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Zinc is number 30 on the periodic table, It happens to be pretty stable and is a transition metal |
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Before zinc was discovered as an element people used zinc ores to make brass. People have used zinc since ancient Greece and Rome when they used copper and zinc ores, called calamine, to make brass. Calamine contains zinc silicate. Zn4(Si2O7). The first people to identify zinc as a single element were Indian metalworkers in the 14th century. They did this by heating calamine with wool in a crucible. Zinc vapor flowed into a condenser (a tube cooled by water) until it became a solid. George Bauer, who went by Agricola, was a German mineralogist and scholar who discovered zinc by accident when he was purifying lead and silver, at a smelter in the Harz Mountains in Germany. William Champion was the first person to describe zinc as an element when he heated calamine. |
A process for producing zinc oxide from an aqueous solution containing zinc ions is provided. The process comprises the steps of contacting a zinc solution with an insoluble organic solvent selective to the extraction of zinc and thereby produces a zinc-loaded organic solvent. The zinc is then stripped from the zinc-loaded organic solvent with a solution of nitric acid to form a solution of zinc nitrate. The zinc nitrate solution is subjected to thermal hydrolysis at an elevated temperature in the presence of pressurized water vapor, the temperature being at least sufficient to decompose the zinc nitrate to zinc oxide which is thereafter recovered. |
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~Industrial and Technology Uses~
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There are a few major uses of zinc that people use every day but don’t realize this. The first is an anti-corrosion coating on steel. This prevents steel from galvanizing or rusting as a more common term. This will be explained further in the Chemistry of zinc. Another use is a construction material. This is one that’s obvious because almost every metal can be combined to make an everyday construction material. Usually it’s combined with copper to make brass Cu3Zn2. It is also used for precision components. This is when you want machinery to be exact or precise. A well known use of zinc is for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It is used for skin treatment and skin protection. Most sunscreen has zinc oxide. |
| In many ways, the properties of zinc more closely resemeble those of the alkaline earth metals than the transition metals. Whereas most transition metals form a variety of oxidation states, zinc only forms the +2, which corresponds to the removal of the two 4s electrons. Whereas most of the transition metal compounds are colored, all zinc compounds are white. The reason for this lies with the fact that the 3 orbitals are completely filled. The transfer of electrons from lower energy orbitals to higher energy orbitals, the mechanism responsible for the color of most transition metal ions, cannot take place with zinc. |  |
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Zinc is essential for human health. It is vital for many biological functions such as disease resistance, wound healing, digestion, reproduction, physical growth, diabetes control, taste and smell. Every cell in the human body requires zinc to multiply and more than 300 enzymes need zinc for proper functioning. Zinc can also be a bad thing if you have too much. The World Health Organization's "World Health Report 2002" estimated that one-third (33%) of the world's population is at risk of inadequate zinc intakes. The effects of zinc deficiency may be severe, ranging from impaired neuropsychological functions, growth retardation and stunting, impaired reproduction, immune disorders, dermatitis, impaired wound healing, lethargy, loss of appetite and loss of hair. |
Indium is an element that is found in Zinc ores
Gallium is an element that is found in Zinc ores
Isotope |
Stable or Not |
Zn-62 |
Non-Stable |
Zn-63 |
Non-Stable |
Zn-64 |
Stable |
Zn-65 |
Non-Stable |
Zn-66 |
Stable |
Zn-67 |
Stable |
Zn-68 |
Stable |
Zn-69 |
Non-Stable |
Zn-70 |
Stable |
Zn-72 |
Non-Stable |
Glossary
| (verb) to simulate by or as if by a galvanic current | |
| (noun) a product of corroding, as rust | |
(adjective) of, like, or containing water; watery |
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| (adjective) the branch of psychology that deals with the relationship between the nervous system | |
| (noun) the substance dissolved in a given solution | |
(noun) a wave function describing the state of a single electron in a atom |
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