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Periodic Table of Elements

Element Sodium - Na

Comprehensive data on the chemical element Sodium is provided on this page; including scores of properties, element names in many languages, most known nuclides of Sodium. Common chemical compounds are also provided for many elements. In addition technical terms are linked to their definitions and the menu contains links to related articles that are a great aid in one's studies.

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Overview of Sodium

Sodium's Name in Other Languages

  • Latin: Natrium
  • Czech: Sodík
  • Croatian: Natrij
  • French: Sodium
  • German: Natrium - r
  • Italian: Sodio
  • Norwegian: Natrium
  • Portuguese: Sódio
  • Russian: Натрий
  • Spanish: Sodio
  • Swedish: Natrium

Atomic Structure of Sodium

Chemical Properties of Sodium

Physical Properties of Sodium

  • Atomic Mass Average: 22.98977
  • Boiling Point: 1156K 883°C 1621°F
  • Coefficient of lineal thermal expansion/K-1: 70.6E-6
  • Conductivity
    Electrical: 0.21 106/cm Ω
    Thermal: 1.41 W/cmK
  • Density: 0.971g/cc @ 300K
  • Description:
    Soft silvery white alkali metal that reacts violently with water and oxidises rapidly when cut. Pure sodium must be stored in oil.
  • Elastic Modulus:
    • Bulk: 6.3/GPa
    • Rigidity: 2.53/GPa
    • Youngs: 6.8/GPa
  • Enthalpy of Atomization: 108.4 kJ/mole @ 25°C
  • Enthalpy of Fusion: 2.59 kJ/mole
  • Enthalpy of Vaporization: 89.04 kJ/mole
  • Flammablity Class:
  • Freezing Point: see melting point
  • Hardness Scale
    • Brinell: 0.69 MN m-2
    • Mohs: 0.5
  • Heat of Vaporization: 96.96kJ/mol
  • Melting Point: 371K 98°C 208°F
  • Molar Volume: 23.7 cm3/mole
  • Physical State (at 20°C & 1atm): Solid
  • Specific Heat: 1.23J/gK
  • Vapor Pressure = 0.0000143Pa@961°C

Regulatory / Health

  • CAS Number
    • 7440-23-5
  • OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)
    • No limits set by OSHA
  • OSHA PEL Vacated 1989
    • No limits set by OSHA
  • NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL)
    • No limits set by NIOSH
  • Levels In Humans:
    Note: this data represents naturally occuring levels of elements in the typical human, it DOES NOT represent recommended daily allowances.
    • Blood/mg dm-3: 1970
    • Bone/p.p.m: 10000
    • Liver/p.p.m: 2000-4000
    • Muscle/p.p.m: 2600-7800
    • Daily Dietary Intake: 2-15 g
    • Total Mass In Avg. 70kg human: 100 g
  • Discovery Year: 1807
  • Name Origin:
    From soda (Na2CO3); Na from Latin natrium.
  • Abundance of Sodium:
    • Earth's Crust/p.p.m.: 23000
    • Seawater/p.p.m.: 10500
    • Atmosphere/p.p.m.: N/A
    • Sun (Relative to H=1E12): 1910000
  • Sources of Sodium:
    Obtained by electrolysis of melted sodium chloride (salt), borax and cryolite. Approximate annual world wide production: sodium metal, 200,000 tons; salt, 168,000,000 tons; sodium carbonate, 29,000,000 tons. Primary mining areas are Germany, Poland, Kenya USA.
  • Uses of Sodium:
    Used in medicine, agriculture and photography. Liquid sodium is sometimes used to cool nuclear reactors. Also used in street lights, batteries, table salt (NaCl), and glass.
  • Additional Notes:
    Sodium comes from the English word "soda" and from mideval Latin sodanum which means headache remedy. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element on earth comprising 2.6% of the earth's crust. It is the most abundant of the alkali metals. It never exists in nature, but is prepared by electrolysis of absolutely dry fused sodium chloride. Sodium chloride is common table salt which is important in animal nutrition. Other important forms of sodium are soda ash(Na2CO3), baking soda (NaHCO3), Chili saltpeter (NaNO3) which is sodium nitrate. in nature sodium is fount in soda niter, cryolite, amphibole and zeolite.

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References

A list of reference sources used to compile the data provided on our periodic table of elements can be found on the main periodic table page.

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