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Fluorine. cubic. Fluorine is a chemical element; it has symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen [note 1] and exists at standard conditions as pale yellow diatomic gas. Fluorine is extremely reactive as it reacts with all other elements except for the light inert gases.
Fluorite (CaF 2), also called fluorspar, is the main source of commercial fluorine. Fluorite is a colorful mineral associated with hydrothermal deposits. It is common and found worldwide. China supplies more than half of the world's demand and Mexico is the second-largest producer in the world. [citation needed] The United States produced most ...
Fluorine biology is also relevant to a number of cutting-edge technologies. PFCs (perfluorocarbons) are capable of holding enough oxygen to support human liquid breathing. Organofluorine in the form of its radioisotope 18 F is also at the heart of a modern medical imaging technique known as positron emission tomography (PET).
Fluorine's chemistry is dominated by its strong tendency to gain an electron. It is the most electronegative element and elemental fluorine is a strong oxidant. The removal of an electron from a fluorine atom requires so much energy that no known reagents are known to oxidize fluorine to any positive oxidation state. [20]
Carbon–fluorine bond. The carbon–fluorine bond is a polar covalent bond between carbon and fluorine that is a component of all organofluorine compounds. It is one of the strongest single bonds in chemistry (after the B–F single bond, Si–F single bond, and H–F single bond), and relatively short, due to its partial ionic character.
Fluorine is a relatively new element in human applications. In ancient times, only minor uses of fluorine-containing minerals existed. The industrial use of fluorite, fluorine's source mineral, was first described by early scientist Georgius Agricola in the 16th century, in the context of smelting. The name "fluorite" (and later "fluorine ...
Isotopes of fluorine (9F) ). Only fluorine-19 is stable and naturally occurring in more than trace quantities; therefore, fluorine is a monoisotopic and mononuclidic element. ; it has a half-life of 109.734 (8) min. All other fluorine isotopes have half-lives of less than a minute, and most of those less than a second.
Due to strong and extensive hydrogen bonding, it boils at near room temperature, much higher than other hydrogen halides. Hydrogen fluoride is an extremely dangerous gas, forming corrosive and penetrating hydrofluoric acid upon contact with moisture. The gas can also cause blindness by rapid destruction of the corneas.