Potassium

Potassium - Calcium Na K Rb       Full table
General
Name, Symbol, Number	Potassium, K, 19
Series	Alkali metals
Group, Period, Block	1(IA), 4 , s
Density, Hardness	856 kg/m3, 0.4
Appearance	silvery white
Atomic Properties
Atomic weight	39.0983 amu
Atomic radius (calc.)	220 (243) pm
Covalent radius	196 pm
van der Waals radius	275 pm
Electron configuration	[Ar]4s1
e- 's per energy level	2, 8, 8, 1
Oxidation states (Oxide)	1 (strong base)
Crystal structure	cubic body centered
Physical Properties
State of matter	solid
Melting point	336.53 K (146.08 °F)
Boiling point	1032 K (1398 °F)
Molar volume	45.94 ×10-3 m3/mol
Heat of vaporization	79.87 kJ/mol
Heat of fusion	2.334 kJ/mol
Vapor pressure	1.06×10-4Pa at __ K
Speed of sound	2000 m/s at 293.15 K
Miscellaneous
Electronegativity	0.82 (Pauling scale)
Specific heat capacity	757 J/(kg*K)
Electrical conductivity	13.9 106/m ohm
Thermal conductivity	102.4 W/(m*K)
1st ionization potential	418.8 kJ/mol
2nd ionization potential	3052 kJ/mol
3rd ionization potential	4420 kJ/mol
4th ionization potential	4420 kJ/mol
5th ionization potential	7975 kJ/mol
6th ionization potential	9590 kJ/mol
7th ionization potential	11343 kJ/mol
8th ionization potential	14944 kJ/mol
9th ionization potential	16963.7 kJ/mol
10th ionization potential	48610 kJ/mol
Most Stable Isotopes
iso NA half-life DM DE MeV DP 39K 93.26% K is stable with 20 neutrons 40K 0.012% 1.277 E9y beta- epsilon 1.311 1.505 40Ca 40Ar 41K 6.73% K is stable with 22 neutrons
SI units & STP are used except where noted.

Potassium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol K and atomic number 19. This is a soft, silvery-white metallic alkali metal that occurs naturally bound to other elements in seawater[?] and many minerals. It oxidizes rapidly in air, is very reactive, especially in water, and resembles sodium chemically.

Table of contents 1 Notable Characteristics 2 Applications 3 History 4 Occurrence 5 Isotopes 6 Precautions 7 External Links

Notable Characteristics Potassium is the second lightest and the most reactive and most electropositive of the metals. This is a soft solid that easily is cut with a knife and is silvery in color on fresh surfaces. It oxidizes in air rapidly and must be stored in mineral oil for preservation.

Similar to other alkali metals potassium decomposes in water with the release of hydrogen. When in water it catches fire spontaneously and its salts emit a violet color when exposed to a flame. Applications

• Potassium oxide, best known as potash, is primarily used in fertilizer.
• Potassium chloride is used as a substitute for table salt and is also used to stop the heart in executions by lethal injection. It is also used in fertilizer.
• Potassium nitrate is used in gunpowder.
• Potassium carbonate is used in glass manufacture
• This element is an essential component needed in plant growth and is found in most soil types.
• In animal cells potassium is vital to keeping cells alive (see Na-K pump[?])
• NaK an alloy of sodium and potassium is used as a heat-transfer medium.

Many potassium salts are very important, and include, potassium; bromide, carbonate, chlorate[?], chloride, chromate[?], cyanide[?], dichromate[?], hydroxide, iodide[?], nitrate, sulfate[?]. History Potassium (English, potash L. kalium) was discovered in 1807 by Sir Humphry Davy who derived it from caustic potash (KOH. This alkali metal and was the first metal that was isolated by electrolysis. Occurrence This element makes up about 2.4% of the weight of the Earth's crust and is the seventh most abundant element in it. Due to its insolubility, it is very difficult to obtain potassium from its minerals.

However other minerals, such as carnallite[?], langbeinite[?], polyhalite[?], and sylvite[?] are found in ancient lake and sea beds. These minerals form extensive deposits in these envrionments making extracting potassium and its salts more economical. The principle source of pottassium, potash is mined in California, Germany, New Mexico, Utah, and in other places around the world. At 3000 ft below the surface of Saskatchewan lies large deposits of potash which may become important sources of this element and its salts in the future.

The oceans are another source of potassium but the quantify present in a given volume of seawater is relatively low compared to sodium.

Potassium is never found unbound in nature and is produced through electrolysis of its hydroxide in a process that has changed little since Davy. Thermal methods also are employed in potassium production Isotopes There are seventeen isotopes of potassium known to exist. The non-synthetic form of potassium are composed of three isotopes: K-39 (93.3%), K-40 (0.01%) and K-41 (6.7%). Naturally occurring K-40 decays to stable Ar-40 (11.2%) by electron capture and by positron emission[?], and decays to stable Ca-40 (88.8%) by negatron emission; K-40 has a half-life of 1.250 × 10⁹ years.

The decay of K-40 to Ar-40 is commonly used as a method for dating rocks. The conventional K-Ar dating method depends on the assumption that the rocks contained no argon at the time of formation and that all the subsequent radiogenic argon (i.e., Ar-40) was quantitatively retained, i.e., closed system. Minerals are dated by measurement of the concentration of potassium, and the amount of radiogenic Ar-40 that has accumulated. The minerals that are best suited for dating include biotite, muscovite, and plutonic/high grade metamorphic hornblende, and volcanic feldspar; whole rock samples from volcanic flows and shallow instrusives can also be dated if they are unaltered.

Outside of dating, K isotopes have been used extensively in studies of weathering; K isotopes have also be used for nutrient cycling[?] studies because K is a macro-nutrient[?] required for life. Precautions Potassium reacts violently with water. This metal should therefore be kept under a mineral oil such as kerosene for this reason.

External Links

• WebElements.com - Potassium (http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/K/index)
• EnvironmentalChemistry.com - Potassium (http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/K)