Zinc is what type of element

But it is usually the German chemist Andreas Marggraf who wins the laurels as 'discoverer' for his experiment isolating zinc.

Although zinc's history is more than a little hazy, there's no doubting its usefulness. You've only got to look at a galvanized metal roof or bucket to see zinc at work. Galvanization is named after Luigi Galvani, the man who made frog legs twitch with electric current, but galvanization has nothing to do with electrical showmanship.

In fact electricity's role is surprisingly subtle. The most common form of galvanization is hot dip galvanization, where iron or steel is slid through a bath of liquid zinc at around degrees Celsius, forty degrees above its melting point. The coating prevents the object treated from rusting.

Initially the zinc simply stops the air getting to the iron, but later the zinc corrodes in preference to iron in an electro-chemical process, acting as a so-called sacrificial anode. This is where the 'galvanic' part of the name comes in. Some galvanization is more literally electrical - car bodies, for example, are electroplated with zinc to apply a thin, even layer. Zinc's electrical capabilities also extend to the most popular batteries.

A traditional dry cell has an outer zinc casing acting as the anode confusingly the anode, usually thought of as positive, is the negative end of a battery , while a carbon rod provides the cathode, the positive electrode. In the longer lasting alkaline batteries, the anode is formed from powdered zinc giving more surface area for reaction , while the cathode is made up of the compound manganese dioxide.

But the most visible example of zinc at work doesn't give any indication of this greyish metal - instead it's in an alloy that mixes the sheen of gold with the common touch. When molten zinc and copper are mixed together, the result is bold as brass. In fact, it is brass. Everything from door fixings to decorative plaques for horse collars have been made in this flexible alloy. Any orchestra would be much poorer without its brass instruments.

It's even likely to turn up in the zips on your clothing. Well-polished brass has a pleasant glow - but our most intimate contact with zinc, or to be precise zinc oxide - often comes when dealing with the unwanted glow of sunburn. When I was young and there was little in the way of sun block, sunburned skin would be lavishly coated in soothing pink calamine lotion. The primary ingredient of this is zinc oxide, which is white - it's small amounts of iron oxide that give it that colour.

Even now, though, when we can avoid the need for calamine, zinc oxide plays its part. Called Chinese white when it's used in paints, zinc oxide is a good absorber of ultraviolet light - so sun block often contains a suspension of tiny zinc oxide particles - as does most mineral-based makeup. And that's just the start for this versatile oxide.

You'll find it used in fire retardants and foods - where it fortifies the likes of breakfast cereals - in glass and ceramics, in glues and rubber. That surprise appearance on the breakfast table reflects another important side to zinc.

We need it to stay healthy. It's one of the trace elements, nutrients that our bodies need in small quantities to keep functioning. It's often present in vitamin supplements, though most of us get plenty from meat and eggs. The zinc ends up in various proteins, particularly in enzymes involved in the development of the body, digestion and fertility.

A shortage of zinc in the diet can lead to delayed healing, skin irritation and loss of the sense of taste, and encourages many chronic illnesses. With zinc also appearing in anti-dandruff shampoos in the form of zinc pyrithione and in underarm deodorants as zinc chloride, this is an element that even makes us more attractive to the opposite sex. Zinc is a hidden star. We're rarely aware of it, unlike its flashier neighbours in the period table, but zinc is a workhorse element that helps us all.

Bristolbased science writer Brian Clegg with the onomatopoeic element, zinc. Next week, what's lurking in your basement. The first reports of problems associated with radon gas in domestic buildings was in the United States in , when an employee at a nuclear power plant began setting off the radiation detector alarms on his way into work.

The problem was eventually traced to his home, where the level of radon gas in the basement was found to be abnormally high. But where was it coming from and what was the risk to his health. Katherine Holt will be here with all of the answers and the rest of the Radon story on next week's Chemistry in its Element, I do hope you can join us.

I'm Chris Smith, thank you for listening, and goodbye. Chemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by thenakedscientists. There's more information and other episodes of Chemistry in its element on our website at chemistryworld.

Click here to view videos about Zinc. View videos about. Help Text. Learn Chemistry : Your single route to hundreds of free-to-access chemistry teaching resources. We hope that you enjoy your visit to this Site. We welcome your feedback. Data W. Haynes, ed. Version 1. Coursey, D. Schwab, J. Tsai, and R. Dragoset, Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions version 4. Periodic Table of Videos , accessed December Podcasts Produced by The Naked Scientists. Download our free Periodic Table app for mobile phones and tablets.

Explore all elements. D Dysprosium Dubnium Darmstadtium. E Europium Erbium Einsteinium. F Fluorine Francium Fermium Flerovium. G Gallium Germanium Gadolinium Gold. I Iron Indium Iodine Iridium. K Krypton. O Oxygen Osmium Oganesson. U Uranium. V Vanadium. X Xenon. Y Yttrium Ytterbium. Z Zinc Zirconium. Membership Become a member Connect with others Supporting individuals Supporting organisations Manage my membership.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube. Discovery date. Identified as an element in , but known to the Greeks and Romans before 20BC. Discovered by. Andreas Marggraf. Origin of the name. The name is derived from the German, 'zinc', which may in turn be derived from the Persian word 'sing', meaning stone.

Melting point. Boiling point. Atomic number. Relative atomic mass. Key isotopes. Electron configuration. Zinc is a lustrous bluish-white metal. It is found in group IIb of the periodic table. It is a fairly reactive metal that will combine with oxygen and other non-metals, and will react with dilute acids to release hydrogen. It is used for the negative plates in some electric batteries and for roofing and gutters in building construction.

Zinc is the primary metal used in making American pennies, is used in die casting in the automobile industry. Zinc oxide is used as a white pigment in watercolours or paints, and as an activator in the rubber industry. As a pigment zinc is used in plastics, cosmetics, photocopier paper, wallpaper, printing inks etc, while in rubber production its role is to act as a catalyst during manufacture and as a heat disperser in the final product.

Zinc metal is included in most single tablet, it is believed to possess anti-oxidant properties, which protect against premature aging of the skin and muscles of the body. Zinc is a very common substance that occurs naturally. Many foodstuffs contain certain concentrations of zinc. Drinking water also contains certain amounts of zinc, which may be higher when it is stored in metal tanks. Industrial sources or toxic waste sites may cause the zinc amounts in drinking water to reach levels that can cause health problems.

Zinc occurs naturally in air, water and soil, but zinc concentrations are rising unnaturally, due to addition of zinc through human activities.

Most zinc is added during industrial activities, such as mining, coal and waste combustion and steel processing. Some soils are heavily contaminated with zinc, and these are to be found in areas where zinc has to be mined or refined, or were sewage sludge from industrial areas has been used as fertilizer.

Zinc is the 23rd most abundant element in the Earth's crust. The dominant ore is zinc blende, also known as sphalerite. Other important zinc ores are wurzite, smithsonite and hemimorphite. World production exceeds 7 million tonnes a year and commercially exploitable reserves exceed million tonnes.

Zinc is a trace element that is essential for human health. Roughly one third of all metallic zinc produced today is used in a process known as galvanization. During galvanization, an object that is subject to corrosion, such as an iron nail, is given a protective coating of zinc.

The zinc can be applied to an object by dipping it in a pool of molten zinc, but it is most often applied through an electroplating process. Sacrificial zinc anodes are used in cathodic protection systems to protect exposed iron from corrosion.

Metallic zinc is also used to make dry cell batteries, roof cladding and die castings. Zinc is used to make many useful alloys. Brass was first used about 2, years ago and was widely used by the ancient Romans, who used it to make such things as coins, kettles and decorative items. Brass is still used today, particularly in musical instruments, screws and other hardware that must resist corrosion.

Zinc is alloyed with lead and tin to make solder, a metal with a relatively low melting point used to join electrical components, pipes and other metallic items.

Nickel silver, typewriter metal, spring brass and German silver are other common zinc alloys.