well this is really just for some reasench im doing on metals and so far........ ive not got much =( so im kinda cheting by asking. But it needs to be done...... i know that the hardest metal known to mankind is Tungsten, and thats about it so far sooooooo PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!
2007-03-14 06:09:10 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
I thought it was Mercury but I found a few websites that state that Cesium is the softest metal and can be cut with a butter knife.
2007-03-14 06:20:21 · answer #1 · answered by Quizard 7 · 12⤊ 0⤋
Gold. Relativistic effect. Lead is a jack of all trade but a master of none. Cesium is a very common center for confined crystal structures, so this would actually need to be hit with a hammer over a butter knife. Mercury cannot be split on a atomic level but is arguably the second softest metal on the periodic table.
2013-10-17 02:39:11 · answer #2 · answered by T 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Softness" as you have discovered from the above responses is a non-trivial issue. Mercury at room temperature is a liquid. Both cesium and gallium can become liquids in a warm room.
Typically one refers to a hardness scale --mohs is very common-- and specifies a temperature. So, talc has a mohs hardness of 1, while topaz is 8 and diamond is 10. Cesium at 20C varies (no surprise there) but I see .5 quoted most often. Gallium varies, too, because unlike cesium it can be supercooled and can remain a liquid down to 0C; what I see quoted is about 1.5.
So, if the mohs hardness scale is specified, the cesium appears to be the softest at 20C as long as mercury is excluded!
HTH
Charles
2007-03-14 16:24:29 · answer #3 · answered by Charles 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
although a lot of people have said that mercury is the softest metal, the mercury to which they are refering is mercury at room temperature in its liquid form, in which case all metals, when in their liquid forms would be just as soft, the fact that they have to be a tincey bit hotter than mercury to be in that state is not the point. Therefore as stated, the softest "solid" metal would go to cesium
2007-03-14 18:24:03 · answer #4 · answered by Colin Willson 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Mercury is the softest metal because it is the only metal in liquid state at room temperature.
2007-03-16 08:23:18 · answer #5 · answered by gamma_wave 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of Course, Cesium, the softest metal on earth, can be cut with a butter knife since this is one of only three metals which are in liquid form at the room temperature.
Cesium-(L.caesius,skyblue),Cs; at.wt. 132.90543(5); at.no.55; m.p.28.44 +/- 0.01 deg C; b.p. 671 deg C; sp.gr. 1.873(20 deg C); valence l. Cesium was discovered spectroscopically by Bunsen and Kirchhoff in 1860 in mineral water from Durkheim. Cesium, an alkali metal, occurs in lepidolite, pollucite (a hydrated silicate of aluminum and cesium), and in other sources. One of the world's richest sources of cesium is located at Bemic Lake, Manitoba. The deposits are estimated to contain 300,000 tons of pollucite, averaging 20% cesium. It can be isolated by electrolysis of the fused cyanide and by a number of other methods. Very pure, gas-free cesium can be prepared by thermal decomposition of cesium azide. The metal is characterized by a spectrum containing two bright lines in the blue along with several others in the red, yellow, and green. It is silvery white, soft, and ductile. It is the most electropositive and most alkaline element. Cesium, gallium, and mercury are the only three metals that are liquid at room temperature. Cesium reacts explosively with cold water, and reacts with ice at temperatures above -116 deg C. Cesium hydroxide, the strongest base known, attacks glass. Because of its great affinity for oxygen the metal is used as a "getter" in electron tubes. It is also used in photoelectric cells, as well as a catalyst in the hydrogenation of certain organic compounds. The metal has recently found application in ion propulsion systems. Cesium is used in atomic clocks, which are accurate to 5 s in 300 years. Its chief compounds are the chloride and the nitrate. Cesium has 52 isotopes and isomers with masses ranging from 112 to 148. The present price of cesium is about $40/g (99.98%).
2007-03-14 13:41:35 · answer #6 · answered by Jagvir 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Mercury since it is the only metal liquid at room temperature
2007-03-14 17:11:17 · answer #7 · answered by Sephora C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cesium is the softest metal.
And while tungsten is the most dense metal, it's not the hardest elemental metal-- that honor goes to chromium.
2007-03-14 13:23:48 · answer #8 · answered by Sevateem 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Cessium, I thought everyone knew that. Unless we're talking about mercury which is a liquid metal.
2007-03-14 15:33:18 · answer #9 · answered by elflaeda 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cesium, is the softest. Not Mercury. Mercury as we know it is molten at room temperature
2007-03-14 13:20:24 · answer #10 · answered by Spanner 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋