* Cadmium is a member of the transition metals family:
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CADMIUM / Cd / 48
A silvery metal with a bluish tinge that is soft enough to be
cut with a knife. It tarnishes in air, and dissolves in acids (but
not alkalis). There are eight isotopes that occur in nature:
Cd<114/48> / 29%
Cd<112/48> / 24%
Cd<111/48> / 13%
Cd<110/48> / 12.5%
Cd<113/48> / 12%
Cd<116/48> / 7.5%
Cd<106/48> / 1%
Cd<108/48> / 1%
All are stable, except for Cd<113/48>, which has a half-life of
9E15 years.
atomic weight: 112.411
abundance: 65th
density: 8.65 gm/cc
melting point: 321 C
boiling point: 765 C
valence: 2
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Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal, and so the traditional use of cadmium sulfide in paints and other coloring agents has been curtailed in recent years. It is still in use, however, to electroplate steel to prevent corrosion by sea water; in cadmium telluride (CdTe) infrared sensors; and also some types of solar power cells. Of course, it was used in the obsolete nickel-cadmium batteries. Total production is over ten thousand tonnes per year.
