Alkali Metal

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alkali metal

[′al·kə‚lī ‚med·əl]
Any of the elements of group I in the periodic table: lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium.

Alkali Metal


any one of several chemical elements of the major subgroup of Group I of Mendeleev’s periodic system of the elements: lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium. The subgroup’s name is derived from the hydroxides of the alkali metals, called caustic alkalies. The atoms of alkali metals have one s electron in their outer shell and, with the exception of lithium, two 5 electrons and six p electrons in the next to the last shell. The alkali metals always exhibit an oxidation number of +1 in their compounds. They are very reactive chemically. They are oxidized rapidly by atmospheric oxygen and react vigorously with water to form alkalies, MeOH (where Me is a metal). Their reactivity increases from lithium to francium. (See alsoLITHIUM; SODIUM; POTASSIUM; RUBIDIUM; CESIUM; and FRANCIUM.)

References in periodicals archive ?
Group I contains alkaline metals having very strong chemical activity, but simultaneously the sub-Group "b" contains copper, silver and gold which have not these properties but possess excellent electric conductivity.
It is shown that method of electron beam evaporation in vacuum of stainless steel and salts of the alkaline metal halogenides with different melting temperatures (chloral sodium and chloral potassium) allows producing in joint deposition of their vapor flows porous condensates, temperature dependence of porosity of which is of nonmonotonous character with maximum in the area of 0.
Via-Tek's patent pending hydrogen gas generator produces hydrogen gas from water via the time release of measured amounts of an alkaline metal emulsion into a water reservoir.
Among their topics are the ion-exchange kinetics of alkaline metals on the surface of carboxymethyl cellulose Sn(IV) phosphate composite cation exchanger, the adsorption of proteins onto non-soluble polysaccharide matrices: a friendly strategy to isolate enzymes with potential application for downstream processes, different desalinization processes for turning sea water into fresh drinking water, removing phosphates and sulphates in a multi-ion system with nitrates, and adsorption and ion exchange: basic principles and their application in food processing.

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