Fluorine Essay

933 Words4 Pages
Fluorine April 6th, 2011 Fluorine is the most reactive chemical element and the lightest member of the halogen elements. Fluorine is a nonmetal and is part of group 17 (group VIIa) of the periodic table. Its density is 0.001696 grams per cubic centimeter. Its chemical activity can be attributed to its extreme ability to attract and to the small size of its atoms. Fluorine is a corrosive pale yellow gas. It is highly reactive, participating in reactions with virtually all-organic and inorganic substances. Fluorine is the most electronegative element. Metals, glass, ceramics, carbon, and water will burn with a bright flame in fluorine. It is possible that fluorine can substitute for hydrogen in organic reactions. Fluorine has been known to form compounds with rare gases, including xenon, radon, and krypton. Free fluorine has a characteristic pungent odor, detectable at concentrations as low as 20 parts per billion. Both elemental fluorine and the fluoride ion are highly toxic. The recommended maximum allowable concentration for a daily 8-hour time-weighted exposure is 0.1 parts per million. The fluorine-containing mineral fluorspar (or fluorite) was described in 1529 by the German physician and mineralogist Georgius Agricola. It appears likely an unknown English glassworker first prepared the crude hydrofluoric acid in 1720. In 1771 the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele obtained hydrofluoric acid in an impure state by heating fluorspar with concentrated sulfuric acid in a glass retort, which was greatly corroded by the product; as a result, vessels made of metal were used in subsequent experiments with the substance. The nearly anhydrous acid was prepared in 1809, and two years later the French physicist André-Marie Ampère suggested that it was a compound of hydrogen with an unknown element, analogous to chlorine, for which he suggested the name

More about Fluorine Essay

Open Document