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The alkaline earth metals (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, and Ra) are the second most reactive metals in the periodic table, and, like the Group 1 metals, have increasing reactivity with increasing numbers of energy levels. Beryllium (Be) is the only alkaline earth metal that does not react with water or steam, even if the metal is heated red hot. [9]
The metal reacts with the water first, breaking the hydrogen bonds in the water and producing hydrogen gas; this takes place faster for the more reactive heavier alkali metals. Second, the heat generated by the first part of the reaction often ignites the hydrogen gas, causing it to burn explosively into the surrounding air.
The most reactive metals, such as sodium, will react with cold water to produce hydrogen and the metal hydroxide: 2 Na (s) + 2 H 2 O (l) →2 NaOH (aq) + H 2 (g) Metals in the middle of the reactivity series, such as iron , will react with acids such as sulfuric acid (but not water at normal temperatures) to give hydrogen and a metal salt ...
Because of this, lithium is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly reactive element, though it is the least reactive of the alkali metals. Lithium's lower reactivity is due to the proximity of its valence electron to its nucleus (the remaining two electrons are in the 1s orbital , much lower in energy, and do not ...
Bulk sodium is usually stored in oil or an inert gas. Sodium metal can be easily cut with a knife. It is a good conductor of electricity and heat. Due to having low atomic mass and large atomic radius, sodium is third-least dense of all elemental metals and is one of only three metals that can float on water, the other two being lithium and ...
The creation of sparks from metals is based on the pyrophoricity of small metal particles, and pyrophoric alloys are made for this purpose. [2] Practical applications include the sparking mechanisms in lighters and various toys, using ferrocerium; starting fires without matches, using a firesteel; the flintlock mechanism in firearms; and spark testing ferrous metals.
The eutectic mixture consists of 77% potassium and 23% sodium by mass (NaK-77), and it is a liquid from −12.6 to 785 °C (9.3 to 1,445.0 °F), and has a density of 0.866 g/cm 3 at 21 °C (70 °F) and 0.855 g/cm 3 at 100 °C (212 °F), making it less dense than water. [3] It is highly reactive with water and is stored usually under hexane or ...
Plutonium is a reactive metal. In moist air or moist argon, the metal oxidizes rapidly, producing a mixture of oxides and hydrides. [5] If the metal is exposed long enough to a limited amount of water vapor, a powdery surface coating of PuO 2 is formed. [5] Also formed is plutonium hydride but an excess of water vapor forms only PuO 2. [41]