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Magnesium, Mg
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Magnesium has the symbol Mg.
From the Greek word "Magnesia", a district of Thessaly,
Sir Humphrey Davy in 1755.
Atomic Number = 12, Atomic Mass = 24.31, 12 protons, 12 electrons,
12 neutrons.
Most common use:
Used in flares and pyrotechnics, including incendiary bombs.
It is lighter than aluminum, and is used in alloys used for aircraft,
car engine casings, and missile construction .
The hydroxide (milk of magnesia), chloride, sulfate (Epsom salts),
and the citrate are used in medicine
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Physical Properties:
Magnesium is a shiny, silver or gray colored metal that is light
in weight and strong.
Th density of magnesium is 1.738 g/mL, which means the metal
will sink in water, but it is still relatively light weight. |
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Chemical Properties:
Magnesium is a silvery white metal. The surface of magnesium
metal is covered with a thin layer of oxide that helps protect
the metal from attack by air. Once ignited, magnesium metal burns
in air with a characteristic blinding bright white flame to give
a mixture of white magnesium oxide, MgO, and magnesium nitride,
Mg3N2.
Magnesium is very reactive towards the halogens such as chlorine,
Cl2 or bromine, Br2, and burns to form
the dihalides magnesium chloride, MgCl2 and magnesium
bromide, MgBr2,
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