1 stable.Melting point: 208.04 degrees Fahrenheit (97.80 degrees Celsius).Density: 0.97 grams per cubic centimeter.Atomic weight (average mass of the atom): 22.98976928.Atomic symbol (on the Periodic Table of the Elements): Na.Atomic number (number of protons in the nucleus): 11.
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