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Neighborhood
Kr
36
Rb
37
Sr
38
Xe
54
Cs
55
Ba
56
Rn
86
Fr
87
Ra
88

 

Periodic table

de  German

Cäsium

en  English

Caesium

fr  French

Césium

hr  Croatian

Cezij

it  Italian

Cesio

es  Spanish

Cesio

 

Cs
Cs
Caesium

PERIODIC TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS

CAESIUM

ALKALI METAL

 

Atomic number:55

Group numbers:1

Period:6

Electronic configuration:[Xe] 6s1

Formal oxidation number:+1

Electronegativities:0.79

Atomic radius / pm:265.5

Relative atomic mass:132.9054519 ± 0.0000002

 

Caesium (or cesium) was discovered by Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (DE) in 1860. The origin of the name comes from the Latin word caesius meaning sky blue or heavenly blue. The spelling of caesium was recommended instead of cesium (the spellings in common use in the USA) by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in 1990. It is a very soft, light grey, ductile metal that reacts readily with oxygen and reacts explosively with water. Caesium is found in pollucite [(Cs4Al4Si9O26).H2O] and as trace in lepidolite. It is used as a 'getter' to remove air traces in vacuum and cathode-ray tubes, in producing photoelectric devices and atomic clocks. Since it ionises readily, it is used as an ion rocket motor propellant.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Density / g dm-3:1873 (293 K)

 1843 (m.p.)

Molar volume / cm3mol-1:70.96 (293 K)

 72.11 (m.p.)

Electrical resistivity / μΩcm:20 (20 °C)

THERMAL PROPERTIES

Thermal conductivity / W m-1K-1:35.9

Melting point / °C:28.44

Boiling point / °C:671

Heat of fusion / kJ mol-1:2.09

Heat of vaporization / kJ mol-1:66.5

Heat of atomization / kJ mol-1:77.58

IONIZATION ENERGIES

First ionization energy / kJ mol-1:375.71

Second ionization energy / kJ mol-1:2234.37

Third ionization energy / kJ mol-1:-

ABUNDANCE OF ELEMENTS

in the atmosphere / ppm:-

in the Earth's crust / ppm:1

in the oceans / ppm:0.0005

CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC DATA

body-centered cubic

Crystal structure:

body-centered cubic

Unit-cell dimensions / pm:

a=614

Space group:

Im3m

ISOTOPES

IsotopeRelative atomic massMass percent (%)
133Cs132.905447(3)100

REDUCTION POTENTIALS

Balanced half-reaction Eo / V
Cs+ + e- = Cs(s)- 2.91

 

54 Xenon <=
55 Caesium
=> 56 Barium