Quick Facts about the Period III Elements

There are 92 naturally occurring elements in the Periodic Table. I started this blog in June going through those elements and provided a small sampling of interesting facts about them. I also recently reviewed the first two Periods, elements Hydrogen to Neon. I thought I would hit a few more elements, those in Period III, here quickly.

Sodium - Room temperature sodium metal is soft enough that you can cut it with a butter knife.

Magnesium - A thin film of magnesium fluoride (MgF₂) is applied to optical lenses to help reduce glare and reflections.


Aluminum - Rubies and Sapphires are gemstones of Aluminum Oxide (Al₂O₃). The different colors are caused by trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium.

Natural Ruby crystals - GNUF

Silicon - To make wafers for computer chips, silicon is chemically processed until it is 99.9999% pure.

Phosphorus - As phosphate (-PO₄), phosphorus is a component of DNA, RNA, and ATP (a primary biological energy source), and also the phospholipids that form cell membranes.

Sulfur - When combined with water, sulfur dioxide (SO₂ - generated by burning sulfur) forms sulfurous acid (H₂SO₃), a weak acid that is a major component of acid rain.

Chlorine - Chlorine was used as a chemical weapon in World War I, first in 1915 by the German army and then by the Western Allies. It was not very effective because chlorine has a strong smell and is water soluble; soldiers could protect themselves from the worst of its effects by breathing through damp cloths.

Argon - Argon is used in SCUBA diving to inflate a drysuit for diving in cold water. Argon provides better insulation (1.5 times) from the cold than plain air.

Once again each successive element is different from the ones before, both in form and function. From so many small parts has the universe been made.

Hebrews 11:3 - "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (NIV)"