10 Facts About the Element Chromium

10 Facts About the Element Chromium Here are 10 fun and interesting facts about the element chromium, a shiny blue-gray transition metal. Chromium has atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 on the Periodic Table,  with an atomic weight of 51.996 and density of 7.19 grams per cubic centimeter.Chromium is a hard, lustrous, steel-gray metal.  Chromium may be highly polished. Like many transition metals, it has a high melting point (1907 degrees C, 3465 degrees F) and high boiling point (2671 degrees C, 4840 degrees F).Stainless steel is hard and resists corrosion due to the addition of chromium.Chromium is the only element which shows antiferromagnetic ordering in its solid state at and below room temperature. Chromium becomes paramagnetic above 38 degrees C.  The elements magnetic properties are among its most notable characteristics.Trace amounts of trivalent chromium are needed for lipid and sugar metabolism. Hexavalent chromium and its compounds are extremely toxic and also carcinogenic. The 1, 4, and 5 oxidation states also occur, although they are less common.Chromium occurs naturally as a mix of three stable isotopes: Cr-52, Cr-53, and Cr-54. Chromium-52 is the most abundant isotope, accounting for 83.789% of its natural abundance.  19 radioisotopes have been characterized. The most stable isotope is chromium-50, which has a half-life of  over  1.8Ãâ€"1017  years. Chromium is used to prepare pigments (including yellow, red, and green), to color glass green, to color rubies red and emeralds green, in some tanning processes, as a decorative and protective metal coating, and as a catalyst.Chromium in air is passivated by oxygen, forming a protective layer that is essentially a spinel that is a few atoms thick. The coated is metal is usually called chrome.Chromium is the 21st or 22nd most abundant element in the Earths crust. It is present at a concentration of approximately 100 ppm.Most chromium is obtained by mining the mineral chromite. Although it is rare, native chromium also exists. It may be found in kimberlite pipe, where the reducing atmosphere favors the formation of diamond in addition to elemental chromium. Additional Chromium Facts Uses of Chromium About 75 percent to 85 percent of the chromium that is commercially  produced is used to make alloys, such as stainless steel. Most of the remaining chromium is used in the chemical industry and in foundries and refractories. The Discovery and History of Chromium Chromium was discovered by  French chemist Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin in 1797 from a sample of the mineral crocoite (lead chromate). He reacted chromium trioxide (Cr2O3) with charcoal (carbon), which yield needle-like crystals of chromium metal. Although it wasnt purified until the 18th century, people had been using chromium compounds for thousands of years. The Qin Dynasty of China used chromium oxide on their weapons. Although its unclear whether they sought the color of the compounds or the properties, the metal did protect the weapons from degradation. Naming Chromium The name of the element comes from the Greek word chroma, which translates as color. The name chromium was proposed by French chemists Antoine-Franà §ois de Fourcroy and Renà ©-Just Haà ¼y. This reflects the colorful nature of chromium compounds and the popularity of its pigments, which may be found in yellow, orange, green, purple, and black. The color of a compound may be used to predict the oxidation state of the metal.

The Lost Art of Effective Procrastination

The Lost Art of Effective Procrastination Amending My Ways A couple of weeks ago, my assistant Jeanne requested that I stop sending her the copy for my blog articles on Sunday night or sometime on Monday, when I need her to publish it on Monday night. I’ve been writing my blogs on Sundays for 5 years, which worked fine when I was the one posting and distributing them. But now that another person’s schedule is at issue, I need to change my ways. This Friday, in an attempt to please Jeanne,  I squeezed  in my  blog in  the last minutes before heading  off to Breitenbush Hot Springs (near Portland, OR), where I had no  internet access (gasp) for 24 hours. Yup.  I left blog writing  to the last minute. I don’t procrastinate about a lot of work-related projects. In fact, I tend to err on the side of doing things right away so I don’t have to worry about them later! But in the case of my blog, I did so revel in a weekend of not knowing what I’d write about and being (mostly) at peace with that as Sunday night approached. So far, I have always thought of something to write about before deadline. I see the advantage of moving my deadline to Friday: I now don’t have the nagging thought, â€Å"I have to write my blog,† on my brain all weekend. But an early deadline has its challenges too. I have one more thing to fit into my work week, and pressure to think of something in what seems like less time. Procrastination Defined Procrastination, says Wikipedia, is â€Å"the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time, sometimes to the ‘last minute’ before a deadline.† This form of procrastination can be destructive. People can get fired because they put important projects off until the last minute, often compromising quality- or missing deadlines altogether. But what about procrastinating on making decisions (and I don’t mean using the excuse â€Å"I’m still deciding the best way to proceed† to avoid starting a project!)? Whose Decision is it Anyway? As I shared in last week’s newsletter, I recently thought for too long about whether to sign up for coveted Forrest Yoga classes with the founder of the discipline, Ana Forrest, who was visiting Chicago. I noticed, while blithely  putting off  this decision, that there was something appealing about letting others make decisions for me. In this case, by the time I decided on purchasing the tickets, they were gone. I was forced to come up with Plan B, which was, ultimately, okay with me. My decision-making procrastination transferred to the decision of whether to fly to Portland for a week to check out the yoga scene there and to explore the area. I looked for friends to stay with before buying the ticket; that didn’t work. I almost let that make my decision for me, but persevered, finding an Airbnb spot that was perfectly situated. Then I decided if I couldn’t get my ticket for less than 50,000 miles I wouldn’t go. But the ticket stayed within my budget. So finally I booked my room and a rental car and hit â€Å"Purchase† on my plane ticket. Immediately fear set in. What was I doing? Why was I going to new city by myself with no real plan? Maybe I’d have a horrible time. Oh my, no wonder I took so long to make this decision. There was terror behind my procrastination. Putting the Pro in Procrastination I did not let my fear stop me, and by the first day I was enjoying a beautiful hike by some waterfalls and eating a delicious crepe at the Portland Farmer’s Market. I met two business contacts for very fruitful coffees and lunches (those I did plan a little bit ahead). But pretty much everything I did on my trip I decided to do at the last minute. Breitenbush Hot Springs is notoriously full at this time of year, but I called Thursday and got the last bed  available for the next night! I also managed to get an appointment with a bodyworker in Portland  10 minutes after I called to ask about availability. As a traveler, there’s not much difference between procrastination and spontaneity. Last-minute choices allow for a sense of adventure, which I truly enjoy when I’m on â€Å"vacation.† I ended up doing many things I would not have predicted because I did not plan ahead for every moment in Portland. To be sure, deciding things at the last minute requires a willingness to accept the consequences if things don’t work out as planned. I don’t recommend this tactic when other people (like your assistant) are depending on you, or when the consequences of letting circumstances make decisions for you are unacceptable. But when all that’s on the line is exactly what you’ll be doing for fun and adventure, why not go with the flow?