Gallium
Picture from www.theodoregray.com and en.wikipedia.com
Can you name an element that makes a sheet of aluminum so brittle it’s able to be broken by a single blow? How about one that only needs the heat from the palm of your hand to melt into a shimmering, slippery puddle of mystifying molten metal? Perhaps a substance that was used to play hilarious practical jokes within the science community? No? Than next time, when presented with questions such as these, you can rightly say the answer is gallium. Gallium has a past riddled with conflict and arrogance, a unique way of reacting and binding with other elements, and a staggering amount of ingenious uses.
Gallium's History
One fine day in Paris in 1875, Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran was studying some zinc with a spectrometer when he noticed a new type of energy in the atomic spectrum of his particular sample. (Each element releases a unique set of different kinds of electromagnetic energy, and that's it's atomic spectrum.) Surprisingly, the energy that Lecoq de Boisbaudran found being released by the zinc was not the type of energy normally given off by the substance. In fact, that particular spectrum of electromagnetic energy had never been seen before. This could mean only one thing - a new element was present. After refining and purifying his new element extensively, Lecoq de Boisbaudran came up with a nice pure hunk of what he called “gallium”. The name is mostly thought to be derived from the Latin word for France, which is Gallia, but some also believe he slyly named the element after himself, as Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran’s name translates to “the rooster”, which in Latin is translated to gallus. His findings were reported to the French Academy of Sciences the December of that year. One would not think this act would induce conflict, but as word of this new element reached Dmitri Mendeleev, the father of the periodic table, his temper began to flare. Mendeleev tried to claim that he had in fact discovered gallium, because he predicted the existence of the element when he designed the periodic table. To this Lecoq de Boisbaudran responded harshly that Mendeleev had barely done anything to discover gallium and should not be recognized as the father of the element. The two began debating with each other in scientific journals to see if there was a peaceful way to sort out this misunderstanding, but as debates often do, the journal entries soon turned vicious and spiteful. Lecoq de Boisbaudran declared that Mendeleev stole the idea of the periodic table from a little-known Frenchman, a misdeed greatly abhorred in the world of science. Mendeleev fired back that Lecoq de Boisbaudran had measured some characteristics of gallium wrong, because it didn’t line up exactly with the characteristics that Mendeleev had predicted. This was a huge leap of boldness and arrogance, as Mendeleev was placing his theory over fact. The one thing that separated Mendeleev’s crackpot claim from utter insanity is the fact that he was right; Lecoq de Boisbaudran looked over and retook his measurements, and they lined up exactly with Mendeleev’s prediction. The petty feud continued until the two men lost touch with each other and the fires of anger and pride fizzled out. Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran died on May 28th, 1912, having aged 74 years. However, gallium lives on, and there is a lot more to the mysterious metal than what first meets the eye.
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Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (top) and Dmitri Mendeleev (bottom) fight viciously over who should be credited with the discovery of gallium.
Pictures from www.wikipedia.com |
Gallium's Properties
(Top to bottom) A bottle of gallium trichloride, a piece of aluminum left for a week after a dollop of melted gallium was placed on top, and a gif of gallium melting in a person's hand.
From www.drdatedude.com, www.youtube.com, and thekidshouldseethis.com |
Strange and outlandish properties separate gallium from the rest of the periodic table. At first glance, it is a soft, silvery-white metal that can be cut with a knife. Its structure is not unlike silicon, which comes in handy as it can be used in its place. A closer look at its atoms reveals it has 31 electrons, 31 protons, and mostly 39 neutrons, which all add up to an atomic mass of 69.723. It is one of only three elements that is liquid at or around room temperature, as it melts at a cozy 85.57 ºF, which makes it not only able to alloy easily with other metals, but makes it possible to melt a chunk of gallium in your hand. Would you think this metal could turn a sheet of aluminum from a steadfast metal plate to something flimsy enough to punch through? One would not, but that’s exactly what it can do. When melted gallium is placed on an aluminum sheet, it seeps into the grain of the metal, and destroys the bond between the individual crystals of the aluminum, causing the metal to be as frangible as a piece of wet cardboard. For this reason, gallium is not allowed on passenger airplanes, because they are mostly made from aluminum. (Press the button at the bottom of this section to see a video!) Sadly, you cannot simply dig a hole in your backyard and dig up a piece of this element, because it only accounts for 0.0019% of Earth’s crust and does not exist in its pure form in nature. If a person wishes to get gallium, they can painstakingly extract it from a piece of diaspore, sphalerite, germanite, bauxite, or coal, or perhaps pick up a bit that was created as a byproduct of aluminum manufacturing. It’s also found in trace amounts in your body, although it would be a very grisly, as well as inefficient, way to find the metal. Your best bet to mine metals in which gallium is found would be in China, Germany, and Kazakhstan, the three top producers of gallium. Although categorized as a metal, gallium is not the most metallic metal out there; when it bonds it sometimes takes electrons (characteristic to nonmetals) and sometimes gives them away (mostly preformed by metals), a curious oddity. When it bonds, it creates compounds as odd as its properties. Gallium trichloride is extremely caustic and used in LEDs and batteries. Gallium oxide normally comes in a white powder form and is used in piezo-electric transducers (which are extremely high-frequency speakers), and gallium arsenide is used in solar panels on Mars rovers.
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Gallium's Uses
Lasers. Cell phones. Computers. Do you know what all these different devices have in common? All these everyday items and even more contain a form of gallium. Mirrors, for instance, used to be made from gallium painted onto glass (gallium also creates a captivatingly reflective mirror when painted onto ceramics). The metal can also be found in high temperature thermometers because it melts at a very low temperature, but stays liquid up until 4,302 ºF. In fact, a gallium alloy called Galinstan is often used in everyday fever thermometers. The mix of gallium, indium, and tin stays liquid down to -2.2 ºF, and is a lot safer to use for this purpose than mercury. Gallium arsenide is used in microwaves and semiconductor crystals because gallium can operate as high as 250 gigahertz (a lot faster than silicon). In digital screens and LEDs, gallium turns energy into light, and gallium nitride serves the same purpose in lasers. Not only can gallium serve useful purposes within the technological world, but medicine benefits greatly from the element. A radioactive gallium isotope, Gallium 67, locates and gathers in cancerous tumors, aiding diagnosis and treatment of many types of cancers. Not only that, but a recent study proved that a gallium compound attacks certain strains of malaria that have become immune to conventional drugs. If you are a prankster, do not despair - gallium has a humorous use as well. One can play a funny joke by casting a spoon out of gallium (which looks like aluminum or stainless steel, which is what most spoons are made of) and giving it to a friend along with a hot beverage or meal, like tea or soup. As the spoon is put into the hot liquid, the gallium melts and sinks to the bottom of the cup or bowl, making it look like the spoon has disappeared. Imagine the look on your victim's - oh, I mean friend's - face as the soup seems to eat away at the spoon! (Note - if you are to try this, even though gallium is not toxic, don’t drink the rest of the soup or tea afterwards. It’s not advisable to ingest metal.)
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Gallium Nitride Lasers from www.nrel.gov.
A gallium spoon melting in hot water from www.neatorama.com.
A Galinstan thermometer from thesurvivalpodcast.com
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So that's gallium! A metal with a rich history, a myriad of impressive uses, and a boatload of mind-boggling properties. Mention this to people, and you normally get blank stares - however, gallium is everywhere, and one of the most interesting metals there is. Don't neglect it!
Sources
Gray, Theodore W., and Nick Mann. "Gallium." The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2009. N. pag. Print.
Kean, Sam. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements. New York: Little, Brown, 2010. Print.
Lenntech Staff. "Gallium." Gallium (Ga). Lenntech BV, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/ga.htm>.
Parsons, Paul, and Gail Dixon. The Periodic Table: A Visual Guide to the Elements. London: Quercus Editions, 2013. Print.
Ploessl, Robert. "Gallium Compounds including Trichloride and Oxide by Indium Corporation." Indium Corporation Blog. Indium Corporation, 1996. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://www.indium.com/inorganic-compounds/gallium-compounds/>.
Robertson, Murray, and John Emsley. "Gallium." - Element Information, Properties and Uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/31/gallium>.
Staff, By Live Science. "Facts About Gallium." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 09 May 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://www.livescience.com/29476-gallium.html>.
"What Is Gallium Used for – Metal Items." What Is Gallium Used for – Metal Items. Trustway Metal, 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://trustwaymetal.com/what-is-gallium-used-for-metal-items/>.
Kean, Sam. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements. New York: Little, Brown, 2010. Print.
Lenntech Staff. "Gallium." Gallium (Ga). Lenntech BV, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/ga.htm>.
Parsons, Paul, and Gail Dixon. The Periodic Table: A Visual Guide to the Elements. London: Quercus Editions, 2013. Print.
Ploessl, Robert. "Gallium Compounds including Trichloride and Oxide by Indium Corporation." Indium Corporation Blog. Indium Corporation, 1996. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://www.indium.com/inorganic-compounds/gallium-compounds/>.
Robertson, Murray, and John Emsley. "Gallium." - Element Information, Properties and Uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/31/gallium>.
Staff, By Live Science. "Facts About Gallium." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 09 May 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://www.livescience.com/29476-gallium.html>.
"What Is Gallium Used for – Metal Items." What Is Gallium Used for – Metal Items. Trustway Metal, 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. <http://trustwaymetal.com/what-is-gallium-used-for-metal-items/>.
Page by Lee R.