Lead

Photograph of the ore galena courtesy of Mineralite

Lead is a soft, malleable and ductile metal. Lead oxidises readily in moist air, is stable to oxygen and water, but dissolves in nitric acid. It is a poor electrical and thermal conductor but has reasonable corrosion resistance. Applications for this metal are wide and varied; for example, its relative imperviousness to radiation makes it ideal as radiation shielding material for use with X-ray equipment. Lead is also used in ceramic glazes, batteries, paints, was used as a fuel additive in petrol (lead tetraethyl) and as a prime constituent of soft solders. Its use is now being discouraged as lead is now known to be detrimental to health, particularly to that of children. In Latin it is plumbum, hence symbol Pb.

Symbol

Pb

Also known as

Plumbum

Discovered

Known of and used since prehistoric times.

Abundance

14 ppm of the Earth's crust. The main source of the metal is the ore "galena", lead (II) sulphide (PbS) which occurs as grey cubic crystals, often in conjunction with "sphalerite", the equivalent sulphide of zinc.

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Atomic number	82		Clip
Atomic / Molecular Weight	207.2	gmol-1	Clip
Density	11343	kgm-3	Clip
Crystal Structure	fcc		Clip
Lattice constant	495	fm	Clip
Melting Point	600.662	K	Clip
Boiling Point	2033	K	Clip
Tensile strength	12e6 to 17e6	Nm-2	Clip
Linear expansivity	0.0000289	K-1	Clip
Specific heat capacity	130	Jkg-1K-1	Clip
Thermal conductivity	35	Wm-1K-1	Clip
Acoustic wave velocity (longitudinal bulk waves)	2160	ms-1	Clip
Acoustic wave velocity (Irrotational waves)	1188	ms-1	Clip
Acoustic wave velocity (Shear waves)	700	ms-1	Clip
Bulk Modulus of Rigidity	45800000000	Nm-2	Clip
Electromotive Series	0.13	V	Clip

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See also: Lead II Carbonate, Lead II Chromate IV, Lead II Oxide, Lead II Sulphide, Lead IV Oxide, Nonferrous, Periodic Table.