Related topics: fukushima

Impossible material made possible inside a graphene sandwich

Atoms bind together by sharing electrons. The way this happens depends on the atom types but also on conditions such as temperature and pressure. In two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, atoms join along a plane ...

Researchers find that iodine in desert dust destroys ozone

When winds loft fine desert dust high into the atmosphere, iodine in that dust can trigger chemical reactions that destroy some air pollution, but also let greenhouse gases stick around longer. The finding, published today ...

Iodine successfully tested in satellite ion thrusters

A team of researchers from ThrustMe, working with colleagues from Sorbonne Université, has successfully tested the use of iodine as an ionizing agent in an ion-thrusting spacecraft engine. In their paper published in the ...

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Iodine

Iodine (pronounced /ˈaɪ.ədaɪn/, /ˈaɪ.ədɨn/, or in chemistry /ˈaɪ.ədiːn/; from Greek: ιώδης iodes "violet"), is a chemical element that has the symbol I and atomic number 53. Naturally-occurring iodine is a single isotope with 74 neutrons.

Chemically, iodine is the second least reactive of the halogens, and the second most electropositive halogen; trailing behind astatine in both of these categories. However, the element does not occur in the free state in nature. As with all other halogens (members of Group XVII in the periodic table), when freed from its compounds iodine forms diatomic molecules (I2).

Iodine and its compounds are primarily used in medicine, photography, and dyes. Although it is rare in the solar system and Earth's crust, the iodides are very soluble in water, and the element is concentrated in seawater. This mechanism helps to explain how the element came to be required in trace amounts by all animals and some plants, being the heaviest element commonly used by living organisms (only tungsten, used in enzymes by a few bacteria, is heavier).

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