Chlorine Essay Example For Students

Chlorine Essay ChlorineChlorine is (at room temperature) a greenish-yellow gas that can bereadily liquefied at 5170 Tarr or 6.8 atmospheres, at 20 C (68 F), and has avery disagreeable odor. Its Element Symbol is Cl, atomic number is 17, andatomic mass is 35.453. Chlorines melting point is -101 C or 149.8 F. Theboiling point is -34.05 C or -29.29 F, at one atmosphere pressure. Chlorine is amember of the halogen group. Chlorine was discovered by Swedish scientist KarlWilhelm in 1784, but he first thought it was a compound, rather than an element. In 1810, Sir Humphrey Davy named it Chlorine, from the Greek word meaninggreenish-yellow. Chlorine is used in bleaching agents, disinfectants, monomers (plastics),solvents, and pesticides. It is also used for bleaching paper pulp and otherorganic materials, preparing bromine, (a poisonous element that at roomtemperature is a dark, reddish-brown), tetraethyl lead, and killing germs inwater, particularly in swimming pools and hot tubs. Like every member of the halogen group, chlorine has a tendency to gain oneelectron and become a chloride ion. Chlorine strongly reacts with metals to formmostly water-soluble chlorides. Chlorine also strongly reacts with nonmetalssuch as sulfur, phosphorus, and other halogens. If you were to mix hydrogen andchlorine gases and keep them in a cool dark place, the mixture would be stable,but if it were exposed to sunlight, it would cause a strong explosion. If aburning candle were placed in a sealed container of chlorine, it would keepburning, and it would produce thick, black, smoke, leaving behind soot. Thereare five oxides that chlorine can form: chlorine monoxide; dichloride monoxide;chlorine dioxide; chlorine heptoxide; and chlorine hexoxide. Chlorine is used inbleaching agents, disinfectants, monomers (plastics), solvents, and pesticides. It is also used for bleaching paper pulp and other organic materials, preparingbromine, (a poisonous element that at room temperature is a dark, reddish-brown),tetraethyl lead, and killing germs in water, particularly in swimming pools andhot tubs. Electron Dot ModelClAdditional InformationChlorine was the first substance used as a poisonous gas in World War I (1914-1919) , along with gases like tear gas, phosgene (a lung irritant), and mustardgas. Flame-throwers were also tried, but at first were thought ineffectivebecause of their short range, but when napalm (made up of palmitic and napthenicacids), a sort of thick, sticky gasoline, was developed, flame throwers werequite useful in World War II. Most Chlorine is made by electrolysis of a salt solution, with a by-product of sodium hydroxide. Some industrial chlorine is made by oxidizinghydrogen chloride (a colorless, corrosive, nonflammable gas with a penetrating,suffocating odor.) . BibliographyMicrosoft Encarta. Copyright 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright 1994Funk Wagnalls Corporation. Asimov, Isaac, Building Blocks of the Universe, rev. ed. (1974); Downs, A. J.,The Chemistry of Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine and Astatine (1975); Hamilton, E. I.,The Chemical Elements and Man (1978); Nechamkin, Howard, Chemistry of theElements (1968); Ruben, Samuel, Handbook of the Elements, 2d ed. (1967; repr. 1985); Trifonov, D. N., Chemical Elements: How They Were Discovered (1985). Science