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Pictures of Elements: Hydrogen - Element 1
Pictures of Elements: Hydrogen - Element 1
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Hydrogen - Element 1
Stars and this nebula consist mainly of the element hydrogen. NASA/CXC/ASU/J. Hester et al.,
HST/ASU/J. Hester et al.
Hydrogen is the first element on the periodic table, with 1 proton per atom. It's the most abundant
element in the universe. If you look at the Sun, you're mostly looking at hydrogen. Its usual
ionization color is sort of a purplish-blue. On Earth, it's a transparent gas, which isn't really worth a
picture.
Helium - Element 2
Helium is the second element on the periodic table and the second most abundant element in the
universe. On Earth, it's normally a transparent gas. It can be cooled into a transparent liquid, sort of
resembling water, except much, much colder. It ionizes into a reddish orange glowing gas.
Lithium - Element 3
Lithium is the third element on the periodic table. This lightweight metal would float on water, but
then it would react and burn. The metal oxidizes black in the air. You aren't likely to encounter it in
its pure form because it is so reactive.
Beryllium - Element 4
Chinese folding glasses with beryllium lenses, China, mid-18th century. De Agostini / A. Dagli Orti
/ Getty Images
The fourth element beryllium. This element is a glossy metal, usually dark from an oxide layer
formed by its reaction with air.
Boron - Element 5
Boron a shiny black metalloid, which means it possesses properties of both metals and nonmetals.
Although it can be prepared in a lab, the element does not exist free in nature. It's found in
compounds, such as borax.
Carbon - Element 6
The allotropes of carbon, from top: unrefined charcoal, refined charcoal, pressed charcoal,
diamonds, and graphite. Dave King / Getty Images
Most elements can take many forms, called allotropes. Carbon is one of the few elements you can
see in daily life as different allotropes. They look quite different from each other and they have
distinct properties. Carbon is also important because it's the elemental basis of all organic
compounds.
Nitrogen - Element 7
This is the glow given off by ionized nitrogen in a gas discharge tube.
Pure nitrogen is a transparent gas. It forms a transparent liquid and a clear solid that looks much like
water ice. However, it's quite colorful as an ionized gas, emitting a blue-violet glow.
Oxygen - Element #8
Pure oxygen is a transparent gas which makes up about 20% of the Earth's atmosphere. It forms a
blue liquid. The solid form of the element is even more colorful. Depending on the conditions, it
may be blue, red, yellow, orange, or even metallic black!
Fluorine - Element 9
Fluorine does not occur free in nature, but it can be prepared as a yellowish gas. It cools into a
yellow liquid.
Neon - Element 10
This is a photo of a glowing discharge tube filled with neon. Jurii, Wikipedia Commons
Neon is the first noble gas on the periodic table. The element neon is best known by its reddish
orange glow when the element is ionized. Ordinarily, it is a colorless gas.
Sodium - Element 11
Sodium, like lithium, is a highly reactive metal that will burn in water. The element doesn't occur
naturally in pure form, but it's fairly common in science labs. The soft, shiny metal is stored under
oil to protect it from oxidation.
Magnesium - Element 12
Magnesium is an alkaline earth metal. This reactive metal is used in fireworks. It burns hot enough
it can be used to ignite other metals, as in the thermite reaction.
Aluminum - Element 13
Aluminum is a metallic element you often encounter in its pure form, although it requires
purification from its ore or else recycling to get it that way.
Silicon - Element 14
This is a photograph of a piece of pure elemental silicon. Silicon is a crystalline metalloid element.
Pure silicon is reflective with a dark bluish tinge.
Silicon, like boron, is a metalloid. This element is found in nearly pure form in silicon chips. More
commonly, you encounter this element as its oxide in quartz. Although it looks glossy and
somewhat metallic, it's too brittle to work like true metals.
Phosphorus - Element 15
The allotropes of phosphorus from left: white phosphorus (yellow cut), red phosphorus, violet
phosphorus, and black phosphorus.
Like carbon, phosphorus is a nonmetal that can take any of multiple forms. White phosphorus is
deadly toxic and reacts with air to glow green. Red phosphorus is used in safety matches.
Sulfur - Element 16
Sulfur is a nonmetal that can be found in pure form, mostly around volcanoes. The solid element
has a distinctive yellow color, but it's red in liquid form.
Chlorine - Element 17
Chlorine gas will condense into a liquid if chilled using dry ice. Andy Crawford and Tim Ridley /
Getty Images
Pure chlorine gas is a noxious greenish-yellow color. The liquid is bright yellow. Like the other
halogen elements, it readily reacts to form compounds. While the element can kill you in pure form,
it's essential for life. Most of the body's chlorine is ingested as table salt, which is sodium chloride.
Argon - Element 18
Pure argon gas is transparent. The liquid and solid forms are also colorless. Yet, excited argon ions
glow brightly. Argon is used to make lasers, which may be tuned to green, blue, or other colors.
Potassium - Element 19
The alkali metal potassium burns in water, like sodium and lithium, except even more vigorously.
This element is one of the ones essential for life.
Calcium - Element 20
Calcium is one of the alkaline earth metals. It darkens or oxidizes in air. It is the 5th most abundant
element in the body and the most abundant metal.
Scandium - Element 21
Scandium is a lightweight, relatively soft metal. The silver metal develops a yellow or pink tint after
exposure to air. The element is used in the production of high intensity lamps.
Titanium - Element 22
Titanium is a light and strong metal used in aircraft and human implants. Titanium powder burns in
air and has the distinction of being the only element that burns in nitrogen.
Vanadium - Element 23
This picture shows high purity vanadium in different stages of oxidation. Alchemist-HP
Vanadium is a shiny gray metal when it's fresh, but it oxidizes in air. The colorful oxidation layer
protects the underlying metal from further attack. The element also forms different colored
compounds.
Chromium - Element 24
These are crystals of pure elemental chromium metal. Alchemist-hp, Creative Commons License
Chromium is a hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. One interesting fact about this element is
that the 3+ oxidation state is essential for human nutrition, while the 6+ state (hexavalent
chromium) is deadly toxic.
Manganese - Element 25
Manganese is a hard, brittle gray transition metal. It's found in alloys and is essential for nutrition,
although toxic in high amounts.
Iron - Element 26
Iron is one of the elements you can encounter in pure form in daily life. Cast iron skillets are made
of the metal. In pure form, iron is a blue-gray color. It darkens with exposure to air or water.
Cobalt - Element 27
Nickel - Element 28
These are spheres of pure nickel metal. John Cancalosi / Getty Images
Nickel is a hard, silver metal that can take a high polish. It's found in steel and other alloys.
Although it is a common element, it's considered toxic.
Copper - Element 29
This is a sample of native pure copper from Bolivia, South America. John Cancalosi / Getty Images
Copper is one of the elements you encounter in pure form in daily life in copper cookware and wire.
This element also occurs in its native state in nature, meaning you can find copper crystals and
chunks. More commonly, it's found with other elements in minerals.
Zinc - Element 30
Zinc is a useful metal, found in numerous alloys. It's used to galvanize other metals to protect them
from corrosion. This metal is essential for human and animal nutrition.
Gallium - Element 31
Foobar / wikipedia.org
Gallium is considered a basic metal. While mercury is the only liquid metal at room temperature,
gallium will melt in the heat of your hand. Even though the element forms crystals, they tend to
have a wet, partially melted appearance because of the metal's low melting point.
Germanium - Element 32
Germanium is a metalloid with an appearance similar to that of silicon. It's hard, shiny, and metallic
in appearance. The element is used as a semiconductor and for fiberoptics.
Arsenic - Element 33
The gray form of arsenic may take the form of interesting-looking nodules. Harry Taylor / Getty
Images
Arsenic is a poisonous metalloid. It sometimes occurs in the native state. Like other metalloids, it
takes multiple forms. The pure element may be a gray, black, yellow, or metallic solid at room
temperature.
Selenium - Element 34
You can find the element selenium in dandruff-control shampoos and some types of photographic
toner, but it's not commonly encountered in pure form. Selenium is a solid at room temperature and
takes red, gray, and metallic-looking black forms. They gray allotrope is most common.
Bromine - Element 35
Bromine is a halogen that is a liquid at room temperature. The liquid is deep reddish-brown and
vaporizes into an orange-brown gas.
Krypton - Element 36
Krypton is one of the noble gases. A picture of krypton gas would be pretty boring, because it
basically looks like air (which is to say, it's colorless and transparent). Like other noble gases, it
lights up colorfully when ionized. Solid krypton is white.
Rubidium - Element 37
This is a sample of pure liquid rubidium metal. Dnn87, Free Documentation License
Rubidium is a silver-colored alkali metal. Its melting point is only slightly higher than room
temperature, so it may be observed as a liquid or soft solid. However, it's not a pure element you'd
want to handle, since it ignites in air and water, burning with a red flame.
Strontium - Element 38
Strontium is a soft, silver alkaline earth metal that develops a yellowish oxidation layer. You
probably won't ever see this element in its pure form except in pictures, but it's used in fireworks
and emergency flares for the bright red color it adds to flames.
Yttrium - Element 39
Yttrium is a silver-colored metal. It's fairly stable in air, although it will eventually darken. This
transition metal is not found free in nature.
Zirconium - Element 40
Zirconium is a lustrous gray metal. It's known for its low neutron absorption cross-section, so it's an
important element in nuclear reactors. The metal is also known for its high corrosion resistance.
Niobium - Element 41
Niobium is a bright silver metal that develops a metallic blue color over time in air. Alchemist-hp
Fresh, pure niobium is a bright platinum-white metal, but after exposure in the air it develops a blue
cast. The element is not found free in nature. It's usually associated with the metal tantalum.
Molybdenum - Element 42
Molybdenum is a silvery-white metal belonging to the chromium family. This element is not found
free in nature. Only the elements tungsten and tantalum have higher melting points. The metal is
hard and tough.
Ruthenium - Element 44
Ruthenium is another hard white transition metal. It belongs to the platinum family. Like other
elements in this group, it resists corrosion. This is good, because its oxide has a tendency to explode
in air!
Rhodium - Element 45
Rhodium is a silvery transition metal. Its primary use is as a hardening agent for softer metals, such
as platinum and palladium. This corrosion-resistant element is also considered a noble metal, like
silver and gold.
Silver - Element 47
Silver is a silver-colored metal (hence the name). It forms a black oxide layer called tarnish. While
you may be familiar with the appearance of silver metal, you might not realize the element also
forms beautiful crystals.
Cadmium - Element 48
This is a photo of a cadmium crystal bar and a cube of cadmium metal. Alchemist-hp, Creative
Commons License
Cadmium is a soft, blue-white metal. It's primarily used in soft and low melting point alloys. The
element and its compounds are toxic.
Indium - Element 49
Indium is a post-transition metallic element that has more in common with the metalloids than with
the transition metals. It is very soft with a silver metallic luster. One of its interesting properties is
that the metal wets glass, making it an excellent material for making mirrors.
Tin - Element 50
This image shows the two allotropes of the element tin, white and grey tin. Alchemist-HP
You are familiar with the shiny metallic form of tin from tin cans, but colder temperatures change
the allotrope of the element into gray tin, which doesn't behave like a metal. Tin is commonly
applied over other metals to help protect them from corrosion.
Tellurium - Element 52
Tellurium one of the metalloids or semimetals. It occurs in either a shiny gray crystalline form or
else a brownish-black amorphous state.
Iodine - Element 53
At room temperature and pressure, iodine occurs as either a violet solid or vapor. Matt Meadows /
Getty Images
Iodine is another element that displays a distinctive color. You might encounter it in a science lab as
a violet vapor or as a shiny blue-black solid. The liquid does not occur at normal pressure.
Xenon - Element 54
This is a sample of pure liquid xenon. Rasiel Suarez on behalf of Luciteria LLC
The noble gas xenon is a colorless gas under ordinary conditions. Under pressure, it may be
liquefied into a transparent liquid. When ionized, the vapor emits pale blue light.
Europium - Element 63
Europium is a silver metal with a slight yellow tint, but it oxidizes instantly in air or water. This rare
earth element actually is rare, at least in the universe where it's estimated to have an abundance of 5
x 10-8 percent of matter. Its compounds are phosphorescent.
Thulium - Element 69
Thulium is the rarest of the rare earths (which are actually fairly abundant overall). Because of this,
there aren't many uses for this element. It's not toxic, but doesn't serve any known biological
function.
Lutetium - Element 71
Lutetium, like other rare earth elements, does not occur in pure form in nature.
Lutetium is a soft, silvery rare earth metal. This element does not occur free in nature. It's used
primarily for catalysts in the petroleum industry.
Tantalum - Element 73
Tantalum is a shiny blue-gray metal often found in association with the element niobium (located
right above it on the periodic table). Tantalum is highly resistant to chemical attack, although it is
affected by hydrofluoric acid. The element has an extremely high melting point.
Tungsten - Element 74
Tungsten is a brittle metal, though it has an extremely high tensile strength. Alchemist-hp
Tungsten is a strong, silver-colored metal. This is the element with the highest melting point. At
high temperatures, a colorful oxidation layer can form over the metal.
Osmium - Element 76
Osmium is a brittle and hard blue-black transition metal. This cluster of osmium crystals was
grown using chemical vapor transport. Periodictableru
Osmium is a hard, shiny transition metal. Under most conditions, it is the element with the highest
density (about twice as heavy as lead).
Platinum - Element 78
The metal platinum is seen in relatively pure form in high-end jewelry. The metal is heavy, fairly
soft, and corrosion resistant.
Gold - Element 79
Element 79 is the precious metal, gold. Gold is known by its distinctive color. This element, along
with copper, are the only two non-silvery metals, although it is suspected some of the new elements
may display colors (if enough is ever produced to see them).
Mercury - Element 80
Mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature and pressure. Harry Taylor / Getty
Images
Mercury also goes by the name quicksilver. This silver-colored metal that is a liquid at room
temperature and pressure. You may be wondering what mercury looks like when it is solid. Well, if
you place a bit of mercury in liquid nitrogen, it will solidify into a gray metal that resembles tin.
Thallium - Element 81
These are chunks of pure thallium sealed in an ampoule with argon gas. W. Oelen
Thallium is a soft, heavy post-transition metal. The metal resembles tin when it's fresh, but discolors
to blue-gray upon exposure to air. The element is soft enough to cut with a knife.
Lead - Element 82
Element 82 is lead, a soft, heavy metal best known for its ability to shield against x-rays and other
radiation. The element is toxic, yet common.
Bismuth - Element 83
The crystal structure of the metal bismuth is as beautiful as the oxide layer that forms on it. Kerstin
Waurick / Getty Images
Pure bismuth is a silver-gray metal, sometimes with a faint pink tinge. However, this element
readily oxidizes into a rainbow array of colors.
Uranium - Element 92
Uranium is a heavy, radioactive metal belonging to the actinide group. In pure form, it's a silver-
gray metal, able to take a high polish, but it accumulates a dull oxidation layer after exposure to air.
Plutonium - Element 94
Plutonium is a heavy radioactive metal. When fresh, the pure metal is shiny and silver. It develops a
yellowish oxidation layer after exposure to air. It's unlikely you'll ever get a chance to view this
element in person, but if you do, turn out the lights. The metal appears to glow red.