Cesium

Cesium

Symbol	Cs
Atomic Number	55
Atomic Mass	132.9054 g.mol -1
Discovered by	Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen in 1860

Table of Contents

• Chemical Properties of Caesium
• What is Caesium?
• Uses of Caesium
• Properties of Caesium
• Certain facts about Caesium

Chemical Properties of Cesium

What is Cesium?

• Cesium (Cs) is a chemical element in the periodic table with atomic number 55 discovered by Fustov Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen in the year 1860.
• The name is derived from a Latin word Caesius which means sky blue, as it burns with a blue flame.

Uses of Cesium

• Cesium formate-based drilling fluids are extensively used in extractive oil industry.
• It is used in thermionic generators which convert heat energy into electrical energy.
• As the density of cesium is very high, cesium chloride, cesium sulphate are widely used in molecular biology.
• Cesium is used in manufacturing optical glasses and other optical instruments. It is used to remove oxygen from light bulbs and vacuum tubes.
• A special application of cesium is that it is used in the manufacturing of most accurate atomic clock. It is also called as cesium clock.

Properties of Cesium

• It is a soft, silvery-gold alkali element that is quickly attacked by air and reacts explosively with water.
• It is a very rare element and estimated that only 3 parts per million are available in the Earth’s Crust.
• It is found in minerals like pollucite and lepidolite. It occurs in environment mainly due to erosion and weathering of rocks.

Certain Facts About Cesium

• Cesium has no biological importance and is not harmful to life.
• When contact with radioactive cesium occurs, which hardly happens, a person may experience cell damage due to the harmful effects of radiation.