All practice pages/Interatomic theory/Elements
Element 12, an alkaline earth metal
A light metal that burns with a dazzling white light, and the atom at the center of every chlorophyll molecule.
Period 3, group 2. The other alkaline earth metals are tinted, and every cell opens its own article.
Two valence electrons, which magnesium gives up to form the Mg²⁺ ion in its compounds.
About 2% of the crust, in minerals such as dolomite, magnesite and olivine. Seawater holds about 1.3 grams per liter, and for decades much of the world's magnesium was extracted from the sea. Today China produces most of it.
Joseph Black recognized magnesia as different from lime in 1755, and Humphry Davy isolated an impure sample of the metal in 1808. The name comes from Magnesia, a district in Greece where magnesium minerals were found.
Light alloys for car parts, laptop and camera bodies, bicycles and aircraft, since magnesium is about a third lighter than aluminum. It also goes into aluminum drink cans, flares and fireworks, and the production of iron and titanium. Epsom salt soothes sore muscles and milk of magnesia settles stomachs.
Burning magnesium is so hot that water makes the fire worse by releasing hydrogen, and the light can hurt your eyes. Fine powder and shavings catch fire easily.