|
Primal Elements
A chemical element, often called simply an element, is a substance that cannot be decomposed or transformed into other chemical substances by ordinary chemical processes. more...
Home
Bath & Body
Antiperspirant, Deodorant
Bath Bombs, Fizzies
Bath Brushes, Sponges
Bath Oil
Bath Salts
Bath Sets, Kits
Body Lotion
Body Powder
Body Scrubs
Body Sprays, Mists
Body Wash, Shower Gel
Bubble Bath
Cellulite Treatment
Foot Treatment
Mixed Items
Other Items
Samples, Travel Sizes
Scar, Stretch Mark Reducers
Soap
Ahava
Bath & Body Works
Handmade
Glycerin
Goat's Milk
Other Handmade Soaps
Shea Butter
Other Soap
Primal Elements
Dietary Supplements,...
Hair Care
Hair Removal
Health Care
Massage
Medical, Special Needs
Nail
Natural Therapies
Oral Care
Other Health & Beauty Items
Skin Care
Tattoos, Body Art
Vision Care
Weight Management
Wholesale Lots
All matter consists of these elements and as of 2006, 117 unique elements have been discovered or artificially created. The smallest particle of such an element is an atom, which consists of electrons centered about a nucleus of protons and neutrons.
Chemistry terminology
Earlier an element or pure element was defined as a substance which \"can't be further broken down into another compound with different chemical properties\"—which should be taken to mean it consists of atoms of one element. However, because of allotropy, the isotope effect, and the confusion with the more useful term referring to the general class of atoms (irrespective of what compound it may be in), this usage is in disfavor amongst contemporary chemists, and sees restricted, mostly historical, use. This definition was motivated by the observation that these elements could not be dissociated by chemical means into other compounds. For example, water could be converted into hydrogen and oxygen, but hydrogen and oxygen could not be further decomposed, thus \"elemental\". There are also many counterexamples (for example \"elemental oxygen\" (O2) can be decomposed by solely chemical means into oxygen ions and atoms which have drastically different chemical properties). This article will concern itself with the latter definition.
Description
The lightest elements are hydrogen and helium. All the heavier elements are made, both naturally and artificially, through various methods of nucleosynthesis. As of 2006, there are 117 known elements: 94 occur naturally on Earth (six in trace quantities: technetium, atomic number 43; promethium, atomic number 61; astatine, atomic number 85; francium, atomic number 87; neptunium, atomic number 93; and plutonium, atomic number 94) and 95 (including californium) have been detected in the universe at large. The 23 elements not found on earth are derived artificially; technetium was the first purportedly non-naturally occurring element to be synthesized, in 1937, although trace amounts of technetium have since been found in nature, and the element may have been discovered naturally in 1925. All artificially derived elements are radioactive with short half-lives, so if any atoms of these elements were present at the formation of Earth they are extremely likely to have already decayed.
Lists of the elements by name, by symbol, by atomic number, by density, by melting point, and by boiling point as well as Ionization energies of the elements are available. The most convenient presentation of the elements is in the periodic table, which groups elements with similar chemical properties together.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
|
|