Sodium

=> Sodium is a soft, silvery color, and highly reactive alkali metal.
=> In the periodic table, Sodium is kept in group 1, as it has single electron in its outer shell.
=> The symbol of sodium is ‘Na,’ which has been actually taken from Latin word ‘natrium.’
=> In terms of abundance, sodium is the sixth element found in the Earth's crust.
=> Sodium exists in various minerals including feldspars, sodalite, and rock salt (NaCl).
=> In 1807, Humphry Davy first isolated sodium by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide.
=> By the time, 20 isotopes of sodium are known, but among all, only 23Na is stable.

Salient Features of Sodium

=> Sodium metal a soft element that be can be easily cut with a knife.
=> Sodium is a good conductor of heat and electricity.
=> Because of having low atomic mass and large atomic radius, sodium is one of the least dense elements (third least dense element – first two are lithium and potassium).
=> Sodium can float on water.
=> Sodium along its compounds glow yellow (see image below).
=> Sodium compounds have very high commercial importance and have high demand in the industries of glass, paper, soap, and textiles.

Occurrence of Sodium

=> The crust of Earth contains about 2.27% sodium.
=> Sodium is the 5th most abundant metal; other four are aluminum, iron, calcium, and magnesium.
=> In the oceanic water, about 1.08 × 104 milligrams sodium found in per liter.
=> Sodium does not found as a pure element, as it is highly reactive.

Uses of Sodium

=> Sodium chloride is highly useful for anti-icing and de-icing as well as a preservative.
=> In cooking, sodium bicarbonate is used.
=> Sodium and some of its compounds are used in medicines.
=> In comparison to potassium (which is a better ion), sodium is more frequently used because of its lower price and atomic weight.
=> In organic chemistry, sodium hydride is used as various reactions.
=> Metallic sodium is principally used for the production of sodium borohydride, sodium triphenylphosphine, azide, indigo, etc.
=> In some fast reactors, liquid sodium is used as a heat transfer fluid because of having the property of good heat conductivity.
=> Sodium is also an essential mineral for the human health, as it regulates blood pressure, blood volume, osmotic equilibrium, and pH value.
=> The minimum amount of 500 milligrams sodium is required every day for a healthy human body.