Magnesium

Key information
Atomic number: 
12
Atomic weight: 
24
Density: 
1740 kg/m³
Boiling point: 
1380.16° K
Melting point: 
923.16° K
Heat vapour: 
136.17 kJ/mol
Heat fusion: 
8.96 kJ/mol
Thermal conductivity: 
22.4 W/m/K
Specific heat capacity: 
159.13 J/kg/K

Magnesium, in common with other alkaline earth metals has a +2 oxidation number and a shiny, silvery-white colour. The British chemist Joseph Black (1728 - 1799) distinguished quicklime (calcium oxide, CaO) from magnesia alba in 1755. Humphry Davy isolated the metal, with some impurities in 1808 using electrolysis. He named the metal "magnium".

Alchemy

Alchemists used the metal magnesium in the form of ''magnesia alba'' (white magnesium), which was hydrated magnesium carbonate:

  1. 4MgCO3.Mg(OH)2.5H2O, magnesia alba levis.
  2. MgCO3.Mg(OH)2.4H2O, magnesia alba ponderosa.

Applications

Magnesium is used in flares, as it produces a brilliant white light when burnt in air.

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Amazon Books
Image of The Last Sorcerers: The Path from Alchemy to the Periodic Table
Author: Richard Morris
Publisher: Joseph Henry Press (2003)
Binding: Hardcover, 296 pages