| Actinium | Caron Lage |
| Aluminum | Julie Richardson |
| Americium | Virginia Dambach |
| Antimony | Karla Rose Hanson |
| Argon | Kim Stenehjem |
| Arsenic | Ryn Pitts |
| Astatine | Julie Richardson |
| Barium | Lona Daley Getz |
| Berkelium | Tricia Coulson |
| Beryllium | Ryn Pitts |
| Bismuth | Ryn Pitts |
| Bohrium | Janet Houle |
| Boron | Julie Richardson |
| Bromine | Virginia Dambach |
| Cadmium | Ryn Pitts |
| Calcium | Clare Degerness |
| Californium | Julie Richardson |
| Carbon | Lona Daley Getz |
| Cerium | Deb Mohr |
| Cesium | Kim Stenehjem |
| Chlorine | Lona Daley Getz |
| Chromium | Mary Ann Waxler |
| Cobalt | Ryn Pitts |
| Copernicium | Julie Richardson |
| Copper | Mary Ann Waxler |
| Curium | Pamela Davis |
| Darmstadtium | Kim Baird |
| Dubnium | Caron Lage |
| Dysprosium | Kim Stenehjem |
| Einsteinium | Ryn Pitts |
| Erbium | Virginia Dambach |
| Europium | Karla Rose Hanson |
| Fermium | Julie Richardson |
| Fluorine | Pamela Davis |
| Francium | Pamela Davis |
| Gadolinium | Jan Flack |
| Gallium | Lona Daley Getz |
| Germanium | Mary Ann Waxler |
| Gold | Vicky Bogart |
| Hafnium | Joan Huseth |
| Hassium | Ryn Pitts |
| Helium | Kim Stenehjem |
| Holmium | Virginia Dambach |
| Hydrogen | Jan Flack |
| Indium | Clare Degerness |
| Iodine | Ryn Pitts |
| Iridium | Virginia Dambach |
| Iron | Virginia Dambach |
| Krypton | Kim Baird |
| Lanthanum | Kim Baird |
| Lawrencium | Julie Richardson |
| Lead | Ryn Pitts |
| Lithium | Vicky Bogart |
| Lutetium | Lynn Glesne |
| Magnesium | Julie Richardson |
| Manganese | Lona Daley Getz |
| Meitnerium | Jean Back |
| Mendelevium | Diane Siekaniec |
| Mercury | Mary Ann Waxler |
| Molybdinum | Kim Stenehjem |
| Neodymium | Kim Baird |
| Neon | Kim Baird |
| Neptunium | Clare Degerness |
| Nickel | Kim Baird |
| Niobium | Kim Stenehjem |
| Nitrogen | Clare Degerness |
| Nobelium | Clare Degerness |
| Osmium | Julie Richardson |
| Oxygen | Kim Stenehjem |
| Palladium | Lona Daley Getz |
| Phosphorus | Caron Lage |
| Platinum | Clare Degerness |
| Plutonium | Pamela Davis |
| Polonium | Sue Mertz |
| Potassium | Diane Siekaniec |
| Praseodymium | Clare Degerness |
| Promethium | Kim Stenehjem |
| Protactinium | Virginia Dambach |
| Radium | Virginia Dambach |
| Radon | Julie Richardson |
| Rhenium | Clare Degerness |
| Rhodium | Mary Ann Waxler |
| Roentgenium | Tricia Coulson |
| Rubidium | Becky Albright |
| Ruthenium | Clare Degerness |
| Rutherfordium | Clare Degerness |
| Samarium | Jean Back |
| Scandium | Clare Degerness |
| Seaborgium | Kim Baird |
| Selenium | Virginia Dambach |
| Silicon | Kim Baird |
| Silver | Julie Richardson |
| Sodium | Karla Rose Hanson |
| Strontium | Jane Lillestol |
| Sulphur | Pamela Davis |
| Tantalum | Kim Stenehjem |
| Technetium | Mary Ann Waxler |
| Tellurium | Tricia Coulson |
| Terbium | Julie Richardson |
| Thallium | Janet Houle |
| Thorium | Kim Baird |
| Thulium | Julie Richardson |
| Tin | Vicky Bogart |
| Titanium | Virginia Dambach |
| Tungsten | Julie Richardson |
| Ununtrium through Ununoctium | Kim Baird |
| Uranium | Lona Daley Getz |
| Vanadium | Sue Mertz |
| Xenon | Karla Rose Hanson |
| Ytterbium | Kim Baird |
| Yttrium | Kim Baird |
| Zinc | Karla Rose Hanson |
| Zirconium | Jane Lillestol |
Category Archives: View All Elements
Zinc
Among the many uses for zinc, boosting the immune system to fight the common cold is possibly the most commonly known.
This bluish-silver metal is also used for rust protection, die-casting, and many other medical purposes. The use that was most compelling to me, however, was as a sustainable building material. A zinc roof can last 100 years (compared to a few decades for asphalt shingles) and is much less likely to wind up in a landfill compared to traditional roofing materials because zinc can be recycled indefinitely without loss of physical or chemical properties. As a nod to how eco-savvy zinc can be, this piece includes some recycled elements of its own, including scraps of old neckties and wrapping paper.
Technetium
Mary Ann Waxler
Technetium is employed in over half of all nuclear medicine procedures.Technetium-99m is used to image the skeleton and organs, the heart muscle in particular. Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (MPI) uses technetium for detection and prognosis of coronary artery disease.
Isolated in 1937, Technetium was the first man-made element. It’s produced by bombarding molybdenum-98 with neutrons.
Rhodium
Mary Ann Waxler
Rhodium was discovered by William Hyde Wollaston, an English chemist, in 1804.The first rhodium was rose colored so it was named after the Greek word for rose, rhodon.
Rhodium is usually obtained as a by-product of mining and refining platinum. It’s used to make electrical contacts, in jewelry and catalytic converters. Its main use is as an alloying agent in other materials such as platinum and palladium. Rhodium is the rarest of all non-radioactive metals on Earth.
Lithium
Vicky Bogart
Lithium floats on water. It is a soft, silver-white metal found in seawater and in plants, plankton and invertebrates. When heated, it turns crimson red, and is used in flares and pyrotechnics. Lithium is found in dwarf brown stars, carbon stars and twinkling stars. Most recently, it is used in batteries. I deliberately chose not to depict the more dramatic use of lithium as a pharmaceutical.
Tin
Vicky Bogart
Tin foil was once common wrapping material for drugs and foods, such as chocolate. Replaced by aluminum foil, tin foil is still used as a generic term for silver metal that comes in thin sheets. Tin cans, tin ceiling panels, and corrugated building sheathing are more often made of steel or aluminum with a coating of tin to inhibit rust.
Tin is alloyed with copper to produce bronze, and with copper, antimony and lead to produce pewter. If someone called you a “tinnie”, you might be one who enjoys a can of beer.
Gold
Vicky Bogart
The Midas Touch, gold leaf, gold dust, gold bar, gold medals, gold coins, gold trophies, gold threads, goldfish, heart of gold, gold ribbon, gold star, golden moon, goldenrod, band of gold, The Golden Mean, The Golden Rule, The Golden Ratio, The Golden Feather.
Silence is Golden.
Gold has a lattice face centered cubic crystal structure. It is a tasteless, odorless, dense metal that is the most malleable of metals. One ounce can be pounded into a 300 square foot sheet. It is used in dentistry, electronics, wiring, pharmaceuticals and jewelry.
It is the Gold Standard.
Polonium
Sue Mertz
Discovered in 1898 by Pierre and Marie Curie and named after Poland. It had no known uses. Obtained from pitchblende, decay of radium. Pl;utonium became famous in 2006 when it was used to induce acute radiation sickness in Alexander Litvinenko, a former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service, FSB and KGB. According to his doctors, Litvinenko’s murder marked the beginning of an era of nuclear terrorism.
Vanadium
Sue Mertz
Named for the Scandinavian goddess of beauty and fertility, Vanadis (Freya).
Vanadium a was first discovered in 1801 by a Mexican scientist who later withdrew his claim, and later rediscovered by Nils Gabriel Sefstrom, a Swedish chemist in 1830. It is sometimes used to make special tubes and pipes for the chemical industry. Vanadium penotxide is its most useful compound. It is used as a mordant which permanently fixes dyes to fabrics.A silk portrait of the goddess is machine appliquéd over the multi hued background of grey, the test tubes show the various colors achieved as it decays.
Dubnium
Caron Lage
There are no uses for this element.
The Elements 