Table of Contents
Interesting Facts about Germanium Scientists are studying germanium for use in chemotherapy to help treat cancer. Dmitri Mendeleev first named the element “ekasilicon”, but it was later renamed by Winkler. Some compounds that include germanium are useful in killing bacteria while not harming animals.
What is a fact about germanium?
Germanium has five isotopes found in nature. As many as twenty-seven radioisotopes of germanium have been discovered. The half-life of one of its radioactive isotopes is 130 billion times the predicted age of the entire universe. Germanium has been found in the atmosphere of Jupiter and in distant stars.
What makes germanium unique?
Germanium is a lustrous, hard, gray-white semi-metallic element with a crystalline and brittle structure. It is a semiconductor. Germanium and the oxide are transparent to infrared radiation. Germanium also has the unusual property that (like water) it expands as it freezes.
Is germanium a soft metal?
Germanium is a hard, brittle, silvery-white (Fig. 1) semi-metal, having some properties of both metal and nonmetallic elements. Sandwiched between silicon and tin on the periodic table, germanium is a semiconductor like silicon. Germanium ores are found in small amounts as the minerals argyrodite and germanite.
How was germanium named?
(The name germanium derives from the Latin word Germania [Germany] and was given to the element by Winkler.).
What are 3 interesting facts about germanium?
Interesting Facts about Germanium Scientists are studying germanium for use in chemotherapy to help treat cancer. Dmitri Mendeleev first named the element “ekasilicon”, but it was later renamed by Winkler. Some compounds that include germanium are useful in killing bacteria while not harming animals.
Is germanium safe to wear?
Inorganic (elemental) germanium is LIKELY UNSAFE. This includes certain compounds such as germanium oxide. There have been more than 30 reports of kidney failure and death linked with use of these forms of germanium. It builds up in the body and can damage vital organs such as the kidneys.
Is germanium found in the human body?
Germanium is a chemical element that can be found in trace amounts in some ores and carbon-based materials. Some people promote it as a treatment for HIV and AIDS, cancer, and other conditions. But the purported health benefits of germanium haven’t been supported by research.
Is germanium man made or natural?
Germanium is not found as the free element in nature. Germanium is found in germanite, argyrodite, and some zinc ores. It is also present in coal and its presence in coal insures reserves for many years.
Is germanium harmful to humans?
Germanium is not an essential element. Its acute toxicity is low. However, at least 31 reported human cases linked prolonged intake of germanium products with renal failure and even death. Signs of kidney dysfunction, kidney tubular degeneration, and germanium accumulation were observed.
Is germanium magnetic?
Abstract. The magnetic susceptibility of highly doped germanium has been measured between 300°K and 1.3°K. The contribution of the carriers to the susceptibility has been derived from the data.
Does germanium sink in water?
Germanium is stable in air and water, and is unaffected by alkalis and acids, except nitric acid.
Where do you find germanium in nature?
Natural abundance They are found in small quantities as the minerals germanite and argyrodite. Germanium minerals are also present in zinc ores, and commercial production of germanium is carried out by processing zinc smelter flue dust. It can also be recovered from the by-products of combustion of certain coals.
Is germanium good for health?
There have been claims that germanium may be beneficial for health, including improving the immune system, oxygen supply in the body, and destroying free radicals. According to Healthline, germanium has also been considered to be beneficial in treating allergies, asthma, arthritis, HIV/AIDS and various forms of cancer.
Does germanium have health benefits?
Despite serious safety concerns, germanium is used for heart and blood vessel conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease; for eye conditions, including glaucoma and cataracts; and for liver conditions, including hepatitis and cirrhosis.
Where is germanium used?
The largest use of germanium is in the semiconductor industry. When doped with small amounts of arsenic, gallium, indium, antimony or phosphorus, germanium is used to make transistors for use in electronic devices. Germanium is also used to create alloys and as a phosphor in fluorescent lamps.
What food is germanium in?
Germanium is a naturally occurring element. Trace amounts can be found in foods such as shiitake mushrooms, garlic, tuna, and tomato juice. However, it is not an essential nutrient for human health.
Who found germanium?
2. In 1886, Clemens Winkler discovered a rare mineral called argyrodite which contained silver, sulphur and an unknown element, which Winkler named germanium after his home country.
What elements does germanium react with?
Germanium react with O2, forming germanium dioxide, GeO2. At room temperature, the germanium surface is passivated by the GeO2 layer. When heated to red heat, germanium reacts with oxygen in the air, forming germanium dioxide.
Is germanium radioactive?
Germanium 76 is slightly radioactive and is the least common. Germanium 74 is the most common isotope having the greatest natural abundance of the five. Under the condition of being bombarded with alpha particles, Germanium 72 generates stable Se 77.
What does germanium stand for?
Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors silicon and tin. Pure germanium is a semiconductor with an appearance similar to elemental silicon.
What is germanium an example of?
The Germanium element is not doped with any impurities. Hence, it is an intrinsic semiconductor.So, Germanium is an example of an intrinsic semiconductor.
Which is the rarest element on the Earth?
A team of researchers using the ISOLDE nuclear-physics facility at CERN has measured for the first time the so-called electron affinity of the chemical element astatine, the rarest naturally occurring element on Earth.
Is germanium a conductor?
Pure silicon and germanium are poor conductors of electricity because their outer electrons are tied up in the covalent bonds of the diamondlike framework. These atoms are larger and hold their electrons less tightly. They are not conductors in the metallic sense of the word, but are semiconductors.
