The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Germanium is the third element in Group 14 of the periodic table, a group of elements sometimes known as the carbon family. Germanium has an atomic number of 32, an atomic mass of 72.59, and a chemical symbol of Ge.
Germanium looks like a metal, with a bright, shiny, silvery luster, but it is brittle and breaks apart rather easily. Since it has properties of both a metal and a nonmetal, it is generally classified as a metalloid. Germanium's melting point is 1,719°F (937.4°C), a boiling point of 5,126°F (2,830°C), and a density of 5.323 grams per cubic centimeter. Germanium is a relatively inactive element that does not react with oxygen at room temperature, but will react with hot acids and oxygen at high temperatures.
The abundance of germanium in the Earth's crust is estimated to be about 7 parts per million, making it a relatively uncommon element. The element usually occurs in conjunction with ores of zinc, although the mineral germanite contains about 8% of the element. Important producers of the element are China, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Russia, and Belgium.
The existence of an element with atomic number 32 was predicted by the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in the 1860s. When Mendeleev drew the first periodic table of the elements, he found an empty place below silicon and above tin in the chart. He not only predicted that an element would be found to fill that spot, but also predicted the properties of that element. In 1885, the German chemist Clemens Alexander Winkler (1838-1904) discovered an element whose atomic number is 32 and whose properties match those predicted by Mendeleev. Winkler proposed the name germanium for the element in honor of his homeland, Germany
Nearly half of the germanium produced in the United States is used in the manufacture of optical fibers for communication systems. Some germanium is also used to make semiconductors, catalysts, and specialized glass for military weapon-sighting systems.