sodium
Sign in to saveSodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable isotope is 23Na. The free metal does not occur in nature and must be prepared from compounds. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and exists in numerous minerals such as feldspars, sodalite, and halite (NaCl). Many salts of sodium are highly water-soluble: sodium ions have been leached by the action of water from the Earth's minerals over
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Sodium is a soft, silvery-white chemical element (symbol Na) that is highly reactive and belongs to a group of metals called alkali metals. It's the sixth most abundant element in Earth's crust and exists naturally in various minerals and salts, making it an important part of our environment and everyday life.
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Article
28 sectionsContents
- Characteristics
- Physical
- Isotopes
- Chemistry
- Metallic sodium
- Salts and oxides
- Aqueous solutions
- Electrides and sodides
- Organosodium compounds
- Intermetallic compounds
- History
- Occurrence
- Astronomical observations
- Commercial production
- Uses
- Heat transfer
- Biological role
- Biological role in humans
- Diet
- High sodium consumption
- High blood pressure
- Physiology
- Biological role in plants
- Safety and precautions
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
Sodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable isotope is 23Na. The free metal does not occur in nature and must be prepared from compounds. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and exists in numerous minerals such as feldspars, sodalite, and halite (NaCl). Many salts of sodium are highly water-soluble: sodium ions have been leached by the action of water from the Earth's minerals over eons, and thus sodium and chlorine are the most common dissolved elements by weight in the oceans.
Sodium was first isolated by Humphry Davy in 1807 by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. Among many other useful sodium compounds, sodium hydroxide (lye) is used in soap manufacture, and sodium chloride (edible salt) is a de-icing agent and a nutrient for animals including humans.