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- Name : Strontium
- Symbol : Sr
- Atomic # : 38
- Atom weight: 87.62
- Melting P. : 769
- Boiling P. : 1384
- Oxidation : +2
- Pronounced : STRON-she-em
- From : Scottish town, "Strontian"
- Identified : Adair Crawford in 1790
- Appearance : Silvery, malleable metal
- Note : Comprise about .025% of earth's crust
-
- [Properties]
-
- Strontium is a soft, shiny metal. Like calcium and the other metals on
- the left-hand side of the periodic table, strontium is an active metal.
- It has a shiny, silver-gray appearance when it is first cut, but soon
- tarnishes with a duller, slightly yellow color. This tarnishing effect is
- due to strontium's reaction with atmospheric gasses, notably oxygen and
- nitrogen.
- Both of these compounds are quite effective at preventing further
- corrosion of the metal. Finely ground strontium, however, burns
- spontaneously in air.
- Strontium readily combines with water, too. In this situation, the
- reaction yields hydrogen gas and the hydroxide of strontium.
-