Other uses for sodium have emerged in the fields of high technology electronics and optics: sodium yttrium fluoride (NaYF) is a luminescent phosphor nanocrystal for LEDs, sodium bismuthate has been studied as an analog to 3D graphene, and sodium-air batteries are a promising next-generation green storage medium with the potential to be a viable alternative to the current prevailing lithium-ion battery technology. Sodium can be used to improve the structural properties of certain alloys such as aluminum silicon and tin nickel copper sodium potassium alloy (NaK) is particularly effective as a heat transfer medium and a dessicant, and a sodium, potassium, and cesium alloy (Na 12%/K 47%/Cs 41%) has the lowest melting point of any known alloy. The element is biologically important to the function of most systems in the human body, and is common in food additives and pharmaceuticals. Its compounds are highly soluble and often used in soaps, glass products, papers, and textiles sodium chloride is a common de-icing agent, as well as what is commonly known as table salt. The vibrant yellow-orange flame caused by burning sodium gives street lamps their distinct color. It is often used in nuclear reactors because of its low boiling point. Metallic sodium is used primarily in chemical reactions to product organic esters and compounds such as sodium azide, indigo, and triphenylphosphine. Sodium has a vast range of applications and uses in the industrial, biomedical, and chemical fields. The Latin term for the compound, natrium, served as the basis for the sodium’s elemental symbol of Na. The element’s name comes from the common name for sodium carbonate, “soda,” from the Arabic suda or Latin sodanum, all meaning “headache ” as the headache-relieving properties of the compound had long been known. Sir Humphry Davy first isolated the element in 1807 via electrolysis of sodium hydroxide, the same method that he had used several months earlier to isolate potassium for the first time. Metallic sodium is typically produced via electrolysis of a molten mixture of sodium chloride and calcium chloride in an electrochemical apparatus known as a Down’s cell. Sodium is the most commercially important alkali metal and the 6th most abundant element on earth it has one stable isotope ( 23Na) and is present in underground salt mines, seawater, and numerous minerals such as cryolite, feldspars, sodalite, halite, natron, and zeolites. Its low density allows the metal to float on water, a property that only potassium and lithium share. Though less reactive than potassium, sodium metal rapidly oxidizes in contact with air and will ignite, releasing pure hydrogen and caustic sodium hydroxide, upon contact with water. Similar to the other members of the alkali metal family, sodium is a silvery-white conductive metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife. ![]() ![]() Sodium also maintains our nerve functions, muscle movement, and electrolyte balance. American Elements: The Materials Science Company™ | Certified bulk & lab quantity manufacturer of metals, chemicals, nanoparticles & other advanced materials It acts as an electrolyte and mineral that regulates the fluid in our cells.
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