Hydrogen The lightest element in the Universe.

1. Link to the periodic table used in this sessionhttps://www.americanscientist.org/article/a-chemical-history-of-the-universe

2. Hydrogen The lightest element in the Universe. Atomic weight: 1.008 Non metal Origin: Big Bang fusion

3. Helium Named after the Greek god of the Sun. Atomic weight: 4.003 Non metal Origin: Big Bang fusion, dying low mass stars, exploding massive stars

4. Lithium Very light metal, widely used in batteries. Atomic weight: 6.941 Alkali metal Origin: Big Bang fusion, dying low mass stars and cosmic ray fission

5. Beryllium It is used in telescope mirrors. The James Webb Telescope will have mirrors made from it. Atomic weight: 9.012 Alkaline Earth Origin: Cosmic ray fission

6. Carbon It is the most important element of life. It is the basis for all organic compounds. Atomic weight: 12.011 Nonmetal Origin: exploding massive stars and dying low mass stars

7. Nitrogen It is the major constituent of Earth’s atmosphere (78%). Atomic weight: 14.007 Nonmetal Origin: exploding massive stars and dying low mass stars

8. Oxygen We all need oxygen to breathe. It is the most abundant element on Earth. Atomic weight: 15.999 Nonmetal Origin: exploding massive stars

9. Fluorine Fluorine is the most chemically reactive element. Atomic weight: 18.998 Halogen Origin: exploding massive stars

10. Neon It is rare on Earth, but it is the 5th most abundant element in the Universe (afterhydrogen, helium, oxygen and carbon). Atomic weight: 20.180 Noble gas Origin: exploding massive stars

11. Sodium Together with chlorine forms sodium chloride, the most famous table condiment in the world. Atomic weight: 22.990 Alkali metal Origin: exploding massive stars

12. Magnesium Metal that comes as a ribbon, burns with a bright white flame. Atomic weight: 24.305 Alkali Earth Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

13. Aluminium The outer shell of the International Space Station modules is mostly made of aluminium. Atomic weight: 26.982 Basic metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

14. Silicon Used in solar cells and a variety of microchips. Atomic weight: 28.086 Semimetal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

15. Phosphorus It is a vital ingredient for life. Scientists believe it was brought to Earth by meteorites. Atomic weight: 30.974 Nonmetal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

16. Sulfur Comet 67P C-G has a very strong odour to rotten eggs, derived from sulfur compounds. Atomic weight: 32.066 Nonmetal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

17. Chlorine It is one of the most commonly used and efficient disinfectants in the world. Atomic weight: 35.453 Halogen Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

18. Argon In 1904 the Nobel Prize of Chemistry was awarded to William Ramsay for the discovery of this inert gaseous element in air. Atomic weight: 39.948 Noble gas Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

19. Potassium Bananas are high in it, thus both healthy and radioactive. Atomic weight: 39.098 Alkali metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

20. Calcium Astronaut’s diet is rich in calcium to reduce bone loss. Astronauts lose on average 1% to 2% of their bone mass per month spent in space. Atomic weight: 40.078 Alkaline Earth Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

21. Titanium Strong and light metal used in the aerospace industry. Atomic weight: 47.867 Transition metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

22. Vanadium It is a very uncommon element in the Universe, 0.0001%. It has been detected in the Erath’s crust and core, and in a small number of meteorites. Atomic weight: 50.942 Transition metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

23. Chromium Chromium compounds are all vividly coloured and are used as pigments. Rubies are red because of chromium. Atomic weight: 51.996 Transition metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

24. Manganese Manganese is an essential element in all known living organisms, and it is essential to photosynthesis. Manganese can be found in meteorites, alloyed with iron naturally. Atomic weight: 54.938 Transition metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

25. Iron The Martian surface is red due to rust in its rocks. Atomic weight: 55.845 Transition metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

26. Cobalt Cobalt has a deep blue colour. It can be found in planets and asteroids. Atomic weight: 58.933 Transition metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

27. Nickel Nickel alloys are used in the aerospace industry to produce rocket engines, due to their ability to resist to very high temperatures and corrosion. Atomic weight: 58.693 Transition metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

28. Copper Copper has the best electrical conductivity of any metal, except silver. Atomic weight: 63.546 Transition metal Origin: exploding massive stars and exploding white dwarfs

29. Gallium It is a metal that will melt in your hand. The melting point of Gallium is 29.8°C. Atomic weight: 69.723 Basic metal Origin: exploding massive stars

30. Arsenic It is an example of a semimetal, with properties of both metals and nonmetals. It can be used as a pigment and as a poison. Atomic weight: 74.922 Semimetal Origin: exploding massive stars

31. Bromine Bromine is very harmful for Earth’s atmosphere. It is one of the main responsible for the damage caused in the Ozone Layer. Atomic weight: 79.904 Halogen Origin: exploding massive stars

32. Krypton It is not only Superman’s home planet. Krypton is one of the six noble gases. It is used for flash photography, fluorescent lights and lasers. Atomic weight: 84.798 Noble gas Origin: exploding massive stars

33. Rubidium Rubidium is used in spacecraft engines. Rubidium atomic clocks are used in spacecraft, laser guiding and satellites where precise timing is needed. Atomic weight: 85.468 Alkali metal Origin: exploding massive stars

34. Strontium It is a soft silvery metal that causes paint to glow in the dark. Strontium can also be used to generate electricity for space vehicles. Atomic weight: 87.62 Alkaline Earth Origin: dying low mass stars and exploding massive stars

35. Zirconium A cheaper version of diamonds. In the space industry they are used in space vehicles where resistance to heat is needed. Atomic weight: 91.224 Transition metal Origin: dying low mass stars and exploding massive stars

36. Technetium Technetium is an anomaly in the periodic table. It is the lightest element whose isotopes are all radioactive. It is used in medical tests, such as gamma-ray imaging. Atomic weight: 98.907 Transition metal Origin: short lived radioactive isotopes

37. Silver It is the best electrically conductive material and also the most reflective material. It can be used in the coating of telescope mirrors. Atomic weight: 107.868 Transition metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

38. Cadmium It is a good conductor, used in electroplating and batteries. Cadmium plating in space flight electronic systems is prohibited. Due to its properties in the space environment it may result in short circuits. Atomic weight: 112.411 Transition metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

39. Tin Perhaps the most important use of tin has been to make bronze – an alloy of copper, tin (10% to 40%) and other metals. Atomic weight: 118.711 Basic metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

40. Iodine Space industry applications of iodine include its use as propellant and atomic clocks. Iodine is also used in several commercial applications from the medical field to disinfectants. Atomic weight: 126.904 Halogen Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

41. Xenon Used as fuel for ion thrusters for space journeys. BepiColombo it is on its way to Mercury powered by xenon propellant. Atomic weight: 131.294 Noble gas Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

42. Caesium The International Atomic Time is kept by over 400 atomic clocks, the majority of which are caesium clocks. The current official definition of a second is based on the caesium atom. Atomic weight: 132.905 Alkali metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

43. Barium Named from the Greek word for heavy. Barium can be used to trace the movement of atmospheric plasma and thus to measure the electric fields. Atomic weight: 137.328 Alkaline Earth Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

44. Europium Named after the continent we are on. Almost all fluorescent bulbs use europium phosphors to create a pleasant spectrum of light. Atomic weight: 151.964 Lanthanide Origin: merging neutron stars and dying low mass stars

45. Tungsten Used in old incandescent lightbulbs. A typical incandescent bulb converts only 10% of the electricity it used into visible light, the remaining 90% is wasted as infrared light and heat. Atomic weight: 183.84 Transition metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

46. Iridium It is the most corrosion resistant material known. It is a good catalyst, used in low thrust rocket engines. Atomic weight: 192.217 Transition metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

47. Platinum Platinum is the most prestigious element. It is often considered better than gold. It can withstand high temperatures and powerful acids. Atomic weight: 195.085 Transition metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

48. Gold Gold coating is commonly used in space. Many satellites carry gold coated sheets to protect them from solar heat. The astronauts helmet visor is coated with a thin layer of gold that filters out solar radiation Atomic weight: 196.967 Transition metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

49. Mercury The symbol Hg, comes from its Greek name, hydrargyrum, which means “liquid silver”. The element was named after the planet Mercury. ESA’s mission BepiColombo is on the way to planet Mercury. Atomic weight: 200.592 Transition metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars

50. Lead It has the highest atomic number of any stable element. It is a soft and malleable material. Lead absorbs sound, vibration and radiation. Atomic weight: 207.2 Basic metal Origin: dying low mass stars and merging neutron stars