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ANTIMONY in raw form.
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Antimony
 
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Antimony,
symbol Sb, bluish-white, brittle, semi-metalic element. The atomic number
of antimony is 51; the element is in group 15 (or Va) of the periodic
table (see Periodic Table).
Antimony's
compounds were known in ancient times, and the element was probably
discovered by the German alchemist Basil Valentine about 1450. It was
certainly known by about 1600, but was confused with other elements, such
as bismuth, tin, and lead. Antimony generally shows the properties of a
metal, but sometimes shows those of a nonmetal. It exists in several
distinctly different physical forms, the most common of which is metallic
in appearance.
Antimony
ranks about 64th in natural abundance among the elements in crustal rock.
The atomic weight of antimony is 121.75; it melts at about 630° C (about
1166° F), boils at about 1750° C (about 3182° F), and has a specific
gravity of 6.7.It occasionally occurs as a free element, usually
associated with silver, arsenic, or bismuth. It crystallizes in the
hexagonal system, but crystals are rarely found. It has a hardness
of 3. The principal ore of antimony is stibnite, a sulfide of antimony,
which is mined in China, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and, on a small
scale, in the western United States. Considerable amounts of antimony are
produced as a by-product in the refining of ores of copper and lead.
Liquid
antimony has the exceptional property, when cooling, of expanding as it
solidifies (water is one of the few other substances with this same
property). It will thus fill in the crevices of a mold and yield castings
of exceptionally sharp outlines. For this reason, it is used in making
type metal; it is also a constituent of many other alloys, such as
Britannia metal, pewter, Babbitt metal and
antimonial lead.
Among
important compounds of antimony are tartar emetic, a double tartrate of
antimony and potassium used as a medicinal agent; red antimony sulfide,
used on safety matches and in vulcanizing rubber; glass of antimony, a
mixture of antimony sulfide and oxide, used as a yellow pigment in glass
and porcelain; and butter of antimony, antimony trichloride, used for
bronzing steel, as a mordant in dyeing, and as a caustic in medicine.


"Antimony,"
Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights
reserved.

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