Neon

The 10th element with the symbol Ne. Neon is one of the most well-known noble gases, largely due to the fact that it is used in Neon signs and lights that pop up on fast-food diners and companies that want customers badly. Despite being the most famous out of all the noble gases, it is quite uncommon in our atmosphere, with Argon - another fellow noble gas - being 23x more abundant than Neon. Like the rest of the other gases in its group, Neon is 100% inert and antisocial, and will not tolerate participating in reactions with other chemicals. It is also monatomic, meaning that it occurs as a single atom, unlike Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, and the halogens, which occur as two tightly-bonded atoms due to their high reactivity. Neon derived its name from the Greek "Neos", which meant "new". And at the time of its discovery (1898), an invincible gas that could emit a red glow from excitement would be considered "new".

Person 1: Does Neon make your voice higher?
Person 2: Go look it up.

by CHNOPS July 08, 2020

Iodine

The 53rd element that occurs as a grey crystalline solid. It gives off a pretty, toxic, magenta-coloured vapour when heated, that should NOT be inhaled under any circumstance. It is one of two naturally-occurring halogens that crystallize at room temperature (the other being Astatine). Iodine's name comes from the Greek "Iodes", which means "violet-coloured".

Iodine occurs naturally in organic compounds in seaweed.

by CHNOPS July 08, 2020

Francium

Element #87, with the symbol Fr. Francium is the exact opposite of stable, decaying in a matter of nanoseconds. Its most stable isotope, Francium-223, decays in only 22 minutes. It is extremely radioactive, and has no uses besides being a space-filler on the periodic table. One could say that it could be used as a weapon, but the fact that only 30 grams of the stuff can exist on Earth at a time would rule out that suggestion. Single Francium atoms are also fiendishly difficult to synthesize. These factors effectively make Francium forever useless and obsolete. Francium was named after France, where it was discovered in Paris.

Francium has the lifespan of an antivaxxer's child.

by CHNOPS July 09, 2020

Osmium

Element #76 with the symbol Os, a.k.a. the bluest metal in the world. Although it might seem pretty, Osmium is far from being good jewelry or building material, unless you want things with unbelievably high costs. It's a relatively non-toxic substance, granted that you don't combine it with Oxygen. Its name comes from the Greek word "Osme", which means "smell", "scent", or "odor". This definition refers to the nasty volatile compound that occurs when you mix Oxygen with the latter. It's also an extremely heavy metal, weighing 5x more than Lead does.

Osmium is the heaviest, stable metal in the universe.

by CHNOPS July 08, 2020