Cesium Research Paper

The element cesium is an element like no other. It has many characteristics that separate it from many of the other elements that most people know. Cesium also has important uses for our society and we can benefit from it a lot. Cesiums story starts way back in 1860 Heidelberg Germany, with two German chemists by the names of Robert Bunsun and Gustav Robert Kirchoff. A year before they discovered the element cesium, they developed a spectroscope. This tool allowed them to see the atomic spectra. So, while they were analyzing some spa mineral water residue using the Spectroscope. They spotted blue lines from the emissions spectra. These lines didn't match up with any other known element. So, after realizing that they discovered a new element, they decided to name it cesium. The chemists decided on naming it that because the latin word caesius means sky blue, and the lines that they saw were a similar sky blue color. (webelements.com). The Elements physical attributes are perhaps the most interesting parts of the element. Its electron configuration is [Xe] 6s^1 and it has

The natural isotope of Cesium is ^133Cs and the natural abundance of it is 100%. This is the only stable isotope of cesium. There are 36 other isotopes that are unstable. Another trait that makes Cesium so interesting is that it will react vigorously with water. It reacts so rapidly that it will shatter glass if enclosed in it and can be very explosive. Its reactivity with air is also vigorous. Because of this, scientist hold cesium in vacuums to it. Without the vacuum, the cesium and air would form CsO2, an orange superoxide. Cesium doesn’t react well with many chemical properties and that includes halogens, the halogens react vigorously with cesium. Next, cesium will dissolve in Acids rapidly if mixed, and last, cesium reacts rapidly with bases. it reacts in the same way cesium reacts with water.