It is a lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors silicon and tin. Pure germanium is a semiconductor with an appearance similar to elemental silicon. Like silicon, germanium naturally reacts and forms complexes with oxygen in nature.
What does a germanium look like?
Pure germanium is a hard, lustrous, gray-white, brittle metalloid . It has a diamondlike crystalline structure and it is similar in chemical and physical properties to silicon.
What are 6 interesting facts about germanium?
- Scientists are studying germanium for use in chemotherapy to help treat cancer.
- Dmitri Mendeleev first named the element “ekasilicon”, but it was later renamed by Winkler.
- Some compounds that include germanium are useful in killing bacteria while not harming animals.
What is the color of germanium?
A silvery-white semi-metal. It is brittle. Germanium is a semiconductor. The pure element was commonly doped with arsenic, gallium or other elements and used as a transistor in thousands of electronic applications.
What are 3 physical properties of germanium?
| Atomic number 32 | Density, g/cm 3 5.3234 | Melting point, °C 938.4 | Boiling point, °C 2,833 | Heat of fusion, kJ mol − 1 36.94 |
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What food is germanium in?
Germanium is a naturally occurring element. Trace amounts can be found in foods such as shiitake mushrooms, garlic, tuna, and tomato juice . However, it is not an essential nutrient for human health.
What is germanium an example of?
The Germanium element is not doped with any impurities. Hence, it is an intrinsic semiconductor .So, Germanium is an example of an intrinsic semiconductor.
Does the human body use germanium?
Germanium is a chemical element. People sometimes use it as medicine. Despite serious safety concerns, germanium is used for cancer, heart disease, hepatitis, glaucoma , and other conditions. But there is no good scientific evidence to support these or other uses.
Why is germanium important?
(The name germanium derives from the Latin word Germania [Germany] and was given to the element by Winkler.) ... Many other substances now also are used as semiconductors, but germanium remains of primary importance in the manufacture of transistors and of components for devices such as rectifiers and photocells .
Is germanium found in the human body?
Germanium is a chemical element that can be found in trace amounts in some ores and carbon-based materials . Some people promote it as a treatment for HIV and AIDS, cancer, and other conditions. But the purported health benefits of germanium haven’t been supported by research.
Is germanium harmful to humans?
Germanium is not an essential element. Its acute toxicity is low . However, at least 31 reported human cases linked prolonged intake of germanium products with renal failure and even death. Signs of kidney dysfunction, kidney tubular degeneration, and germanium accumulation were observed.
What is similar to germanium?
Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors silicon and tin . Pure germanium is a semiconductor with an appearance similar to elemental silicon.
What are two uses of germanium?
The largest use of germanium is in the semiconductor industry . When doped with small amounts of arsenic, gallium, indium, antimony or phosphorus, germanium is used to make transistors for use in electronic devices. Germanium is also used to create alloys and as a phosphor in fluorescent lamps.
What are Silicons properties?
| Atomic number 14 | Electronegativity according to Pauling 1.8 | Density 2.33 g.cm – 3 at 20 °C | Melting point 1410 °C | Boiling point 3265 °C |
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Is germanium a conductor?
Pure silicon and germanium are poor conductors of electricity because their outer electrons are tied up in the covalent bonds of the diamondlike framework. ... These atoms are larger and hold their electrons less tightly. They are not conductors in the metallic sense of the word, but are semiconductors.
Why is germanium a semiconductor?
Germanium atoms have one more shell than silicon atoms, but what makes for the interesting semiconductor properties is the fact that both have four electrons in the valence shell . As a consequence, both materials readily constitute themselves as crystal lattices. Substituted atoms alter the electrical properties.
