3 ms·
From the article: "Intuition suggests that metals are dense, and while that bears true for some (think gold or lead), it fails to hold up for others. For examp
by msie 6y ago
From the article:
"Intuition suggests that metals are dense, and while that bears true for some (think gold or lead), it fails to hold up for others. For example, lithium—commonly used in batteries—floats on water. Some metals are hard, such as titanium, yet others yield easily to pressure, including indium and aluminum. How about melting temperature? Platinum melts at more than 1,700 degrees Celsius (3,200 F), but mercury is a liquid well below zero.
Many other definitions of 'metal-hood' suffer similar contradictions, but only metals are able to conduct electricity. Conduction, unlike density or hardness, is an inherent property of all metals."
From the article:
"In these solutions, electrons from the alkali metal initially become trapped in the gaps between ammonia molecules. This creates what scientists call 'solvated electrons,' which are highly reactive but stabilized in the ammonia. These solutions have a characteristic blue color. But given enough solvated electrons, the whole liquid turns bronze and, in essence, becomes a metal while remaining liquid.
Solvated electrons have proven to be important to organic chemists. Through a reaction called the "Birch reduction," named after chemist Arthur Birch, they were key to synthesizing many important compounds and led to the manufacture of oral contraceptives in the 1950s."
- aeternum 6y ago>only metals are able to conduct electricity The article is incorrect on this. Some non-metals can conduct electricity.
- mianos 6y agoQuite a lot of non metals can conduct electricity. Even Oxygen has a solid phase (ζ-phase <- hope that renders), where oxygen is pretty much a conducting metal. Edit: ps, if you compress it more and cool it, even oxygen becomes a super conductor. This might confuse those guys.
- snowwrestler 6y agoAlmost anything will conduct electricity if you crank the voltage high enough... :-0
- adrian_b 6y ago"but only metals are able to conduct electricity" This is incorrect. Any substance that contains free electricity carriers will conduct electricity. Examples of electrical conductors that are not metals: 1. Liquid electrolytes 2. Solid electrolytes 3. Semiconductors 4. Ionized gases 5. Vacuum in which electrons or ions have been injected by some means All of the above are used in common devices. The metals are solid or liquid electrical conductors which contain free electrons that are intrinsic, i.e. not produced by various methods, like in semiconductors. Besides free electrons, metal have a second characteristic, which was used already in the 18th century to distinguish metals from semi-metals. While this distinction is seldom mentioned nowadays, it remains useful. Metals have both free electrons and a crystal structure that allows plastic deformation (i.e. with high coordination number), while semi-metals have free electrons, but they have a crystal structure that does not allow plastic deformation, i.e. they are fragile. Examples of semi-metals: graphite, antimony, bismuth.