* Magnesium is a member of the alkaline earth metals family:
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MAGNESIUM / Mg / 12
A silvery-white, lustrous, somewhat soft metal. Magnesium ribbons
will burn in air if ignited, and the metal reacts with hot water.
Three isotopes are found in nature:
Mg<24/12> / 79%
Mg<26/12> / 11%
Mg<25/12> / 10%
All are stable.
atomic weight: 24.3006
abundance: 7th
density: 1.738 gm/cc
melting point: 649 C
boiling point: 1,090 C
valence: 2
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Magnesium is a very useful metal, produced in the hundreds of thousands of tonnes a year. It is produced from magnesium chloride (MgCl2), and to an extent from the magnesium dissolved in sea water. Magnesium-based alloys have a high strength-to-weight ratio and are in increasing use. Magnesium is also used in iron and steel manufacture as a flux to get rid of sulfur, and it is used in a number of chemical manufacturing processes. Another use of magnesium metal is as the active component of illumination flares and some incendiary devices.
Magnesium oxide or "magnesia" (MgO) is obtained from ores such as magnesite (MgCO3); it has a wide range of somewhat surprising uses, such as a component of fertilizer and cattle feed, and a bulking agent for plastics.
