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Rubidium: By-Vansh Lathiya

Rubidium is a soft, silvery-white metal that is the second most reactive metal. It was discovered in 1861 by German chemists Kirchhoff and Bunsen. Rubidium has an atomic number of 37, density of 0.886 oz/in3, melting point of 102.7°F, and boiling point of 1,270.4°F. It is used in vacuum tubes, photocells, special glasses, and potentially as a spacecraft propellant. Rubidium and strontium are also used for radioactive dating of rocks.

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103 views

Rubidium: By-Vansh Lathiya

Rubidium is a soft, silvery-white metal that is the second most reactive metal. It was discovered in 1861 by German chemists Kirchhoff and Bunsen. Rubidium has an atomic number of 37, density of 0.886 oz/in3, melting point of 102.7°F, and boiling point of 1,270.4°F. It is used in vacuum tubes, photocells, special glasses, and potentially as a spacecraft propellant. Rubidium and strontium are also used for radioactive dating of rocks.

Uploaded by

Vansh Lathiya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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RUBIDIUM

BY-VANSH
LATHIYA
INTRODUCTION
▹ Rubidium (Rb), chemical element of Group 1 in the
periodic table, the alkali metal group. Rubidium is
the second most reactive metal and is very soft, with
a silvery-white lustre.

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▹ Rubidium was discovered by German chemists
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff and Robert Wilhelm
Bunsen in 1861 when they were observing the
spectrum of the mineral lepidolite as it burned,
according to Peter van der Krogt, a Dutch historian.
The spectrum of rubidium showed off two dark red
lines, and the scientists named the newly discovered
alkali metal rubidium after the Latin word for “deep
PROPERTIES:
▹ Atomic number (number of protons in the nucleus): 37
▹ Atomic symbol (on the periodic table of elements): Rb
▹ Atomic weight (average mass of the atom): 85.4678
▹ Density: 0.886 ounces per cubic inch (1.532 grams per cubic cm)
▹ Phase at room temperature: solid 3
▹ Melting point: 102.7 degrees Fahrenheit (39.3 degrees Celsius)
▹ Boiling point: 1,270.4 F (688 C)
▹ Number of natural isotopes (atoms of the same element with a different
number of neutrons): 2. There are also 29 artificial isotopes created in a
lab.
▹ Most common isotopes: Rb-85 (72.2 percent of natural abundance), Rb-
87 (27.8 percent of natural abundance)
USES:
▹Rubidium is used in vacuum tubes as a getter, a material that combines
with and removes trace gases from vacuum tubes. It is also used in the
manufacture of photocells and in special glasses. Since it is easily ionized,
it might be used as a propellant in ion engines on spacecraft. Recent
discoveries of large deposits of rubidium suggest that its usefulness will 4
increase as its properties become better understood.
▹Rubidium forms a large number of compounds, although none of them
has any significant commercial application. Some of the common
rubidium compounds are: rubidium chloride (RbCl), rubidium monoxide
(Rb2O) and rubidium copper sulfate Rb2SO4·CuSO4·6H20). A
compound of rubidium, silver and iodine, RbAg4I5, has interesting
electrical characteristics and might be useful in thin film batteries.
▹ Rubidium and strontium are used to date
rocks.Rubidium is an unstable isotope that has a
half-life of about 50 billion years and decays to
strontium-87, a stable isotope of strontium.
Radioactive dating is performed by observing the
ratio of strontium-87 to rubidium-87. 5

▹ Rubidium-cesium-antimony coating is commonly


applied to the photo-cathodes of photomultiplier
tubes, which are used in radiation detection devices,
medical imaging equipment, and night-vision
devices.
FUN FACTS:

▹ The price of Rubidium is Rs 5,00,000/g.

▹ It is a trace element that is needed in small amounts by our body for

proper thyroid function, etc. Its deficiency has been found to lower life
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expectancy and growth rate in goats.

▹ Washington State University physicists cooled rubidium atoms to a

temperature very close to absolute zero to form the famed Bose-Einstein

condensate, a state of matter in which, according to the quantum theory,

particles start behaving as waves.


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