# Favourite Chemical Element?



## Amanita (Mar 27, 2011)

Does anyone of you have a favourite chemical element? If so, which one?
(I admit, this is research for my novel. I want to know how likely it is for people to think about them that way.)

My own is sodium. It's essential for the body, we eat it in salt and on pretzels and it gives pretty yellow light when used in street lamps. It's reaction are also very interesting. And I just have some personal affinity for it. If I lived in my fantasy world this would surely be my element.


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## drkpyn (Mar 27, 2011)

My favorite is definitely argon, but only because it sounds cool and in high school a friend and I made up a character named Argon. I am also partial to lead because of its odd abbreviation, Pb. Also lead brings to mind all kinds of feelings about things that are heavy, thick, solid, indestructible, etc.


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## Telcontar (Mar 27, 2011)

Off the top of my head, I'm gonna say Titanium, for awesome strength and usefulness in some pretty incredible alloys. Though copper is a close runner up, for its importance in early history, alloys, and also cuz it's pretty.


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## Ravana (Mar 27, 2011)

Hmm… titanium, maybe. Though beryllium and aluminum could hold claim for at least some of the reasons for titanium. 

Aluminum is such a workaday metal most people wouldn't even consider the possibility that it could be romantic, much less exotic—until you look at the history _behind_ getting it to workaday status. When the Washington Monument was completed in 1884, aluminum sold at the same price as silver (which itself was relatively more valuable than it is now), the 2.85 kg aluminum tip was the largest piece of aluminum ever cast to date, it represented almost 6% of the total U.S. production of aluminum for that year, and a bit under 0.1% of _global_ aluminum production… and this in spite of it being more common than any element other than oxygen and silicon! I threw it into one of my fantasy settings under a different name—though it was obvious what it was, given its description—as a "secret" metal produced only by (stereotype alert!) dwarves in one particular location. I've used titanium similarly (which is even harder to produce, and harder still to work with… and it's the ninth most common element in the Earth's crust—80,000 times as common as silver and more than 5 million times as common as gold). Historically, both aluminum and titanium were isolated right at the beginning of the industrial revolution (but played no actual role in it), so it's not inconceivable that their extraction could have begun earlier—especially if magic is involved in the process. In fact, magic would almost have to be involved in the process: that's how difficult it is to separate these metals from their ores.

Those aren't the main reasons these elements hit my "favorite" list; they certainly help, but mainly they'd influence my SF writing more than fantasy. No, what I like them for is the shiny rocks they can form. Consider the following:

Na4Al3(SiO4)3Cl 
Al2SiO4(F, OH)2
(Mg/Fe/Mn/Ca)3Al2(SiO3)4
Ca2Al3(SiO4)3(OH)
(Mg, Fe)2Al3(Si5AlO18)
Al2SiO5
Al2O3
Be3Al2(SiO3)6
BeAl2O4
TiO2

To give them their more common names:
• Sodalite: a dark blue stone resembling lapis, but with streaks of white and black in it; I usually describe it as resembling a frozen thunderstorm. Far and away my favorite "semi-precious" stone. It's also so widely available anyone can pick up an inexpensive, good-sized specimen, carved in whatever shape, to sit attractively next to your monitor for when you need to gaze abstractedly at something other than what you're writing.… 
• Topaz: truly underrated as a precious gem—too often thought of as a "substitute" for more valuable minerals rather than considered in its own right.
• Four of the six main varieties of garnet (the other two don't involve aluminum): another gem usually regarded as a "substitute," but coming into its own lately. Forget about cut garnets, though: go find one that formed naturally—the raw crystals can be amazing in complexity.
• Zoisite: never heard of it? Okay, how 'bout the purplish-blue, color-changing variety of the mineral… unknown until a couple decades ago, the finest specimens now sell for prices approaching that of diamond: tanzanite. 
• Cordierite: never heard of it? No surprise. Most people haven't even heard of the gray-violet-blue (think "indigo") variety just now coming into broader use: iolite. _Very_ pretty; get yours while it's still inexpensive. Another color-change stone, this one changes because it polarizes light… even on overcast days when one can't take sun-sightings from one's longboat—which is why it's also known as "Viking's compass." And yes, that really is a historical use it was put to. 
• Kyanite: still relatively unknown, this gem is not just "blue," it's BLUE DAMMIT! blue. It's the blue all other blue stones wish they could be. Think the Crayola color in a translucent gem. 
• Speaking of things that are substituted for, this amazingly simple, widely-distributed crystal comes in almost any color… chemically speaking, it's aluminum oxide, mineralogically it's known as corundum: when it's any color other than red, it's called sapphire; when it's red, it's called ruby.

Bet you never knew aluminum could be so cool, eh? It gets even better when it combines with beryllium: 
• Beryl: again, better known for its pale greenish-blue or rich, bright green forms—the first is aquamarine (and it's where we get the name of the color from); the second is emerald. 
• Chrysoberyl: if found under this name, it's the relatively boring golden-brown variety… but when it's a blue-green that changes to deep red under artificial light, it's called alexandrite—far and away the most expensive natural gemstone on the market, not to mention being cool as hell (and the paradigm example of color-change stones). 

Throw in tourmaline, which has a composition so complex even I am disinclined to type it in (and that's after putting iolite up there!): all varieties involve both aluminum silicates as well as separately-linked aluminum atoms. Out of my favorite stones, only dioptase, malachite, and lazurite don't contain aluminum, beryllium or titanium: they call get their color from copper. (As you can probably guess from the foregoing, I strongly favor blues and greens.)  

Which leaves only the last of the above formulas unaccounted for: plain-jane titanium oxide, aka rutile. By itself, it's not necessarily anything special… but when needles of it penetrate quartz, you get gorgeous, shimmering golden lattices glinting out of the clear stone: look it up under "rutilated quartz." It's also inclusions of rutile in corundum and other stones that cause asterism—the "star" in star sapphires, rubies, et al. (It also causes chatoyancy—the "cat's eye" effect—in at least some stones, though I'm not certain it's the cause in all such stones… having trouble running that one down, for some reason.)

Suppose I have to give an honorable mention to copper, both for completing my "favorite stones" set and for being the primary component of bronze and brass… as well as starting humanity on its metallurgical path in the first place… and being pretty in its own right.

As you can probably guess, I geek on minerals as much as I do on architecture.…


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## myrddin173 (Mar 27, 2011)

My favorite is Ag, because well silver is just plain awesome.  Second is Mo, because Molybdenum sounds cool.


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## Ophiucha (Mar 27, 2011)

I'm a copper kind of gal.


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## Mdnight Falling (Mar 28, 2011)

Silver....I'm not allergic to it and it's a shiney pretty thing e.e weeeeeeee lol


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## Kelise (Mar 28, 2011)

Iodine, because I'm interested in anything that has medical benefits.

Though Mercury and Radium are quite cool too, for when I take over the world ;D


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## Digital_Fey (Mar 28, 2011)

Hm...lithium, because I like the idea of a metal that weighs practically nothing and corrodes instantly - transience and fragility, described in something we would usually consider to be less than fragile.

I do have something of a fondness for mercury, too, though^^


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## Mdnight Falling (Mar 28, 2011)

starconstant said:


> Iodine, because I'm interested in anything that has medical benefits.
> 
> Though Mercury and Radium are quite cool too, for when I take over the world ;D


 
Bah I'd have said iodine... but that I'm highly allergic too O.O the medicine in any form will kill me x.x! I swear I'm a mutant -.-


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## Meg the Healer (Mar 30, 2011)

I'm a big fan of oxygen namely because I like breathing .

But seriously, aside from Oxygen, I like Sulfer. It's pretty versatile in its use....matches, gunpowder, and medicine. Plus who doesn't like a little fire and brimstone?


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## Mdnight Falling (Mar 31, 2011)

LOL very true Meg.. see I don't know all the elements I really should memorize them then I could give a better answer LMAO!


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## Ravana (Mar 31, 2011)

Mdnight Falling said:


> LOL very true Meg.. see I don't know all the elements I really should memorize them then I could give a better answer LMAO!



This might help.… 

YouTube - Tom Lehrer's "The Elements" animated


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## Mdnight Falling (Apr 1, 2011)

Thanks Ravana >^.^<


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## Kevin O. McLaughlin (Apr 4, 2011)

Meg picked my choice.    Oxygen, for sure. For some reason, I'm rather attached to having a lot of it around me.


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## Chilari (Apr 5, 2011)

I've always been partial to Potassium because it's in bananas and I like bananas. Also when I started secondary school, we each had to do a mini project and presenation on one element and I was 19th in the register and got potassium as a result.

Nitrogen in liquid form is awesome too. I knew that it could be used to freeze things and break them off in awesome ways, but I recently learned that it is used as a cooling agent in the XRF machine I was using the other day to examine archaeological ceramics.

Also whatever elements make up horneblend, because it's pretty under a polarising microscope and easy to spot.


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## Amanita (Apr 5, 2011)

So, the scores at the moment: 
The winner among the metals and among all is *Copper* with three votes, followed by *Silver*, *Mercury* and *Titanium*, which all have gathered two votes. One vote each goes to *Lead*, *Aluminium*, *Beryllium*, *Radium*, *Lithium*, *Sodium* and *Potassium*. 
The winners among the non-metals are *Oxygen* with two votes and *Iodine* with one and a half? votes, followed by *Nitrogen*, *Sulfur* and *Argon* with one each.

Thank you so far. I see that you, like most of my characters have oxygen as their favourite non-metal but most prefer metals. Not much love for the halogens, safe iodine. Group four isn’t too popular either.


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## Amorus (Apr 5, 2011)

I'm going with Carbon for its extreme versatility and being the basis of all forms of living matter. Imagine the possibilities!


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## zdaddy (Apr 13, 2011)

What a unique question! 
Since BBQ sauce is not an element I'm gonna go with Au because with enough of that you can buy any of the others that you might need. As long as you have enough O of course.


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## Dr.Dorkness (Apr 13, 2011)

Endarium, But that is one I made up myself for my novel. (after the dwarven god Endar.)
IRL I'd say Titanium because I like my glasses to be made from it. (the frame of course) aside from oxygen of course. 
Sulfur makes a good number three.


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## Sheilawisz (Mar 13, 2012)

Chlorine, Silver and Aluminum!! =)


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Mar 13, 2012)

Unobtainium, of course.


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## Reaver (Mar 14, 2012)

Is Adamantium real?  If so, I want what Wolverine has!


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## Sheilawisz (Mar 14, 2012)

Unobtainium and Adamantium are great!! I make swords out of that =)


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## Reaver (Mar 14, 2012)

You have Adamantium?


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## Sheilawisz (Mar 14, 2012)

Yeah, we have an Adamantium mine up in the mountains!! =) It can be easily extracted with hydrofluoric acid and then they sell it at the Mall at the All Adamantium shop, I buy flat stock and then I make the swords...


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## Kevin O. McLaughlin (Mar 15, 2012)

Reaver said:


> You have Adamantium?



Reaver, I have this really cheap land down in Florida, if you're interested...? No? OK, had to ask.  =)

Thinking about it, I might change my vote to hydrogen, on the grounds that it is the Writer's True Element.

Why? Because hydrogen atoms are like words: put enough of them together, and you can create anything you want.  =)


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## Reaver (Mar 15, 2012)

Kevin O. McLaughlin said:


> Reaver, I have this really cheap land down in Florida, if you're interested...? No? OK, had to ask.  =)



Tell you what, I'll trade you this bridge I own in Brooklyn for the land you have in Florida.  Deal?


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## Legendary Sidekick (Mar 16, 2012)

*Oxygen
*
I almost died of pneumonia at the age of 21. After not breathing for God-knows-how-many minutes, I was momentarily convinced that breathing was better than any food or sex. I was a virgin at the time, but I had my share of fine steaks.

Why is everyone looking at me like...?

Now I'm happily married to a good cook, but still: go without oxygen for a while. You'll stop taking it for granted.



*Scoff!* Gold, schmold.


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 16, 2012)

And my winner is # 47 AG also known as Silver. 

I can't stand yellow gold it is cheap looking.


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 17, 2012)

@Ravana
Wow.  I used to work for a jeweler, and so I am familiar with most of these (by their common names) but, thank you for making me smile as I fondly recalled the awesomeness that is learning about minerals.  I have a star sapphire, and I never knew that!  Who knew when it was sitting in my jewelry box next to my rutilated quartz, it was hanging out with its cousin the whole time.  Thanks for the walk down memory lane and the personal touch.  

On a side note, I am not as knowledgeable as you about minerals, but I do get excited about them; and when we went to the V&A I about died.  They have a room so long you can't see to the end, and just rows and rows of some of the prettiest mineral specimens you can imagine.  If you have never gone, and are ever in London, I would recommend having a look.  I could have stayed in that room all day; my husband had to drag me out.


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## Corvus (Mar 18, 2012)

Mercury, I like the color and haw it's a liquid but it's not wet if you touch it. Found that fascinating since I was a kid.


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 18, 2012)

Corvus said:


> Mercury, I like the color and haw it's a liquid but it's not wet if you touch it. Found that fascinating since I was a kid.


OMG Don't touch Mercury! It is a poison... Bad idea.


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## Corvus (Mar 19, 2012)

I know that. In my country (Slovenia) we haw these rely old mercury mine. I think it's from the mid 16th century. It's now a museum and they haw these bowl of it so visitors can see what it looks like and even touch it. They do tell you it's poisonous and you can wash you're hands immediately afterwards.  I was there about 10 years ago and am fine no mercury poisoning.


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