My Element Web Page

Its number 83, in group 15,
Its found by refining and is soft and silvery,
It can be radioactive but thats rarely,
And used in an alloy its easy to read

History	Properties	Uses	Alloys and Isotopes
Health Effects	Other	Table	Glossary

History
Bismuth was discovered in 1753 by a French man called Clavde Geoffrey. It took so long to be discovered because at first it was mistaken for tin and lead because they all have similar properties. Its name most likely came from the German words weisse masse meaning white mass or material. People assume it changed from that to wismuth to bisemutum to, finally, bismuth.

Properties
Bismuth is a soft, brittle, silvery metal with a bright, shiny surface and a yellowish or pinkish tinge caused by oxygen. It is easily broken and can’t be worked with at room temperature. When it is heated in air it has a blue flame with yellow oxygen fumes. It is a solid at room temperature and has a metallic luster.

Bismuth is an unusual metal that differs from most other elements. It is unusual because when it solidifies it expands 3.32% instead of compacting, few elements react the same. It is also the most diamagnetic metal and has the lowest thermal conductivity of any element except mercury. Bismuth has a high electrical resistance and has the highest hall effect of any metal.

Uses
Manufactured in Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, China, Belgium and Japan, bismuth is used for many things. It is worked with to make cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and more. It is put in cosmetics to make face powder, luster in lipstick, eye shadow and more. In pharmaceuticals it fixes burns, helps stomach ulcers, intestinal disorders and veterinary items. Element 83 is often put into molds where it expands to make letters and numbers that are crisp, clear and easy to read. It is somewhat fire resistant and is used in fire sprinkler systems, fuel tank safety and extinguishers. The ability it has to absorb energy makes it usable to transport nuclear power. Bismuth is also used in coloring paints, ceramic glazes, some bullets, plumbing appliances and chemicals. It has similar properties to lead and scientists are considering substituting bismuth for lead in some mixtures. Bismuth can be used in many items for all sorts of uses

Alloys
As an alloy bismuth is mixed with many other alloys. Bismuth alloys have low melting points some even as low as 70C. It is so similar to lead scientists are considering replacing it for lead in some lead alloys.

Isotopes
Bismuth is a soft, brittle, silvery metal with a bright, shiny surface and a yellowish or pinkish tinge caused by oxygen. It is easily broken and can’t be worked with at room temperature. When it is heated in air it has a blue flame with yellow oxygen fumes. It is a solid at room temperature and has a metallic luster.

Health Effects
Bismuth has some health effects. It sometimes but rarely can cause a toxic reaction. It salt form can cause mild kidney damage and in large doses it can be deadly. If large doses are injected into closed cavities or it is applied to often to burns it can cause a fatal poisoning. If gingivitis appears after use it can cause ulceration stomatitis. Bismuth can also produce toxic problems like small bodily discomfort, protein substances in urine, diarrhea, skin reactions and sometime serious cases of exodermatitis.

Other
It’s abundance on the earth’s crust is about .2 parts per million. It is pretty reactive and is hardly ever found in nature uncombined. Bismuth salts form insoluble compounds in water and dissolves in concentrated nitric air. It covalently bonds and its crystal structure is a rhombohedral. Its crystals are opaque and it has 5 valence electrons.

Table
Atomic Number 83	Group 15, Nitrogen
Melting Point 271C	Boiling Point 1560C
Density 9.78 gpc	Symbol Bi
Atomic Weight 208.98	Metal
Highly Reactive	83 Protons
83 Electrons	126 Neutrons

Bismuth can sometimes seem like lead and tin, to learn about those click them.

Glossary
Cavities	any hollow place
Crystal Structure	the patterned arrangement of atoms in a material
Diamagnetic	a class of substances whose ability to alter a magnetic field is less than that of a vacuum
Hall Effect	the electromotive force generated in a strip of metal longitudinally conducting an electric current and subjected to a magnetic field normal to its major surface.
Exodermatitis	an external skin disease
Ulceration Stomatitis	an infectious disease of the mouth

Bibliography

1. Barbalace, Kenneth L. "Periodic Table of Elements." Periodic Table of Elements. EnviromentalChemistry.com. 18 Feb. 2009 <http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/Bi.html>.

2. Gagnon, Steve. "Bi." It's Elemental. Jefferson Lab. 16 Feb. 2009 <http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele083.html>.

3. Rotterdamsweg, B. "Bismuth - Bi." Lennntech. 16 Feb. 2009 <http://www.lenntech.com/Periodic-chart-elements/Bi-en.htm>.

4. Unknown. "Bismuth." Chemicool. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://www.chemicool.com/elements/bismuth.html>.

5. Winter, Mark. "Bismuth: the essentials." Web Elements. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://www.webelements.com/bismuth/>.