The King of the Elements

[Gilded]

Bromine is pretty nifty (I have an ampoule of it), but I think hydrogen is my favorite. It doesn't have to be heavy, solid or extremely toxic to prove it's freaking awesome. Whether it's organic compounds, water, stars or thermonuclear weapons (or my tritium key fob ) you can find hydrogen wherever you look. After all, it is the most abundant element in the universe by mass (and thus especially by the amount of atoms), even though it is the lightest of them all.

Edited August 1, 2008 by Gilded

[nitric]

I have bromine.Made it myself.I think if you can isolate the most elements you can for collection.Also gives you something to do.

[Tealman535]

Really, how did you do it?

(which method did you use?)

 

 

Tim Ambrose: Teenage Inventor/Scientist

[frosch45]

I think that fluorine definitely has it. Which element has the highest EN? What won't it react with?

[hermanntrude]

cesium, by far. It's cool. check out alt.cesium

[Andoz]

My favorite would have to be Phosphorus, because of all the different allotrope's. Its like 7 different elements in one

[jdurg]

I think that fluorine definitely has it. Which element has the highest EN? What won't it react with?

 

I think helium is inert to fluorine, though I might be wrong if you put the right conditions on it. In fact, my fluorine sample is 6% fluorine with the rest being He. It actually prevents reaction with glass in that mixture for some reason.

[frosch45]

I think helium is inert to fluorine, though I might be wrong if you put the right conditions on it. In fact, my fluorine sample is 6% fluorine with the rest being He. It actually prevents reaction with glass in that mixture for some reason.

 

You're right. Helium and Neon if i'm not mistaken, but argon does react with it (or maybe I should say fluorine reacts with argon)

[infinitebrain]

I have to go with nitrogen.freezing things is cool

[frosch45]

liquid helium is a lot colder than liquid nitrogen

[Math Princess]

Never had a favorite one really, but for now I'll have to say Carbon. Simply because it's responsible for so many things, it's a part of almost everything ... etc.

[person]

Astatine ; You will never get this !!!

[Gilded]

Astatine ; You will never get this !!!

 

You like MC Hammer and you "can't touch" astatine?

[nitric]

I figured out a way to get astatine, I'm just not sure how legal it is. Bi+He*(alpha p)

[frosch45]

Astatine (after Greek αστατος astatos, meaning "unstable") was first synthesized in 1940 by Dale R. Corson, K. R. MacKenzie, and Emilio Segrè at the University of California, Berkeley by barraging bismuth with alpha particles. It has a half life of 8.3 hours.

 

Sounds really easy.

[jdurg]

Due to the short half-life, you'll never be able to isolate it. If you did try to, or if you made a lot of it, the activity level of the radionuclide would far exceed the allowable limits set forth by the NRC. As a result, you'd be prosecuted.

 

So no, it is not illegal to make it. It's just illegal to make any substantial quantity of it.

[Mukilab]

Arsenic, so useful but deadly.

[insane_alien]

particularly in giving us funny molecule names like 'Arsole'

 

i feel i need to justify that one so here's a paper on it with a suggestive name(if you have a dirty mind) http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/arsole2.pdf

 

and the wiki entry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsole

[Moontanman]

Hydrogen of course, there would be no other elements if not for hydrogen!

[emcelhannon]

My favorite changes from day to day.

 

 

Mercury is not expensive. Its actually pretty cheap and a lot of people would pay you to take it from them.

 

Can you connect me?

 

I'd like to throw my vote in for Bismuth. It's halflife is 15 billion years, (older than the universe) but we can say we drank radioactive liquid to settle our stomachs.

I've used it to create stable diamagnetic levitation.

I've cast chess sets out of it. It expands when it cools like water, capturing every detail.

I've cooled it slowly, and etched it in muratic acid to reveal the crystaline structure.

And of course, I've made amazing irridescent crystals by dumping the molten bismuth just before the top freezes over. The irridescence is not a pigment formed by oxidation. Instead, it's an example of the quantum effects of wave interferrence. The wicked trick of a single photon in two different places at the same time. The thin layer of oxidized bismuth reflects the photon off the bottom and the top of the layer, and allowing it to interfere with itself.

The stuff is freakin magic. What else can it do?

Edited February 9, 2010 by emcelhannon
incomplete

[jian]

why not Hydrogen?

It reacts with almost all the elements. Its isotopes have huge amount of atomic energy. It is our hope for the future.

[emcelhannon]

Hydrogen is lame, dude. When you think "KING" you imagine a great uniter like Phillip 2nd. You envision glory like Alexander, and versatility like Marcus Arrelius. Not some common, single minded peasant at the bottom of the pecking order.

Bismuth brings together the stable and unstable elements. It's irridescence is radiant, and it's powers of levitation and healing powers, (pepto bismol, ha) are borderline supernatural.

Hydrogen is 75% of the universe by weight. I know scarcity isn't a primary consideration for royalty, but calling Hydrogen king is like calling sand precious. We should also note here that every isotope has a huge amount of atomic energy.

Carbon has a fair claim to the throne, but again it's a commoner, even it's tetrahedral allatrope.

Tungsten ain't bad either, with it's light bulbs and golf clubs, but I'm not feeling it.

Gold is too obvious, and

Mercury is a messenger.

Osmium, now theirs an element, I'd like to get ahold of. Just once, I want to fondle a fist sized lump of that heavy weight. But alas, it's simply too aloof. A king shouldn't be an ordinary serf, but he's still got to be in touch with the people. (but if anyone out there has a $100,000 chunk of osmium to share, my loyalties are flexible)

 

No offense, Jian. Just having some fun

[jordehwa]

i dont have a favorite i like them all but i will to say my top 5 they always change.

 

this is not in order of liking. copper cuz it looks awesome and its the first metal i made a compound with. nitrogen cuz liquid nitrogen and nitric acid. mercury cuz its cool. titanium cuz its so light but also hard. and zinc cuz its easy to melt and do sand casting plus its cheap.

[Justonium]

I would say iron because it's got the most stable nucleus; elements lighter than iron release energy through nuclear fusion, whereas elements heavier than iron release energy through nuclear fission. Iron is what everybody wants to be.

[Mr Skeptic]

Carbon. Definitely carbon.