# What controls the melting point, etc. of an element?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-controls-the-melting-point-etc-of-an-element/512840>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 6, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-controls-the-melting-point-etc-of-an-element/512840 "2009-10-06T19:16:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-controls-the-melting-point-etc-of-an-element/512840/1 "2009-10-06T19:16:09Z")

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What controls the physical properties such as density, color, melting point, conductivity, etc. of an element (beyond number of protons)?

Thanks,  
Rob

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**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-controls-the-melting-point-etc-of-an-element/512840/2 "2009-10-06T19:58:22Z")

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It’s considered most related to the electron structure of the element. Elements with similiar outer shells of electrons will have similar properties.