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atomic number 37 is a silvery - clean and very soft metallic element — and one of the most extremely responsive elements on the periodical table . atomic number 37 has a density about one and a half meter that of water and is solid at room temperature , although the metallic element will melt if it ’s just a bit warmer , according toChemicool .
Like the other alkali metallic element ( atomic number 3 , atomic number 11 , potassium , Cs and atomic number 87 ) , Rb reacts violently with water , oxidise when react with oxygen , and ignites due to humidity in the line , so big care must be taken when work with the factor . Scientists cover atomic number 37 as a toxic component , according toEncyclopedia , although no known health effects of rubidium are known .
Lepidolite crystal is a source of lithium, rubidium and cesium.
Just the facts
History
Rb 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 toPeter van der Krogt , a Dutch historian . The spectrum of atomic number 37 showed off two obscure red lines , and the scientist named the newly discovered alkali alloy Rb after the Latin word for “ deep red . ”
According toChemicool , Rb was extracted from the surrounding mineral byelectrolysis . Approximately 330 lbs . ( 150 kilogram ) of the lepidolite ore was needed so as to extract enough rubidium ( about 1.5 percent of the mineral ) so as to canvass its belongings . The scientists found that rubidium was more electropositive ( meaning that rubidium lean to form positive ion more readily , allot toEncyclopedia ) than atomic number 19 , another alkali alloy and react violently with water exhaust hydrogen .
According toNew World Encyclopedia , there was very little need or use for Rb until the 1920s when it was used more frequently in inquiry , chemical substance reactions , and electronic applications .
Electron configuration and elemental properties of rubidium.
Who knew?
Current research
A 2013studyby Adam Ghotbi , AndreasKjær , and Philip Hasbak , Danish medical scientists , published in theScandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicinecompares the role of rubidium-82 , a radioactive isotope , as a tracer in economic consumption inPETtechnology with other method and elemental tracers . allot to the authors , rubidium-82 is becoming one of the most widely used element in tracers inmyocardialstudies and procedures . With a half - liveliness of 75 seconds , rubidium-82 is inject into the body and is used by the tomography system to discover damaged tissue and heart disease and , accord to the writer , “ knuckle under splendid epitome character . ”
A similar study published in 2016 by Jennifer Renaud et al . , a group of Canadian aesculapian researcher , in theJournal of Nuclear Medicine . The study strike situation over a one - year period at three imaging centers with over 3,000 patient role and was testing the quality of imaging using rubidium-82 . The generator concluded that the use of rubidium-82 in PET CAT scan was “ precise and precise , with consistent carrying into action between different units and imaging center . ”
Using rubidium-82 for medical purposes dates back to 1954 , according to a 2015 report byJean - François Chatal , et al . , a group of Gallic aesculapian researcher , release inFrontiers in Medicine in the Nuclear Medicinesubsection . The FDA commendation to apply rubidium-82 in myocardial treatments come in 1989 . The authors sum the professional and cons of rubidium-82 which include low irradiation exposure and a with high quality picture as the pro and cost and a limited routine of available PET systems being the sting . Even with the cons , the manipulation of rubidium-82 is idealistic in myocardial field .
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