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Arsenic is almost always thought of as a poison, but what
people overlook is all its other uses in everyday life. It
is a brittle, gray, semi-metal. Though it looks metallic, it
is a poor conductor of heat and electricity. On the periodic
table, arsenic is element thirty-three. Its symbol is As and
has an atomic weight of 74.9216. It has a crystalline struc-
ture and a melting point of 14,860 F. Arsenic combines easily
with metals to form compounds called arsenides. It also
forms two oxides: arsenic trioxide (AS303), and arsenic pent-
oxide (As2O5). It is most commonly found in arsenopyrite (FeAsS). |
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The most widely known use of arsenic is as a poison. It is used in bug, weed, and rat poisons. It is also highly toxic to humans and can cause cancer when it comes in contact with humans. If ingested in small amounts over time, it will produce the symptoms of pneumonia and the victim will die with hardly a trace Of arsenic in his body. Coroners today have ways of detecting the smallest amounts in an autopsy, so arsenic is rarely used for poisoning people anymore. It was discovered that Napoleon Bonaparte might have died from arsenic poisoning. Massive amounts of arsenic were found in his hair structure. The dye in the wallpaper of his room large amounts of arsenic, and the damp may have created a deadly gas which he inhaled.
Arsenic today is used in a lot of things besides poison. Arsenides can be found in paints, wallpapers, shotgun pellets, mirrors and semiconductors. One of the most interesting uses of arsonic is when it is added to gallium to make gallium arsen-ide. This produces light as a laser beam and is the light emitting diode that reads your compact discs.
