A team of astronomers led by AIP Ph.D. student Engin Keles detected the chemical element potassium in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, for the first time with overwhelming significance and applying high-resolution spectroscopy. ...
Astronomy
Sep 04, 2019
0
1372
Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University are studying the mineral glauconite as an eco-friendly and effective alternative to traditional potassium fertilizers exploited in agriculture. Their recent study showed that glauconite-bearing ...
Environment
Aug 30, 2019
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24
Hogweed, which grows over vast areas of Russia, can be useful as a material for batteries. Scientists from NUST MISIS have investigated the possibilities of fibrous substances in the plant stems. They have turned them into ...
Materials Science
Aug 26, 2019
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10
Saliva from a tick's bite can transmit pathogens that cause serious illnesses, such as Lyme disease, and significant agricultural losses. Current insecticides have drawbacks, so scientists have been seeking new ways to prevent ...
Biochemistry
Aug 26, 2019
6
2108
Do potassium ions pass through the selectivity filter of a potassium channel alone, or are there water molecules between the ions, too? This question has been a source of controversy for years. Researchers led by Prof. Adam ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 09, 2019
2
1212
Scientists have developed a new method for detecting traces of primordial life in ancient rock formations using potassium.
Earth Sciences
Jul 04, 2019
1
1
Groundbreaking research at the new long-wavelength macromolecular crystallography beamline (I23) at Diamond Light Source has for the first time demonstrated the location of potassium ions in bacterial ribosomes. Ribosomes ...
Biochemistry
Jun 07, 2019
0
163
Indiana University researchers have created a powerful new molecule for the extraction of salt from liquid. The work has potential to help increase the amount of drinkable water on Earth.
Materials Science
May 23, 2019
3
366
A team of scientists has created a bowl-shaped electrode with 'hot edges' which can efficiently convert CO2 from gas into carbon based fuels and chemicals, helping combat the climate change threat posed by atmospheric carbon ...
Materials Science
May 14, 2019
4
139
A trio of researchers with the University of Wollongong, in Australia, has published an outline of the current state of potassium-ion battery technology. In their Review piece published in the journal Science Advances, Wenchao ...
Potassium (pronounced /pɵˈtæsiəm/) is the chemical element with the symbol K (Latin: kalium, from Arabic: القَلْيَه al-qalyah “plant ashes”, cf. Alkali from the same root), atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white metallic alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the evolved hydrogen.
Potassium in nature occurs only as ionic salt. As such, it is found dissolved in seawater, and as part of many minerals. Potassium ion is necessary for the function of all living cells, and is thus present in all plant and animal tissues. It is found in especially high concentrations in plant cells, and in a mixed diet, it is most highly concentrated in fruits.
In many respects, potassium and sodium are chemically similar, although they have very different functions in organisms in general, and in animal cells in particular.
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