Hayley+Jordin+Adopt+an+Element-+Chlorine

=**__Wh__****__at's Chlorine Got to Do With it?__**=

Chlorine is an element that is still very common in today's society. You probably do not realize how much it is around you everyday. Without chlorine, the way we live would be quite different. The three aspects of chlorine to focus on are the discovery, the characteristics of it, and the way we use chlorine today.



Chlorine was discovered in 1774 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele in Sweden. At first he thought it contained oxygen, but that would prove to be incorrect. In 1810 Humphry Davy gave chlorine its official name, stating that it was an element. Chlorine is a diatomic green gas in its natural state, so the name comes from the word chloros which means green, hence the name chlorine. Scheele gathered the gas given off from the reaction of manganese dioxide and spiritus sails, which is an alchemical word meaning spirit/breath of salt. The new gas gave off a pungent smell, had a bit of an acidic taste in water, and was a greenish/yellowish gas. However those are not the only characteristics that chlorine has.

Many components come into play to make up what we know as chlorine. As stated earlier, chlorine is a green gas in its natural state. Chlorine has an atomic number of 17, an atomic mass of 35.45, 17 electrons, and 18 neutrons. The symbol for chlorine is "Cl", and it is a non-metal, with a melting point of -149.764 degrees Fahrenheit and a boiling point of -30.279997 degrees Fahrenheit. If chlorine is inhaled, swallowed, or comes into contact with skin it can be dangerous. It reacts with the water in your body to create acids that are harmful. As a result, some effects could be skin irritation, sore throat, chest tightness, and things along those lines. Nonetheless, chlorine can still be used in many ways to benefit us.

Chlorine has many different uses varying from being a purifier of water, to being used in medicine. Using chlorine chemistry, 85% of medicines are made, and 96% of crop protection that farmers use come from chlorine. Roughly 2 million jobs in Europe are related to chlorine, and in Western Europe, 98% of their drinking water is made safe by chlorine. Did you know that items used everyday like bleach, bullet proof vests, computer hardware and automotive parts all contain chlorine in one form or another? Chlorine is always around us and we do not even recognize it! Even recreation activities like swimming, playing soccer or golf, camping, and so on, all involve chlorine. However if chlorine is combined with the wrong substance, it can cause a reaction that would be dangerous. In the video below you can see what happens when chlorine is combined with brake fluid on a small scale. Overall, chlorine serves many purposes, but if combined with the wrong materials, it can be dangerous.

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In conclusion, chlorine is a element that greatly benefits the world. It was discovered in 1774 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and we still use it today. Chlorine is part of the non-metals group, and is a green gas in a natural state. It can be harmful when coming into contact with the human body in the wrong ways, and if it is combined with the wrong substances. In the end, chlorine has come a long way since the 1700's, and has become a very valuable element.

__**Sources:**__

ORACLE,. N.p.. Web. 22 Sep 2013. .

Lenntech,. N.p.. Web. 22 Sep 2013. .

"Chlorine Brake Fluid = ???" //YouTube //. YouTube, 20 June 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

David, D.. N.p.. Web. 22 Sep 2013. .

Bentor, Y.. N.p.. Web. 22 Sep 2013. .

"The Facts About Chlorine." //The Facts About Chlorine //. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

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