Sodium (Na)
Sodium is a highly reactive alkali metal and an essential element for all animals. Table salt is sodium chloride.
Properties of Sodium
- Atomic number
- 11
- Category
- Alkali Metal
- Atomic mass
- 22.99 u
- Electron configuration
- [Ne] 3s¹
- Melting point
- 370.94 K (97.79 °C)
- Boiling point
- 1156.09 K (882.94 °C)
- Density
- 0.971 g/cm³
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 0.93
- Appearance
- Silvery-white metal
- Discovered by
- Humphry Davy (1807)
Facts about Sodium
- Sodium explodes when you drop it in water!
- Table salt is made of sodium and chlorine — NaCl!
- Sodium streetlights give off that familiar yellow-orange glow!
- Your body needs sodium to send nerve signals and flex muscles!
Sodium videos
- Sodium: Soft as Cheese, Explosive in Water
- All the Salt in the Ocean, 500 Feet Deep
- The Yellow Glow of Sodium Streetlights
- Sodium metal reacting violently with water, producing bright yellow-orange flames
- Table Salt Is Sodium Chloride
- The Yellow-Orange Glow of Sodium Streetlights
- Sodium Powers Your Nerve Signals