Facts about Fluorine
The derivation of elemental fluorine from hydrofluoric acid is exceptionally dangerous, and early attempts to do so blinded and killed several scientists.
Pure fluorine (chemical formula F2) is a corrosive gas with a characteristic pungent odor that is detectable in concentrations as low as 20 nanoliters per liter of gas volume.
The name fluorine is derived from the Latin term fluere, meaning "to flow."
Fluorides are compounds in which fluorine occurs in the form of the negatively charged fluoride ion (F?), combined with some positively charged counterpart.
Hydrofluoric acid is used to etch glass, and fluorine is used for plasma etching in the manufacture of semiconductors and other products.
The fluorine was used to produce uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which in turn was used to separate two uranium isotopes, 235U and 238U, from each other.
Fluorine (chemical symbol F, atomic number 9) is a nonmetal that belongs to a group of chemical elements known as halogens.
Bones and teeth contain most of the body's fluorine, in the form of fluoride ions.
Fluorine reacts explosively with hydrogen even under cool conditions in the dark.
Like other halogens, molecular fluorine is extremely dangerous, causing severe chemical burns on contact with skin.
Minerals containing compounds of fluorine were known for many years before isolation of the element fluorine.
The first large-scale production of fluorine was undertaken during World War II, as a step in the making of atomic bombs in the Manhattan project.
At ordinary temperatures and pressures, pure fluorine is a poisonous gas, pale yellow in color, with the chemical formula F2.
Finally, French chemist Henri Moissan succeeded in isolating fluorine in 1886, through the electrolysis of a mixture of molten potassium fluoride and hydrofluoric acid.
Both elemental fluorine and fluoride salts are toxic and must be handled with great care.
Notwithstanding its extreme reactivity, methods for the safe handling and transport of fluorine are now available.
Fluorine and its compounds are useful for a wide range of applications, including the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, lubricants, and textiles.
Various materials—including finely divided metals and glass—burn with a bright flame in a jet of fluorine gas.
Being a highly reactive element, fluorine forms compounds with several noble gases, as demonstrated by Neil Bartlett who synthesized xenon hexafluoroplatinate (XePtF6) in 1962.
