Germanium (Ge)
Germanium is a semiconducting metalloid used in fiber optics and infrared optics.
Properties of Germanium
- Atomic number
- 32
- Category
- Metalloid
- Atomic mass
- 72.63 u
- Electron configuration
- [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p²
- Melting point
- 1211.4 K (938.25 °C)
- Boiling point
- 3106 K (2832.85 °C)
- Density
- 5.323 g/cm³
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 2.01
- Appearance
- Grayish-white metalloid
- Discovered by
- Clemens Winkler (1886)
Facts about Germanium
- Germanium was used in the very first transistors before silicon took over!
- Germanium is transparent to infrared light, so it's used in night-vision goggles!
- Germanium was predicted by Mendeleev 15 years before it was discovered!
- Germanium is named after Germany!