• Question: What is the most reactive and dangerus element?

    Asked by nholmes to Andrew, Beth, Bruce, Lindy, Lizzie on 14 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Lizzie Eaves

      Lizzie Eaves answered on 14 Jun 2012:

      There are several that could compete for this title….Uranium and plutonium, which are really big and heavy elements, can both be modified slightly so that they are extremely reactive – these are nuclear fuels! They’re dangerous because of their potential to emit large amounts of radiation during the nuclear reaction.

    • Photo: Lindy Heath

      Lindy Heath answered on 14 Jun 2012:

      This is a good question but one that is difficult to give a ‘simple’ answer to. Elements are very dangerous for many reasons. They may be toxic, radioactive or be highly reactive. Examples of toxic elements include mercury, lead and cadmium. An element is considered toxic if it causes a serious medical condition or even death! Scientists must handle these elements very carefully. Radioactive elements include radium, bismuth and uranium. These elements are hazardous to both people and the environment. Highly reactive elements are those which react with common substances such as air and water to produce an often violent reaction. Such elements include potassium, caesium and francium. Many of the reactions between these elements and water can be fatal if they are carried out on a large scale.

    • Photo: Beth Mortimer

      Beth Mortimer answered on 14 Jun 2012:

      Also even normally safe elements can be dangerous under certain conditions. In our lab we have liquid nitrogen. Nitrogen makes up around 80% of air, so is usually very safe. Liquid nitrogen is -150 degrees centigrade and is dangerous not just because it can freeze pretty much anything, including your hands, (and it make really nice ice cream!) but if it heats up it turns to gas, expands and you can suffocate from lack of oxygen! We use it in machines that require cold temperatures and we have lots of safety procedures to make sure we use it properly.

    • Photo: Bruce Alexander

      Bruce Alexander answered on 15 Jun 2012:

      The most reactive elements tend to be found at the extremes of the periodic table. At one end, hydrogen, sodium react violently, at the other copernicum and ununoctium are so reactive they only exist for fractions of a second.

      But reactivity does not necessarily mean dangerous. Sodium is found in common table salt and is not so bad. Viruses and bacteria can be extremely dangerous, and I do not know of any bacteria that do not contain carbon!

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