Chlorine - History Of Chlorine, Properties And Uses Of Chlorine, Compounds Of Chlorine

elements metallic atomic sea

Chlorine is the non-metallic chemical element of atomic number 17, symbol Cl, atomic weight 35.45, melting point -149.8°F (-101°C), and boiling point -29.02°F (-33.9°C). It consists of two stable isotopes, of mass numbers 35 and 37. Ordinary chlorine is a mixture of 75.77% chlorine-35 atoms and 24.23% chlorine-37 atoms.

Chlorine is a highly poisonous, greenish yellow gas, about two and a half times as dense as air, and with a strong, sharp, choking odor. It was, in fact, one of the first poisonous gases used in warfare—in 1915 during World War I. In spite of its disagreeable nature, there are so many everyday products that contain chlorine or are manufactured through the use of chlorine that it is among the top ten chemicals produced in the United States each year. In 1994, more than 24 billion lb (11 billion kg) of chlorine were produced.

In nature, chlorine is widely distributed over the earth in the form of the salt (sodium chloride) in sea water. At an average concentration of 0.67 oz (19 g) of chlorine in each liter of sea water, it is estimated that there are some 10¹⁶ tons of chlorine in the world's oceans. Other compounds of chlorine occur as minerals in the earth's crust, including huge underground deposits of solid sodium chloride.

Along with fluorine, bromine, iodine and astatine, chlorine is a member of the halogen family of elements in group 17 of the periodic table-the most non-metallic (least metallic) and most highly reactive group of elements. Chlorine reacts directly with nearly all other elements; with metals, it forms salts called chlorides. In fact, the name halogen, meaning salt producer, was originally defined for chlorine (in 1811 by J. S. C. Schweigger), and it was later applied to the rest of the elements in this family.

Additional Topics

Chlorine - History Of Chlorine

The credit for first preparing and studying gaseous chlorine went to Carl W. Scheele (1742-1786) in 1774. Scheele was a Swedish chemist who discovered several other important elements and compounds, including barium, manganese, oxygen, ammonia, and glycerin. Scheele thought that chlorine was a compound, which he called dephlogisticated marine acid air. All gases were called airs at that time, and …

Chlorine - Properties And Uses Of Chlorine

Because it is so reactive, chlorine is never found alone-chemically uncombined—in nature. It is prepared commercially by passing electricity through a water solution of sodium chloride or through molten sodium chloride. In organic chemistry, chlorine is widely used, not only as an oxidizing agent, but as a way of making many useful compounds. For example, chlorine atoms can easily replace h…

Chlorine - Compounds Of Chlorine

Following are a few of the important compounds of chlorine. Calcium hypochlorite, CaOCl: A white powder known as bleaching powder and used for bleaching and as a swimming pool disinfectant. Both its bleaching and its disinfectant qualities come from its chemical instability: it decomposes to release chlorine gas. Freons are hydrocarbons with fluorine and chlorine atoms substituted for some of the …

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