Return to the Main CHEMystery Page.
Return to the Periodic Table of the Elements

Element 32 - Germanium (Ge) sound

After Germany; discovered 1886. Germanium resembles the silicon. The first element used for transistors, it has brought about the replacement of large vacuum tubes with devices hundredths or thousandths of an inch accross.

Properties

Atomic Number: 32
Atomic Weight: 72.61
Electron Configuration (at ground state): 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p2
Oxidation States (Bold most stable): -4, +2, +4
Boiling Point (K): 3107
Melting Point (K): 1211.5
Density (at 300K -- g/cm3): 5.32
Atomic Volume (at 300K -- cm3/mol) 13.60
Number of stable isotopes: 5
Mass Number (Bold naturally occurring) -- Half-Life -- Disintigration Type: 68 -- 275 days -- orbital electron capture
Covalent Radius (Å): 1.22
Atomic Radius (Å): 1.37
First Ionization Potential (V): 7.899
Electronegativity (Pauling's): 2.01
Specific Heat Capacity (at 300K -- J g-1 K-1): 0.32
Heat of Vaporization (kJ/mol): 334.3
Heat of Fusion (kJ/mol): 31.8
Electrical Conductivity (at 293K for polycrystalline material -- 106 (ohms)-1 cm-1): 3 x 10-6
Thermal Conductivity (at 300K -- W m-1 K-1): 59.9
Crystal Structure: Cubic, face centered
Acid-Base Properties: Amphoteric