Poetry of reality Science
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We must know. We will know.
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A view from the shoulders of giants.
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This is a list of the elements listed in the periodic table.[1]
Hydrogen
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Hydrogen |
1 |
Blowing up the Hindenburg, Composing the vast majority of the universe's matter |
H |
No
|
Alkali metals
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Lithium |
3 |
making rechargeable batteries |
Li |
No
|
Sodium |
11 |
explodes when touching water |
Na |
No
|
Potassium |
19 |
|
K |
No
|
Rubidium |
37 |
In very precise clocks |
Rb |
No
|
Cesium |
55 |
atomic clocks |
Cs |
No
|
Francium |
87 |
|
Fr |
Yes
|
Alkali earth metals
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Beryllium |
4 |
strong but lightweight material |
Be |
No
|
Magnesium |
12 |
Lots, present in chlorophyll, alloys |
Mg |
No
|
Calcium |
20 |
present in bones and cement |
Ca |
No
|
Strontium |
38 |
red fireworks, glass in old-fashioned CRT televisions |
Sr |
No
|
Barium |
56 |
drilling fluid, rat poison, medical imaging |
Ba |
No
|
Radium |
88 |
Being radioactive |
Ra |
Yes
|
Transition metals
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Scandium |
21 |
When you need tools |
Sc |
No
|
Titanium |
22 |
strong but lightweight, artificial bones, aircraft parts |
Ti |
No
|
Vanadium |
23 |
In tools |
V |
No
|
Chromium |
24 |
Chrome plating, stainless steel |
Cr |
No
|
Manganese |
25 |
Alloying with steel and aluminum |
Mn |
No
|
Iron |
26 |
ferromagnetic, (electro)magnets, steel, good conductor of heat and electricity, part of hemoglobin |
Fe |
No
|
Cobalt |
27 |
ferromagnetic, coloring glass blue |
Co |
No
|
Nickel |
28 |
in currency, certain kinds of stainless steel |
Ni |
No
|
Copper |
29 |
coins, good conductor of heat and electricity; The first metal humans smelted |
Cu |
No
|
Zinc |
30 |
In currency |
Zn |
No
|
Yttrium |
39 |
Forms YBCO |
Y |
No
|
Zirconium |
40 |
Fake diamonds |
Zr |
No
|
Niobium |
41 |
Piercings, destroying Congo's economy (with tantalum) |
Nb |
No
|
Molybdenum |
42 |
Alloys, generating technetium |
Mo |
No
|
Technetium |
43 |
Nuclear medicine |
Tc |
Yes
|
Ruthenium |
44 |
Being a metal no one's heard of |
Ru |
No
|
Rhodium |
45 |
Plating cheap jewelry |
Rh |
No
|
Palladium |
46 |
Imitating silver[notes 1], catalytic converters |
Pd |
No
|
Silver |
47 |
Mirrors, great conductor of heat and electricity, coins |
Ag |
No
|
Cadmium |
48 |
Yellow, carcinogenic pigment |
Cd |
No
|
Hafnium |
72 |
Plasma torches |
Hf |
No
|
Tantalum |
73 |
Capacitors,[notes 2] destroying Congo's economy (with niobium) |
Ta |
No
|
Tungsten |
74 |
Incredibly high melting point, mining drills, lightbulbs/globes, armor-piecing shells |
W |
No
|
Rhenium |
75 |
Alloys, thin wires |
Re |
No
|
Osmium |
76 |
Alloying with iridium; most dense metal |
Os |
No
|
Iridium |
77 |
Spark plug electrodes |
Ir |
No
|
Platinum |
78 |
Jewelry; being really expensive catalysis |
Pt |
No
|
Gold |
79 |
Jewelry, high performance electrical contacts, money!!! |
Au |
No
|
Mercury |
80 |
First planet from the sun Poison, thermometers, freaks anti-vaxxers out |
Hg |
No
|
Rutherfordium |
104 |
None |
Rf |
Yes
|
Dubnium |
105 |
None |
Db |
Yes
|
Seaborgium |
106 |
None |
Sg |
Yes
|
Bohrium |
107 |
None |
Bh |
Yes
|
Hassium |
108 |
None |
Hs |
Yes
|
Meitnerium |
109 |
None |
Mt |
Yes
|
Darmstadtium |
110 |
None |
Ds |
Yes
|
Roentgenium |
111 |
None |
Rg |
Yes
|
Copernicium |
112 |
None |
Cn |
Yes
|
Semimetals
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Boron |
5 |
Fiberglass |
B |
No
|
Silicon |
14 |
Electronics |
Si |
No
|
Germanium |
32 |
Camera lenses |
Ge |
No
|
Arsenic |
33 |
Poison |
As |
No
|
Antimony |
51 |
Alloying with lead |
Sb |
No
|
Tellurium |
52 |
In DVDs |
Te |
No
|
Other Nonmetals
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Carbon |
6 |
High efficiency fuel, Plastic, dietary fats, carbs, and fibers, global warming, pencils |
C |
No
|
Nitrogen |
7 |
Air, having a really low boiling point, dynamite |
N |
No
|
Phosphorus |
15 |
Fertilizer, matches, phospholipid bilayers, making meth[notes 3] |
P |
No
|
Post-transition metals
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Aluminum |
13 |
Airplanes, foil |
Al |
No
|
Gallium |
31 |
Having a low melting point |
Ga |
No
|
Indium |
49 |
Thermometers |
In |
No
|
Tin |
50 |
Making bronze |
Sn |
No
|
Thallium |
81 |
Poison |
Tl |
No
|
Lead |
82 |
Pipes, paint, gasoline additive Poison, bullets, radiation shielding |
Pb |
No
|
Bismuth |
83 |
Pepto-Bismol |
Bi |
Yes(technically)[notes 4]
|
Polonium |
84 |
Assassinating ex-FSB agents |
Po |
Yes
|
Nihonium |
113 |
None |
Nh |
Yes
|
Chalcogens
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Oxygen |
8 |
Cellular respiration |
O |
No
|
Sulfur |
16 |
Creating face-melting acid |
S |
No
|
Selenium |
34 |
Glass production |
Se |
No
|
Halogens
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Fluorine |
9 |
Toothpaste |
F |
No
|
Chlorine |
17 |
Disinfecting swimming pools |
Cl |
No
|
Bromine |
35 |
Disinfectant |
Br |
No
|
Iodine |
53 |
Antiseptic |
I |
No
|
Astatine |
85 |
None |
At |
Yes
|
Tennessine |
117 |
None |
Ts |
Yes
|
Noble gases
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Helium |
2 |
In balloons, blimps and zeppelins, jokes about pitch-shifts; liquid helium has interesting properties and is one of the coolest materials known to science |
He |
No
|
Neon |
10 |
Gaudy casinos |
Ne |
No
|
Argon |
18 |
Shield gas for substances that oxidize easily |
Ar |
No
|
Krypton |
36 |
Superman's home planet Incandescent bulbs |
Kr |
No
|
Xenon |
54 |
Galactic ruler of Scientology fame Highly efficient, electrically-powered ion thrusters on satellites |
Xe |
No
|
Radon |
86 |
Leading cause of lung cancer that isn't smoking or asbestos |
Rn |
Yes
|
Oganesson |
118 |
None |
Og |
Yes
|
Rare Earth metals
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Lanthanum |
57 |
Flints |
La |
No
|
Cerium |
58 |
Lighter flints |
Ce |
No
|
Praseodymium |
59 |
Coloring glass yellow |
Pr |
No
|
Neodymium |
60 |
Very strong magnets |
Nd |
No
|
Promethium |
61 |
Atomic batteries |
Pm |
Yes
|
Samarium |
62 |
Powerful magnets used in electronics |
Sm |
No
|
Europium |
63 |
Red and blue phosphors in CRT televisions |
Eu |
No
|
Gadolinium |
64 |
Increasing contrast in MRI scans |
Gd |
No
|
Terbium |
65 |
Fluorescent lights |
Tb |
No
|
Dysprosium |
66 |
Nuclear control rods |
Dy |
No
|
Holmium |
67 |
High strength magnets |
Ho |
No
|
Erbium |
68 |
Photographic filters |
Er |
No
|
Thulium |
69 |
Lasers |
Tm |
No
|
Ytterbium |
70 |
Strengthening stainless steel |
Yb |
No
|
Lutetium |
71 |
Lights in LEDs |
Lu |
No
|
Actinides
Element |
Atomic Number |
Use(s) |
Symbol |
Radioactive?
|
Actinium |
89 |
Radio-immunotherapy |
Ac |
Yes
|
Thorium |
90 |
Lantern mantles |
Th |
Yes
|
Protactinium |
91 |
None |
Pa |
Yes
|
Uranium |
92 |
Nuclear power |
U |
Yes
|
Neptunium |
93 |
Neutron detection equipment |
Np |
Yes
|
Plutonium |
94 |
Pacemakers |
Pu |
Yes
|
Americium |
95 |
Smoke detectors |
Am |
Yes
|
Curium |
96 |
Powering equipment used on space missions |
Cm |
Yes
|
Berkelium |
97 |
None |
Bk |
Yes
|
Californium |
98 |
Portable metal detectors |
Cf |
Yes
|
Einsteinium |
99 |
None |
Es |
Yes
|
Fermium |
100 |
None |
Fm |
Yes
|
Mendelevium |
101 |
None |
Md |
Yes
|
Nobelium |
102 |
None |
No |
Yes
|
Lawrencium |
103 |
None |
Lr |
Yes
|
Notes
- ↑ Which is pretty ironic, considering that palladium is actually more expensive than silver.
- ↑ Maybe one is in the device you're using to read this...
- ↑ This is the reason it's illegal to buy elemental phosphorus in the United States
- ↑ All isotopes of bismuth are radioactive, some however have really, really long half-lives.
References