Cobalt

toc Cobalt is a transition metal in the periodic table with the atomic number 27 and the symbol Co with an atomic weight of 58.9332 and an electron configuration of [Ar] 4s2 3d7. It's in group 9 of the periodic table, along with rhodium, iridium, and meitnerium. Cobalt is hard, brittle, and shiny. Its name comes from the German word //"kobald"// (evil spirit) and/or the Greek word //"cobalos"// (mine).

History
In ancient times, pigments with cobalt bases were used as paints for ceramics and were valued for their blue-green hue. Cobalt paints have been found in Egyptian scultures from 3000 BC, in the ruins of Pompeii German miners had discovered the "//Kobald// ore", or "goblin ore" as early as 100 B.C. It was called the "goblin ore" because it had very little useable metal and gave off arsenic oxide, a poisonous gas, when smelted. Since nobody had been able to isolate pure cobalt from its ore, cobalt pigmentswere always thought to be bismuth-based by alchemists, because bismuth was one of the other elements found in the //Kobald// or cobaltite ore, along with sulfur, cobalt, and arsenic. ([|source]) In 1735, chemist Georg Brandt discovered cobalt by examining cobaltite-based pigments and discovering that cobalt, rather than bismuth, created the blue-green color. He conducted many experiments using cobalt and discovered many properties that differed between bismuth and cobalt, including different melting properties which, when trying to fuse bismuth and cobalt by melting them together, results in the two elements "attach[ing] about as an almond and it's stone." Cobalt was the first element to be discovered since ancient times. ([|source])

Economics
Cobalt is a very economically important element, since it has many critical applications where replacing it would result in a lower-quality product. It's supply is dynamic but small in comparison to other metals. Below is a table of cobalt's most common uses:

The rechargeable battery market is the fastest growing market for cobalt, currently using 25% of the world's cobalt. That number is expected to rise to 45% in 2018. Nickel metal hydride batteries and lithium-ion batteries both contain cobalt, and they are used to power hybrid cars and more than 90% of all rechargeable electronics sold in the United States. The hybrid car market is the fastest growing segment of the rechargeable battery market. ([|source])
 * **2009 Global Cobalt Use** || **% of Market** ||
 * Batteries - Cell phones, computers, hybrid vehicles, portable tools, etc. || 25 ||
 * Chemicals - Includes pigments and dyes || 21 ||
 * Super Alloys - Turbine blades, mainly jet engines || 20 ||
 * Wear Resistant Alloys - Hard facing and cobalt carbide || 17 ||
 * Catalysts - Includes Gas-to-Liquid conversions || 10 ||
 * Magnets - High performance applications || 7 ||

= Environment =

Most of the cobalt found on earth is located in its core. Compared to the amount of cobalt in the Earth's core, there's not much else in other places in the Earth, such as the crust. Most of the cobalt on the Earth's surface is found in the ocean, precipitated as cobalt sulfine (CoS), which is highly resistant to dissolving. This compound is what gives blue-green algae it's blue pigment, with the green color coming from the chlorophyll in the algae's cells. Cobalt can also be found in air, plants, and animals as an essential nutrient and particulate. ([|source])

Cobalt is never found as a free metal in nature. Pure Co is only able to be isolated as a byproduct of nickel and copper mining, by smelting ores, or in a laboratory. ([|source])

17,000 metric tons of cobalt are produced in the world annually. ([|source])

Health
Since cobalt is generally dispersed throughout the environment, it does not usually have an effect on the health of humans. However, when isolated and accumulated, it can have some serious health effects. In fact, inhaling too high concentrations of cobalt in the air can even cause asthma and pneumonia.

Cobalt dust can cause a disease like asthma with symptoms like coughing, shortness of breath and dyspnea to decreased pulmonary function, nodular fibrosis, p  ermanent disability, and death. Only people who work with the element, such as miners, would be in close enough contact for this to happen.



The only exception to this is if colbalt contanimates a field in which plants grow. When this happens, these plants can be dangerous to eat. Eating plants with these accumulated particles of cobalt can cause vomiting and nausea, vision problems, heart problems, and thyroid damage.

The radiation of cobalt isotopes can also cause sterility, hair loss, vomiting, bleeding, diarrhoea, coma and even death. The destructive power of these isotopes is the reason for their use in cancer radiation treatment. Because of Cobalt’s part in vitamin B12, it is also ironically essential for human health.

Lastly, Cobalt stimulates the production of red blood cells, so it is used to treat anaemia in pregnant women. [|(source])

Chemistry/Physics

 * Atomic Number: 27
 * Period Number: 4
 * Group Number: 9
 * Atomic Mass: 58.9332 amu
 * Number of Protons/Electrons: 27
 * Number of Neutrons: 32
 *  Electron Shell Configuration :
 * 1s2 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * 2s2 ||  || 2p6 ||   ||   ||
 * 3s2 ||  || 3p6 ||   || 3d7 ||
 * 4s2 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||

[|(source)]
 * Isotopes:
 * Co-56 (Half Life of 77.3 days)
 * Co-57 (Half Life of 271.8 days)
 * Co-58 (Half Life of 70.9 days)
 * Co-58m (Half-life of 9.1 hours)
 * Co-59 (Half-life of Stable Isotope)
 * Co-60 (Half-life of 5.3 years)
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Co-60m (Half-life of 10.5 minutes)
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Co-61 (Half-life of 1.7 hours)
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Melting Point: 1495.0 °C (1768.15 K, 2723.0 °F)
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Boiling Point: 2870.0 °C (3143.15 K, 5198.0 °F)
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Density: 8.86 grams per cubic centimeter
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.25pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Crystal Structure: Hexagonal

The Isotope cobalt-60, now used as <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">an important radioactive tracer and cancer-treatment agent, was once dispersed as nuclear fallout; <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">physicist Leó Szilárd predicted it could wipe out all life on Earth. It's ironic that the element that can cure cancer can also destroy the world... [|(source)]

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**Sources**

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 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> "Element #27." Science Kits, Science Classes, and Experiments for Kids. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <http://sciencecastle.com/sc/index.php/articles/view/2572>.
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 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">"Vitamin B12." The Worlds of David Darling. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/V/vitamin_B12.html>.