Thallium

=Thallium= =  =

__Atomic Number:__ 81 __Atomic Symbol:__ Tl __Atomic Radius:__ 107.4 pm __Atomic weight/mass:__ 204.37 amu __Neutrons:__ 123 __Protons and electrons:__ 81 __Density:__ 11.8 g/cm^3 __Boiling Point:__ 1473 degrees Celsius __Melting Point:__ 304 degrees Celsius __Crystal Structure: H__exagonal __Found__: In land or in water, but not in the air.

Thallium was found by William Crookes in 1861. Crookes' friend had given him a sludge left over from when he made sulfuric acid. After he had removed other elements he saw a bright green line using a spectroscope. He had burned the element and saw green light. It was named after Thallos meaning green root or twig. The root word Thallos is Greek and is the origin for the abbreviation Tl. Even though Crookes discovered it in 1861 in was not seperated from other material until 1862, by a French man named C.A. Lamy.

Thallium is not just found in sludge, it is found naturally in many minerals, some of these are crooksite, lorandite, and hutchinsonite. Thallium is a poor metal that is found as a solid in nature. It is so soft it can be cut with a knife. Natural Thallium can also be found in nodules, masses of minerals growing in the bottom of the ocean. Thallium is modestly abundant in the earth's crust, 0.7mg are found for every 1km of crust. Because Thallium is found in the crust it can get into wells that some people use for drinking water and poison them. Because it is poisonous Thallium has been widely used in ant killer. It is not used in the U.S. today because it was prohibited. Thallium is also used to treat skin infections like ringworm.

Interesting Information:
 * Thallium costs about 40 dollars per pound today.
 * It resembles the color of tin, or sort of silvery white, until it is exposed to air. Then it is blue-gray.
 * Thallium is found in humans, but very little. The average 70 kg person, or someone who weighs about 155 lbs. has only 0.5mg of Thallium in them. (But you don't have a daily value)
 * Thallium is a member of the aluminum family on the periodic table.



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