Element

Calcium Element Properties and Information

Published August 10, 2023 · Updated August 11, 2023

Calcium

Calcium Element Properties and Information:

Calcium is twentieth element on the periodic table. Elements are arranged in the periodic table on the basis of the atomic number. Atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom. Calcium has an atomic number of 20. It is located in the Group 2 and Period 4 of the periodic table of elements. It is denoted by Ca. The name is derived from the Latin word ‘Calx’ which means Lime.

Lime has been used since centuries by humanity to make plaster and mortar. Antoine Lavoisier suspected lime to be an oxide of some unknown element. In 1808, Humphry Davy used electrolysis to reduce moist lime but was not able to confirm a new element. He then tried a mixture of lime and mercury oxide and produced amalgam and then distilled off the mercury leaving a new element behind. The element was calcium and it was confirmed that line is an oxide of calcium; calcium oxide.

Calcium is the third most abundant metal on earth. It is the fifth most abundant element in the earth’s crust amounting to a concentration of 4.1%. It is found in nature only in combined form. Calcium is abundant in limestone, gypsum, apatite and fluorite. Hard water also contains calcium in the form of dissolved calcium carbonate; it gets filtered out when it reaches a cave.

Physical Properties:

Calcium is a soft, ductile metal which remains silvery white in colour as long as it is not exposed to air.
The atomic mass of calcium is 40.08
The melting point of calcium is 840°C
The boiling point of calcium is 1484°C
The density of calcium is 1484 in S.I. units at 20°C
Calcium crystallises to a face centered cubic arrangement above 450°C.
Calcium can be cut via a knife if some effort is applied.
Calcium has six stable isotopes; calcium-40, calcium-42, calcium-43, calcium-44, calcium-46, and calcium-48. It is the lightest element to have six naturally occurring isotopes.

Chemical Properties:

Calcium is reactive in nature and reacts with oxygen and nitrogen in air and forms a dark oxide-nitride layer on the surface when exposed to air.
If calcium is finely divided, it spontaneously reacts to form nitrides.
When calcium is present in bulk it forms a hydration coating in presence of moist air and becomes less reactive.
Calcium combines with each halogen to form dihalides. All four dihalides of calcium are known.
Since calcium ion has a large size, it is able to form coordination compound with high coordination numbers.

Methods of Production:

Reduction: Commercially, the calcium metal is produced by the reaction of lime which is calcium oxide with aluminium at high temperatures. This is a displacement reaction.

Relevance in Chemical and Related Industries:

Steel industries: Steel making finds the largest use for metallic calcium. Calcium has a strong affinity to oxygen and sulfur, it reacts with them to produce its oxides and sulfides. Once they are formed, they give liquid lime aluminate and sulfide incision on steels. This improves the mechanical properties of the steel, its castability and cleanliness as well.
Reducing agent: Calcium metal is used for reduction of chromium, zirconium, thorium, and uranium.
Storage: Calcium metal reacts with hydrogen to form calcium hydride. It is relatively much easier to store the hydrogen in form of calcium hydride than a hydrogen gas. The hydrogen from the calcium hydride is very easy to re-extract.

Relevance in Other Industries:

Batteries: The use of 0.1% calcium-lead alloys in automotive batteries leads to lower water loss and lower water discharging. They are a relatively better replacement to the antimony-lead alloys but the calcium-lead alloys have risk of cracking so aluminium is also added to lower or prevent it.
Medicine: The calcium isotopic formation in urine or blood is useful in early detection of metabolic bone disease like osteoporosis.

Health Effects on Exposure:

Corrosion: If calcium comes in contact with bodily moisture through skin contact or if swallowed, it will reach with water exothermically and cause corrosive irritation. It will tend to corrode any body part it comes in contact with.