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Oxygen gas is increasingly obtained by these non-cryogenic technologies (see also the related vacuum swing adsorption). [103] Oxygen gas can also be produced through electrolysis of water into molecular oxygen and hydrogen. DC electricity must be used: if AC is used, the gases in each limb consist of hydrogen and oxygen in the explosive ratio 2:1.
Oxygen, sulfur, and selenium are nonmetals, and tellurium is a metalloid, meaning that its chemical properties are between those of a metal and those of a nonmetal. [7] It is not certain whether polonium is a metal or a metalloid. Some sources refer to polonium as a metalloid, [2] [27] although it has some metallic properties.
The chemical elements can be broadly divided into metals, metalloids, and nonmetals according to their shared physical and chemical properties.All elemental metals have a shiny appearance (at least when freshly polished); are good conductors of heat and electricity; form alloys with other metallic elements; and have at least one basic oxide.
The alkali metals and alkali earth metals all react spontaneously with oxygen when exposed to dry air to form oxides, and form hydroxides in the presence of oxygen and water. As a result, none of these elements is found in nature as a free metal. Caesium is so reactive with oxygen that it is used as a getter in vacuum tubes. Although solid ...
An alternative in metallurgy is to consider various malleable alloys such as steel, aluminium alloys and similar as metals, and other materials as nonmetals; [20] fabricating metals is termed metalworking, [21] but there is no corresponding term for nonmetals. A loose definition such as this is often the common usage, but can also be inaccurate.
All four elements tend to form primarily ionic compounds with metals, [136] in contrast to the remaining nonmetals (except for oxygen) which tend to form primarily covalent compounds with metals. [ x ] The highly reactive and strongly electronegative nature of the halogen nonmetals epitomizes nonmetallic character.
In an oxygen system the presence of oxygen is implied, and in a sufficiently high partial pressure of oxygen, most materials can be considered fuel. Potential ignition sources are present in almost all oxygen systems, but fire hazards can be mitigated by controlling the risk factors associated with the oxygen, fuel, or heat, which can limit the ...
Solid oxygen forms at normal atmospheric pressure at a temperature below 54.36 K (−218.79 °C, −361.82 °F). Solid oxygen O 2 , like liquid oxygen , is a clear substance with a light sky-blue color caused by absorption in the red part of the visible light spectrum.