The entire world is made up of various Elements. Life, as we know it, wouldn't exist without these building blocks of matter. We ourselves are made of organic elements. With time, these substances have proved to be highly useful and equally hazardous.
Elements like Silicon are considered as a boon to the technology sector and to humanity as a whole. On the other hand, elements like Uranium are capable of causing nuclear disasters. So here are yet some more lesser known facts about the wonderful world of Elements.
1. Itai-itai is a painful body weakening disease in Japan which was caused by eating rice grown on soil contaminated with high levels of Cadmium.
| Itai-itai victim |
2. The Russian lunar rovers, Lunokhod 1 and Lunokhod 2 used Polonium to keep themselves warm.
3. Europium is considered to be mildy toxic, and the metal dust is a fire and explosion hazard.
4. People in ancient time used crushed Antimony as black paint and eyeliner, without realising how dangerously toxic it actually was.
5. Platinum-Iridium cylinder, which was made in 1879, is officially used to determine the unit of weight.
| International Prototype Kilogram (Platinum-Iridium Cylinder) |
6. Researchers, in the beginning, used to refer to Americium as 'Pandemonium' meaning 'devil's assembly', owing to the difficulties they faced trying to isolate it.
7. The element Bohrium was initially had a longer name 'Neilsbohrium', and it was later shortened by IUPAC.
8. Lutetium is the hardest Lanthanide element. It is also one of the most expensive metals in the world.
| Lutetium |
9. Ancient Egyptians used to decorate their temples and tombs with coloured minerals like Orpiment (Arsenic sulphide mineral), which were poisonous.
10. In 1898, Gerhard Schmidt and Marie Curie independently discovered radioactivity in Thorium. However, often Schmidt is only credited with the discovery.
Elements are the building blocks of life and human innovation. It is true that in some cases, they are proved to be deadly however, their proper use can make astounding advancements in the field of science and technology.
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10 Amazing Facts About Elements Part 1
10 Amazing Facts About Elements Part 2
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