21 Facts About Sodium

Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table.

Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and exists in numerous minerals such as feldspars, sodalite, and halite .

Sodium was first isolated by Humphry Davy in 1807 by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide.

Sodium is an essential element for all animals and some plants.

Sodium ions are the major cation in the extracellular fluid and as such are the major contributor to the ECF osmotic pressure and ECF compartment volume.

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Sodium at standard temperature and pressure is a soft silvery metal that combines with oxygen in the air and forms grayish white sodium oxide unless immersed in oil or inert gas, which are the conditions it is usually stored in.

Sodium metal can be easily cut with a knife and is a good conductor of electricity and heat because it has only one electron in its valence shell, resulting in weak metallic bonding and free electrons, which carry energy.

Sodium atoms have 11 electrons, one more than the stable configuration of the noble gas neon.

Sodium compounds are of immense commercial importance, being particularly central to industries producing glass, paper, soap, and textiles.

Sodium soaps have a higher melting temperature than potassium soaps.

Sodium tends to form water-soluble compounds, such as halides, sulfates, nitrates, carboxylates and carbonates.

Sodium has been detected in numerous Solar System environments, including Mercury's atmosphere, the exosphere of the Moon, and numerous other bodies.

Sodium has even been detected in the atmospheres of some extrasolar planets via transit spectroscopy.

Sodium is produced commercially through the electrolysis of molten sodium chloride, based on a process patented in 1924.

Sodium chloride is extensively used for anti-icing and de-icing and as a preservative; examples of the uses of sodium bicarbonate include baking, as a raising agent, and sodablasting.

Sodium hydride is used as a base for various reactions in organic chemistry, and as a reducing agent in inorganic chemistry.

Sodium is used as an alloying metal, an anti-scaling agent, and as a reducing agent for metals when other materials are ineffective.

Sodium reacts with alcohol and gives alkoxides, and when sodium is dissolved in ammonia solution, it can be used to reduce alkynes to trans-alkenes.

Sodium is the most prevalent metallic ion in extracellular fluid.

Sodium fires are prevented in nuclear reactors by isolating sodium from oxygen with surrounding pipes containing inert gas.

Sodium chloride is recognized as an extinguishing medium because of its chemical stability, however it is hydroscopic and must be kept absolutely dry to be used safely as an extinguishing agent.