# Calcium's a Metal??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 26, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323 "2008-08-26T16:49:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/21 "2008-08-26T19:26:32Z")
Zinc is a metal, and you need it for your immune system, and possibly also for your sense of smell. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/22 "2008-08-26T19:35:44Z")
> [@](#): > > The alkali metals! Very cool stuff. I find it interesting most people don’t know calcium is in the same metallic group as potassium, sodium, magnesium, etc. The heavier those elements get, the more reactive they are to oxygen (fun with water). Well, not quite the same. Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Cesium 9and Francium) are Alkai metals. Calcium and Magnesium are Alkaline Earths. The two groups have different properties. I know because 1.) I did a deep report on the alkali metals back in high school. b.) years later I ended up working with the alkali earths, both in pure form and in alkali halide crystals. They’re pretty fascinating, as long as you handle them carefully. Did you know the alkali metals are _transparent_ in the ultraviolet? With a UV light source and detector, you can see through them (!) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/23 "2008-08-26T19:51:16Z")
So why were not alkali dresses extremely popular (at least with guys) at the end of the 1960s? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/24 "2008-08-26T19:52:02Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Did you know the alkali metals are _transparent_ in the ultraviolet? With a UV light source and detector, you can see through them (!) [/QUOTE] Gotta be a good use for that. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/25 "2008-08-26T19:54:10Z")
Hey, can I hijack this discussion about diet and metals for a moment? There is a drink called Tava and on the side of the bottle, it proudly proclaims to be a good source of chromium. How much chromium do I in fact need? Is this a worthwhile reason to drink Tava or do I risk a surfeit of chromium? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/26 "2008-08-26T20:27:33Z")
[QUOTE=robby] In fact, many are so reactive that they react violently with water. They are therefore found either as part of a compound (e.g. sodium chloride) [/QUOTE] Leading to one of my favorite geeky songs, NaCl by the McGarrigle Sisters: [http://www.themadmusicarchive.com/song\_details.aspx?SongID=7504](http://www.themadmusicarchive.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=7504) Then unsuspecting chlorine Felt a magnetic pull She looked down and her outside shell was full Sodium cried, “What a gas! Be my bride And I’ll change your name from chlorine to chloride.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/27 "2008-08-26T20:30:44Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > : > > Originally Posted by CalMeacham > > Did you know the alkali metals are transparent in the ultraviolet? With a UV light source and detector, you can see through them (!) > > Gotta be a good use for that. Yeah – I figure if you put a layer of alkali metal between plates of some UV-transmitting material (Like LiF – Lithium Fluoride, oddly enough) you can make UV bandpass filters. Choose your metal and the plates correctly and you can vary your peak transmission and width. Just keep 'em away from water… ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/28 "2008-08-26T20:52:47Z")
Shit, I knew not paying enough attention in chemistry would catch up with me. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/29 "2008-08-27T00:24:21Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] A reminder that Wikipedia is not the be-all and end-all of knowledge. Googling “Metallic hydrogen” gives about a quarter of a million hits. Including this one from Wikipedia: [/QUOTE] Hydrogen is not a metal. The fact that there is a form of hydrogen with metallic properties does not make hydrogen a metal. Hydrogen is unique among the elements. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/30 "2008-08-27T01:09:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Hydrogen is not a metal. The fact that there is a form of hydrogen with metallic properties does not make hydrogen a metal. Hydrogen is unique among the elements. > > WarmNPrickly > View Public Profile > Send a private message to WarmNPrickly > Find all posts by WarmNPrickly This is absurd. Metallic hydrogen is a metal. Hydrogen is still unique, and hydrogen in other forms is not a metal. Neither are calcium ions dissolved in water. So what? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/31 "2008-08-27T01:19:35Z")
Calcium when bonded to carbon forms an extremely nucleophilic carbon. This is the same with all low MW metals and pretty universal to all metals. Hydrogen forms a very stable bond with carbon. The bonding isn’t remotely metallic. Elemental carbon can be metallic in the right configuration even at room temperature, but nobody is calling that a metal. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/32 "2008-08-27T12:06:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Elemental carbon can be metallic in the right configuration even at room temperature, but nobody is calling that a metal. Only when it’s in a configuration that requires construction. You don’t just happen to fall into metallic nanotubes or metallic planar carbon. And the technology’s still pretty new – they may end up calling it “metallic” yet. OTOH, if you put hydrogen at the right temperature and pressure, it’s got those metallic properties – no special construction required. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/33 "2008-08-27T12:30:52Z")
[Brainiac](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCk0lYB_8c0)’s take on alkali metals (not Calcium). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/34 "2008-08-27T12:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] So why were not alkali dresses extremely popular (at least with guys) at the end of the 1960s? [/QUOTE] Because a drop of rain would have caused the wearer to burst out in flames. Human Torch, eat your heart out. Several years back, a ship loaded with Sodium metal (“drowned” in organic solvent and contained in hermetic barrels) sunk before the Spanish coast. When the water pressure managed to breach a barrel, it would zzZZZZZZZZOOM out and go skipping over the water. We used to do something similar in the Orgo I lab with tiny pieces of sodium and a puddle on the floor, but let me tell you, those images of the ship on TV were real spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/35 "2008-08-27T13:58:14Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] OTOH, if you put hydrogen at the right temperature and pressure, it’s got those metallic properties – no special construction required. [/QUOTE] Question - is liquid hydrogen considered a metal? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/36 "2008-08-27T14:03:22Z")
Ironically, according to the Wiki, one of the few places that metallic hydrogen can be found is in the center of large, faraway planets. It’s ironic because astrophysically speaking hydrogen _isn’t_ a metal. So it’s only found in outer space as a metal, but in outer space it isn’t considered a metal 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/37 "2008-08-27T15:00:46Z")
[Youtube video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY7mTCMvpEM) of barrels of sodium exploding. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/38 "2008-08-27T16:26:36Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] OTOH, if you put hydrogen at the right temperature and pressure, it’s got those metallic properties – no special construction required. [/QUOTE] It doesn’t matter. Calling hydrogen a metal is stretching the definition of metal beyond what any chemist would call a metal. It only has some metallic properties at extreme pressures, it has no other metallic properties. Metals and hydrogen do not even remotely bond the same way. > [@](#): > > Question - is liquid hydrogen considered a metal? No. Only hydrogen at extremely high pressures has metallic properties. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/39 "2008-08-28T01:35:09Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Did you know the alkali metals are _transparent_ in the ultraviolet? With a UV light source and detector, you can see through them (!) [/QUOTE] Well, there goes my dream of getting rich selling calcium based sunscreen. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323/40 "2008-08-28T01:39:33Z")
Well calcium oxide is probably quite a good sunscreen, but the whole reacts with water to produce caustic calcium hydroxide would probably ruin your plan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calciums-a-metal/461323.md?page=3)