Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

homestead - Re: [Homestead] "Mysterious" hex in periodic table (was: Curveballs)

homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Homestead mailing list

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] "Mysterious" hex in periodic table (was: Curveballs)
  • Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:11:48 -0800

Karen L. Black wrote:

I'm not a chemist, but I've had some training along those lines. Besides, a
physicist is supposed to have the 30,000-foot view of chemistry (and all
other sciences), so I'd be happy to take a stab at Bill's questions.

Bill Jones writes:

OK, I've put you in suspense. Here's a hint: uranium (a metal) has a

hexa*fluoride. IOW, six atoms of fluorine (the non-metal) and one of
uranium can form a "salt" together. If you look inside the cover of
your CRC manual, you'll see that this is pretty rare among the
elements. I think only chromium can do this. Well, now look beyond
uranium to the first three man-made elements. They can also have a
charge of +6.
***********************************************************************
Looking at my CRC manual (doesn't *everyone* have a _Handbook of Chemistry
and Physics_ laying about her house? :-))

Bev probably does.

, I see that chromium's columnar
neighbors, molybdenum and tungsten, also have a +6 oxidation state. So do
technetium, rhenium, sulfur, selenium, and tellurium. It's unusual, but not
all that rare. Now +7, that is rare -- only iodine, technetium and rhenium
achieve that lofty level of ionization.

You're bending the truth quite a bit. I meant horizontal neighbors. Only in the higher elements does the shell structure achieve the size necessary to support three elements in a row with the same valance. The first time we notice it is in the transition metals, where lots of horizontal neighbors have valance of 2 or 3. Columnar neighbors always tend to have similar oxidation states (it's what makes halogens halogens, for example). Further, neptunium, plutonium, and americium (the 3 sixes in question) became known as elements roughly in order shortly after transmutation of elements first occurred (by human intervention) in a reactor. In case you're not familiar with that process, samples of elements are bombarded with a stream of deuterium nuclei. Obviously it's quite unnatural, and these three elements have much more in common that your post would indicate.

Bill continues:

Now, I've been asked to accept on faith that the _first_ sustained

nuclear fission occurred at the U. of Chicago during the early 20th
century (other than those which have occurred spontaneously in nature, a
fascinating but extremely rare event). If you simply question this
notion, it leaves open the possibility that someone long ago found this
signpost and sent a warning to future generations.
**********************************************************

I don't quite follow. Are you saying that the "number of the beast" is a
warning not to stack bricks of uranium metal too closely?

From what I've seen, it might as easily be a warning not to inhale sulfur
fumes, eat locoweed, or try synthesizing technetium.




Maybe just not to go there at all.

And if it were true, what would be your number of the beast to leave to future generations to ponder? 93, 94, 95 (their atomic numbers)? It's just not as catchy!

Bill





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page