Selenium: Importance

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Hello friends of steemit, this time we will learn what selenium is for and know its uses through its associated properties.

One of the properties of nonmetals such as selenium is for example that nonmetals are poor conductors of heat and electricity. Selenium, like other nonmetals, has no luster. Because of their fragility, non-metals such as selenium can not be flattened to form sheets or drawn to become strands.

The abundance of this element, widely distributed in the Earth's crust, is estimated at approximately 7 x 10E-5 % by weight, being seleniums of heavy elements and, to a lesser extent, as a free element in association with elemental sulfur. Its minerals are not in sufficient quantity to have utility, as a commercial source of the element, and for that reason the seleniferous copper sulphide minerals are those that represent the primary source.

The state of the selenium in its natural form is solid. Selenium is a chemical element of gray metallic appearance and belongs to the group of nonmetals.

 Selenium may be prepared with an amorphous or crystalline structure. The crystalline monoclinic selenium is deep red; In contrast, the crystalline hexagonal selenium, the most stable variety, is metallic gray.

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CRYSTALOGRAPHIC DATA

Crystal structure: hexagonal

Dimensions of cell unit / pm: a = 436.56, c = 495.90
Space group: P3121 

Image source: [3]

Uses of selenium

•  The most common use of selenium is in the production of glass. Due to the fact that selenium causes a red color in the glass, it can also be used to stain the red glass. It can also be used to override green or yellow dyes caused by other impurities during the glassmaking process.
•  Small quantities of selenium compounds are used in the manufacture of rubber.
•  Selenium can be mixed with another chemical element called bismuth to create an unleaded brass.
•  Selenium sulfide is a common ingredient in anti-dandruff shampoo that kills the fungus that causes scalp scaling. It can also be used to treat certain skin problems caused by other fungi.
•  Selenium has long been used in electronics, but its use has been reduced for this purpose in recent years. It is still used in solar cells, photocopiers and light meters. It is also used in blue and white LEDs.
•  Selenium is used in some x-ray cameras. Also used for black and white photographs.

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Video credits:   Wiz Science™