* Manganese is a member of the transition metals family:
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MANGANESE / Mn / 25
A hard, brittle, silvery metal that burns in oxygen as a powder.
It rusts very much like iron, and dissolves in dilute acids. Only
one isotope, Mn<55/25>, is found in nature; it is stable.
atomic weight: 54.938049
abundance: 12th
density: 7.4 gm/cc
melting point: 1,244 C
boiling point: 1,962 C
valence: 1 <2> 3 4 6 7
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Manganese metal is produced at the level of millions of tonnes a year, though it is too brittle to be useful by itself; it is mostly used as an alloying element to produce wear-resistant steels. Manganese compounds are produced at the level of hundreds of thousands of tonnes a year. The most important, manganese oxide (MnO2) is used in synthesis of rubbers, and as an industrial catalyst.
