Gadgetory

the carbon group or carbon family is comprised of six elements five of which occur naturally or an oxide States that's carbon silicon germanium tin lead and floor opium that last one it's artificial extremely radioactive and potentially gaseous at room temperature despite exhibiting characteristics of a metal starting with the family's lowest atomic number we have carbon it is a common element of life as we know it thanks to its abundance and tendency to covalently bond in fact nearly ten million compounds involving carbon are known to exist in electronics applications carbon is benefited by its four valence electrons as well as its high heat tolerance carbon fibers in particular are extremely resistant to chemicals and exhibit high tensile strengths despite their relatively low weights and recent advancements with respect to carbon nanotubes are opening massive doors in the pharmaceutical sector certain carbon nylon combinations can act as catheters C and T's may be used to fight certain cancers by blocking unique receptors single walled CMT's can even kill certain bacteria like e-coli by puncturing and breaking down their cell membranes I could go on for hours but we've got other elements to consider in this family up next is silicon a bluish silver metalloid that also acts like a semi conductor meaning it has properties of both an electrical conductor and an insulator early chemists believe silicon occurred in nature as a metal oxide hence the proposed name Silesia which although it sounds really cool is factually incorrect the ion part meant that it was a metal but by the 1800s we confirmed that it was a nonmetal similar in structure to carbon a way we can confirm this is in the lab silicones electrical resistance decreases as its temperature rises which is the opposite of how metals behave this is due to silicones energy gap so to compensate scientists doped silicon with other elements to control conductivity and the flow of energy which is why silicon is used in nearly all modern microprocessors to date and while silicon is a standalone element doesn't exist on earth and many silicates or silicon oxides account for up to a quarter of the planet by weight it is therefore easy to isolate and utilize electronics glasswork and biology the next element to consider is germanium it's a shiny metal Lloyd and also a semiconductor or point-contact amplifying transistors actually utilize germanium before they ever use silicon oddly enough the element in its Germania form that's a germanium dioxide is actually super useful in the world of optics it boasts a high refraction index meaning it slows light down significantly and at a sharp angle perfect for wide-angle lenses and fiber optics germanium is used in solar panels LEDs fluorescent lamps and even effects pedals for guitars it gives that fuzzy distortion sound from 50s rock and roll so why is silicon used in place of germanium then for one its abundance germanium is rare silicon is not electron bonds and silicon are stronger as well and germanium also breaks down at higher temperatures where silicon remains unfazed tin is the next element in the Carbon group it's magic atomic number of 50 means it's extremely stable with many isotopes it doesn't readily oxidized an air making it a great anti-corrosion applicant for iron carbon alloy like steel a historical avocation was in the production of bronze which is one ace 10 and 7/8 copper in case you were wondering at temperatures approaching absolute zero tin becomes a type 1 superconductor meaning it exhibits literally no electrical resistance with respect to electronics it's widely used in Sauter's thanks to its low melting point of roughly 230 degrees Celsius in fact certain isotopes have even lower melting points than this however its ability to whisker as well as it's relatively low conductivity renders it obsolete for wires and traces when seen in the context of copper gold and silver lastly we have lead it's dense soft and readily oxidizes it also has the highest stable atomic number on the periodic table of elements it's used in batteries paints altars and various alloys it's often found in sulfur compounds the most common of which is Galena or lead sulfide I probably mispronounced that funny enough the Romans who use a lead for many things never distinguished lead from tin instead referring to both as black and light lead respectively the element is easy to extract hence its widespread historical use for things like plumbing cookware and construction think of how we use steel today the only difference is that steel isn't generally toxic lead tends to disrupt enzyme function by mimicking the properties of other essential metals in the blood like iron and calcium it can degrade myelin sheaths blocked blood flow to the brain stunt growth destroy the kidneys it's dangerous to say the least and up until only recently modern infrastructure included lead plumbing LED pain sled gasoline imagine what we're exposing ourselves to now without fully understanding side effects as such let's applications and electronics specifically involve isolated consumer tools like lead acid batteries it's even used in super capacitors but it's gradually being phased out of solder for obvious reasons thanks for watching this minute science episode if you enjoyed it hit that like button subscribe for more this is science studio thanks for learning with us