Potassium (:

Potassium
Our body needs potassium, yes, and we can get it from a banana. What about the more chemical related stuff to potassium? Sure Potassium and fire turn the flames purple but Potassium is also a metal and it is extremely active and does not do well with oxygen and water in air. It reacts in a rather violent matter! Oxygen and potassium create potassium peroxide. Water and potassium create potassium hydroxide. The reaction with potassium and water is dangerous and ends with hydrogen gas being released! Potassium and water, it is violent and sufficient exothermic in character. Hydrogen can then again react with the atmospheric oxygen that reacts and leaves water lingering that can then react with the remaining potassium. Due to this, potassium and it’s liquid alloy (NaK) are strong and effective that remove moisture which can be used as a dry solvent prior to distillation. Potassium and water in air are so sensitive that it’s reactions can only be possible in atmosphere that is inert, such as in argon gas using air-free techniques. Hydrocarbons tend to not even get a reaction from potassium, so things like mineral oil have no reaction with potassium. Ammonia can have potassium readily dissolve in it if the potassium is up to 48g and the ammonia is at 1000g at 0 degrees C. Slowly it reacts and produces KNH2, but can be accelerated by metal salts in minute amounts of transitions. The Rieke method see’s potassium as something that reduces the salt to just metal. Where it see’s potassium as a reductant when preparing to finely divide metals from their salts. Potassium can be combined with other things to become a compound. Potassium’s beginning history all started around the 1700s and mainly by Humphry Davy, when more was being learned about potassium. A interesting thing about our element potassium (K) is that it is an essential thing in plant fertilizer. It finds ways to react with numerous things in numerous ways. Some good, some bad. However, I personally enjoy potassium very much not in bananas but because of it’s firey show.


Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium#Chemical