Iron Facts
The name iron comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘iron’ and Scandinavian word ‘iran’ for metal. The Latin word for iron is ferrum that makes its symbol ‘Fe’. It is the 6th most common element in the universe and 4th most common element in the earth’s crust. Iron is a transition metal that belongs to the 8th column of the periodic tablePeriodic Table. Atomic number of iron is 26. Iron is most commonly used in manufacture of steel.
Quick Facts: –
- All living creatures require iron. Plants use iron in chlorophyll and humans use iron in haemoglobin.
- Iron can be found in both the inner and outer core of the earth.
- There are many different oxidation states of iron.
- This metal is essential in helping sustain life on earth.
- Gas giants like Saturn and Jupiter have cores rich in iron.
- Iron is not always a magnet.
- This metal has a melting point 1535.0°C and a boiling point of 2862°C.
- Pure elemental iron is soft and has a shiny silver-grey colour. It hardens after the smelting process.
- There are four known allotropes and four known isotopes of iron.
- 20 milligrams of iron per kilogram of your body weight is toxic and 60 milligrams is deadly.
- Fusion in stars that have sufficient mass causes the formation of iron.
- Ferrite is the most stable form of this metal under normal conditions.
- Wrought iron is pure iron and it is found in workable form.
- There is a sea snail that use iron sulphide as a skeletal material.
