Alkaline earth metal

The alkaline earth metals are six chemical element s in group 2 of t he periodic t able. They are
beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), st ront ium (Sr), barium (Ba), and radium (Ra).[1] The
element s have very similar propert ies: t hey are all shiny, silvery-whit e, somewhat react ive met als
at st andard t emperat ure and pressure.[2]
 Alkaline earth metals

alkali metals ←    → group 3

IUPAC group number 2

Name by element beryllium group

Trivial name alkaline earth metals

CAS group number

IIA
(US, pattern A-B-A)

old IUPAC number

IIA
(Europe, pattern A-B)

↓ Period

Beryllium (Be)

3
 Magnesium (Mg)

12
4

Calcium (Ca)
20

Strontium (Sr)

38

Barium (Ba)
56

Radium (Ra)

88

Legend
 primordial element

element by radioactive decay

Atomic number color:

black=solid

v t e (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Periodic_table_(alkaline_earth_metals)&action=edit)

St ruct urally, t hey (t oget her wit h helium) have in common an out er s-orbit al which is full;[2][3][4]
t hat is, t his orbit al cont ains it s full complement of t wo elect rons, which t he alkaline eart h met als
readily lose t o form cat ions wit h charge +2, and an oxidat ion st at e of +2.[5]

All t he discovered alkaline eart h met als occur in nat ure, alt hough radium occurs only t hrough t he
decay chain of uranium and t horium and not as a primordial element .[6] There have been
experiment s, all unsuccessful, t o t ry t o synt hesize element 120, t he next pot ent ial member of
t he group.

Characteristics

Chemical

As wit h ot her groups, t he members of t his family show pat t erns in t heir elect ronic configurat ion,
especially t he out ermost shells, result ing in t rends in chemical behavior:

Z Element No. of electrons/shell Electron configuration[n 1]

4 beryllium 2, 2 [He] 2s2

12 magnesium 2, 8, 2 [Ne] 3s2

20 calcium 2, 8, 8, 2 [Ar] 4s2

38 st ront ium 2, 8, 18, 8, 2 [Kr] 5s2

56 barium 2, 8, 18, 18, 8, 2 [Xe] 6s2

88 radium 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8, 2 [Rn] 7s2

Most of t he chemist ry has been observed only for t he first five members of t he group. The
chemist ry of radium is not well-est ablished due t o it s radioact ivit y;[2] t hus, t he present at ion of
it s propert ies here is limit ed.
The alkaline eart h met als are all silver-colored and soft , and have relat ively low densit ies, melt ing
point s, and boiling point s. In chemical t erms, all of t he alkaline eart h met als react wit h t he
halogens t o form t he alkaline eart h met al halides, all of which are ionic cryst alline compounds
(except for beryllium chloride, which is covalent ). All t he alkaline eart h met als except beryllium
also react wit h wat er t o form st rongly alkaline hydroxides and, t hus, should be handled wit h great
care. The heavier alkaline eart h met als react more vigorously t han t he light er ones.[2] The alkaline
eart h met als have t he second-lowest first ionizat ion energies in t heir respect ive periods of t he
periodic t able [4] because of t heir somewhat low effect ive nuclear charges and t he abilit y t o
at t ain a full out er shell configurat ion by losing just t wo elect rons. The second ionizat ion energy
of all of t he alkaline met als is also somewhat low.[2][4]

Beryllium is an except ion: It does not react wit h wat er or st eam, and it s halides are covalent . If
beryllium did form compounds wit h an ionizat ion st at e of +2, it would polarize elect ron clouds
t hat are near it very st rongly and would cause ext ensive orbit al overlap, since beryllium has a high
charge densit y. All compounds t hat include beryllium have a covalent bond.[7] Even t he compound
beryllium fluoride, which is t he most ionic beryllium compound, has a low melt ing point and a low
elect rical conduct ivit y when melt ed.[8][9][10]

All t he alkaline eart h met als have t wo elect rons in t heir valence shell, so t he energet ically
preferred st at e of achieving a filled elect ron shell is t o lose t wo elect rons t o form doubly
charged posit ive ions.

Compounds and reactions

The alkaline eart h met als all react wit h t he halogens t o form ionic halides, such as calcium
chloride (CaCl2), as well as react ing wit h oxygen t o form oxides such as st ront ium oxide (SrO).
Calcium, st ront ium, and barium react wit h wat er t o produce hydrogen gas and t heir respect ive
hydroxides (magnesium also react s, but much more slowly), and also undergo t ransmet alat ion
react ions t o exchange ligands.
 Alkaline ear t h met als fluorides solubilit y-relat ed const ant s[n 2]
MF 2

M2+
F −
"MF 2"

lat t ice
Solubilit y

Met al
HE
HE
unit
[14]
[11] [12]
energies

HE [13]

Be 2,455 458 3,371 3,526 soluble

Mg 1,922 458 2,838 2,978 0.0012
Ca 1,577 458 2,493 2,651 0.0002
Sr 1,415 458 2,331 2,513 0.0008
Ba 1,361 458 2,277 2,373 0.006

Physical and atomic

The t able below is a summary of t he key physical and at omic propert ies of t he alkaline eart h
met als.

Standard Firs
Alkaline Melting Melting Boiling Boiling
atomic Density Electronegativity
ionizat
earth point
point
point
point

weight
[4] [4]
(g/cm3) (Pauling) energ
metal (K) (°C) (K) (°C)
(u)[n 3][16][17] (kJ·mo

Beryllium 9.012182(3) 1560 1287 2742 2469 1.85 1.57 899

Magnesium 24.3050(6) 923 650 1363 1090 1.738 1.31 737

Calcium 40.078(4) 1115 842 1757 1484 1.54 1.00 589

St ront ium 87.62(1) 1050 777 1655 1382 2.64 0.95 549

Barium 137.327(7) 1000 727 2170 1897 3.594 0.89 502

Radium [226][n 4] 973 700 2010 1737 5.5 0.9 509

Nuclear stability

Of t he six alkaline eart h met als, beryllium, calcium, barium, and radium have at least one nat urally
occurring radioisot ope; magnesium and st ront ium do not . Beryllium-7, beryllium-10, and calcium-
41 are t race radioisot opes; calcium-48 and barium-130 only decay by double bet a decay and
have very long half-lives (longer t han t he age of t he universe) - t hus t hey are primordial
radionuclides; and all isot opes of radium are radioact ive. Calcium-48 is t he light est nuclide t o
undergo double bet a decay.[21] Calcium and barium are weakly radioact ive: calcium cont ains
about 0.1874% calcium-48,[22] and barium cont ains about 0.1062% barium-130.[23] The longest
lived isot ope of radium is radium-226 wit h a half-life of 1600 years; it and radium-223, -224, and
-228 occur nat urally in t he decay chains of primordial t horium and uranium. Beryllium-8 is not able
by it s absence as it nigh inst ant aneously decays int o t wo alpha part icles whenever it is formed.
The t riple alpha process in st ars can only occur at energies high enough for beryllium-8 t o
encount er a t hird alpha part icle before it decays. This is why most main sequence st ars spend
billions of years hydrogen burning but never or only briefly during t heir red giant phase init iat e
helium burning. St ront ium-90 is a common fission product of t he fission of uranium and has been
produced in appreciable quant it ies by humanmade nuclear react ions as well as a t iny secular
equilibrium concent rat ion in uranium due t o spont aneous fission. Radioisot opes of alkaline eart h
met als are usually "bone seekers" as t hey behave chemically similar t o calcium and may do
significant harm t o bone marrow (a rapidly dividing t issue) when t hey accumulat e t here. This
propert y is also made use of in radiot herapy of cert ain bone cancers as t he chemical propert ies
allow t he radionuclide t o t arget t he cancerous growt h in t he bone while leaving t he rest of t he
body unharmed.

Compared t o t heir neighbors in t he periodic t able, alkaline eart h met als t end t o have more st able
isot opes, as t hey possess an even number of prot ons and for any given even isobar t he even-
even nuclides are usually more st able t han t he odd-odd nuclei.

History

Etymology

The alkaline eart h met als are named aft er t heir oxides, t he alkaline earths, whose old-fashioned
names were beryllia, magnesia, lime, st ront ia, and baryt a. These oxides are basic (alkaline) when
combined wit h wat er. "Eart h" was a t erm applied by early chemist s t o nonmet allic subst ances
t hat are insoluble in wat er and resist ant t o heat ing—propert ies shared by t hese oxides. The
realizat ion t hat t hese eart hs were not element s but compounds is at t ribut ed t o t he chemist
Ant oine Lavoisier. In his Traité Élémentaire de Chimie (Elements of Chemistry) of 1789 he called
t hem salt -forming eart h element s. Lat er, he suggest ed t hat t he alkaline eart hs might be met al
oxides, but admit t ed t hat t his was mere conject ure. In 1808, act ing on Lavoisier's idea, Humphry
Davy became t he first t o obt ain samples of t he met als by elect rolysis of t heir molt en eart hs,[24]
t hus support ing Lavoisier's hypot hesis and causing t he group t o be named t he alkaline earth
metals.

Discovery

The calcium compounds calcit e and lime have been known and used since prehist oric t imes.[25]
The same is t rue for t he beryllium compounds beryl and emerald.[26] The ot her compounds of t he
alkaline eart h met als were discovered st art ing in t he early 15t h cent ury. The magnesium
compound magnesium sulfat e was first discovered in 1618 by a farmer at Epsom in England.
St ront ium carbonat e was discovered in minerals in t he Scot t ish village of St ront ian in 1790. The
last element is t he least abundant : radioact ive radium, which was ext ract ed from uraninit e in
1898.[27][28][29]

All element s except beryllium were isolat ed by elect rolysis of molt en compounds. Magnesium,
calcium, and st ront ium were first produced by Humphry Davy in 1808, whereas beryllium was
independent ly isolat ed by Friedrich Wöhler and Ant oine Bussy in 1828 by react ing beryllium
compounds wit h pot assium. In 1910, radium was isolat ed as a pure met al by Curie and André-
Louis Debierne also by elect rolysis.[27][28][29]

Beryllium

Emerald is a form of beryl, the principal mineral of beryllium.

Beryl, a mineral t hat cont ains beryllium, has been known since t he t ime of t he Pt olemaic Kingdom
in Egypt .[26] Alt hough it was originally t hought t hat beryl was an aluminium silicat e,[30] beryl was
lat er found t o cont ain a t hen-unknown element when, in 1797, Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin dissolved
aluminium hydroxide from beryl in an alkali.[31] In 1828, Friedrich Wöhler[32] and Ant oine Bussy[33]
independent ly isolat ed t his new element , beryllium, by t he same met hod, which involved a
react ion of beryllium chloride wit h met allic pot assium; t his react ion was not able t o produce
large ingot s of beryllium.[34] It was not unt il 1898, when Paul Lebeau performed an elect rolysis of
a mixt ure of beryllium fluoride and sodium fluoride, t hat large pure samples of beryllium were
produced.[34]

Magnesium

Magnesium was first produced by Humphry Davy in England in 1808 using elect rolysis of a
mixt ure of magnesia and mercuric oxide.[35] Ant oine Bussy prepared it in coherent form in 1831.
Davy's first suggest ion for a name was magnium,[35] but t he name magnesium is now used.

Calcium

Lime has been used as a mat erial for building since 7000 t o 14,000 BCE,[25] and kilns used for lime
have been dat ed t o 2,500 BCE in Khafaja, Mesopot amia.[36][37] Calcium as a mat erial has been
known since at least t he first cent ury, as t he ancient Romans were known t o have used calcium
oxide by preparing it from lime. Calcium sulfat e has been known t o be able t o set broken bones
since t he t ent h cent ury. Calcium it self, however, was not isolat ed unt il 1808, when Humphry
Davy, in England, used elect rolysis on a mixt ure of lime and mercuric oxide,[38] aft er hearing t hat
Jöns Jakob Berzelius had prepared a calcium amalgam from t he elect rolysis of lime in mercury.

Strontium

In 1790, physician Adair Crawford discovered ores wit h dist inct ive propert ies, which were named
strontites in 1793 by Thomas Charles Hope, a chemist ry professor at t he Universit y of
Glasgow,[39] who confirmed Crawford's discovery. St ront ium was event ually isolat ed in 1808 by
Humphry Davy by elect rolysis of a mixt ure of st ront ium chloride and mercuric oxide. The
discovery was announced by Davy on 30 June 1808 at a lect ure t o t he Royal Societ y.[40]

Barium
Barite, the material that was first found to contain barium.

Barit e, a mineral cont aining barium, was first recognized as cont aining a new element in 1774 by
Carl Scheele, alt hough he was able t o isolat e only barium oxide. Barium oxide was isolat ed again
t wo years lat er by Johan Got t lieb Gahn. Lat er in t he 18t h cent ury, William Wit hering not iced a
heavy mineral in t he Cumberland lead mines, which are now known t o cont ain barium. Barium it self
was finally isolat ed in 1808 when Humphry Davy used elect rolysis wit h molt en salt s, and Davy
named t he element barium, aft er baryt a. Lat er, Robert Bunsen and August us Mat t hiessen
isolat ed pure barium by elect rolysis of a mixt ure of barium chloride and ammonium chloride.[41][42]

Radium

While st udying uraninit e, on 21 December 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie discovered t hat , even
aft er uranium had decayed, t he mat erial creat ed was st ill radioact ive. The mat erial behaved
somewhat similarly t o barium compounds, alt hough some propert ies, such as t he color of t he
flame t est and spect ral lines, were much different . They announced t he discovery of a new
element on 26 December 1898 t o t he French Academy of Sciences.[43] Radium was named in
1899 from t he word radius, meaning ray, as radium emit t ed power in t he form of rays.[44]

Occurrence
Series of alkaline earth metals.

Beryllium occurs in t he eart h's crust at a concent rat ion of t wo t o six part s per million (ppm),[45]
much of which is in soils, where it has a concent rat ion of six ppm. Beryllium is one of t he rarest
element s in seawat er, even rarer t han element s such as scandium, wit h a concent rat ion of 0.2
part s per t rillion.[46][47] However, in freshwat er, beryllium is somewhat more common, wit h a
concent rat ion of 0.1 part s per billion.[48]

Magnesium and calcium are very common in t he eart h's crust , being respect ively t he fift h-
eight h-most -abundant element s. None of t he alkaline eart h met als are found in t heir element al
st at e. Common magnesium-cont aining minerals are carnallit e, magnesit e, and dolomit e. Common
calcium-cont aining minerals are chalk, limest one, gypsum, and anhydrit e.[2]

St ront ium is t he fift eent h-most -abundant element in t he Eart h's crust . The principal minerals are
celest it e and st ront ianit e.[49] Barium is slight ly less common, much of it in t he mineral barit e.[50]

Radium, being a decay product of uranium, is found in all uranium-bearing ores.[51] Due t o it s
relat ively short half-life,[52] radium from t he Eart h's early hist ory has decayed, and present -day
samples have all come from t he much slower decay of uranium.[51]

Production

Emerald, colored green with trace amounts of chromium, is a variety of the mineral beryl which is beryllium aluminium
silicate.
Most beryllium is ext ract ed from beryllium hydroxide. One product ion met hod is sint ering, done
by mixing beryl, sodium fluorosilicat e, and soda at high t emperat ures t o form sodium
fluoroberyllat e, aluminium oxide, and silicon dioxide. A solut ion of sodium fluoroberyllat e and
sodium hydroxide in wat er is t hen used t o form beryllium hydroxide by precipit at ion. Alt ernat ively,
in t he melt met hod, powdered beryl is heat ed t o high t emperat ure, cooled wit h wat er, t hen
heat ed again slight ly in sulfuric acid, event ually yielding beryllium hydroxide. The beryllium
hydroxide from eit her met hod t hen produces beryllium fluoride and beryllium chloride t hrough a
somewhat long process. Elect rolysis or heat ing of t hese compounds can t hen produce
beryllium.[7]

In general, st ront ium carbonat e is ext ract ed from t he mineral celest it e t hrough t wo met hods: by
leaching t he celest it e wit h sodium carbonat e, or in a more complicat ed way involving coal.[53]

To produce barium, barit e (impure barium sulfat e) is convert ed t o barium sulfide by carbot hermic
reduct ion (such as wit h coke). The sulfide is wat er-soluble and easily react ed t o form pure
barium sulfat e, used for commercial pigment s, or ot her compounds, such as barium nit rat e.
These in t urn are calcined int o barium oxide, which event ually yields pure barium aft er reduct ion
wit h aluminium.[50] The most import ant supplier of barium is China, which produces more t han 50%
of world supply.[54]

Applications

Beryllium is used mainly in milit ary applicat ions,[55] but non-milit ary uses exist . In elect ronics,
beryllium is used as a p-t ype dopant in some semiconduct ors,[56] and beryllium oxide is used as a
high-st rengt h elect rical insulat or and heat conduct or.[57] Beryllium alloys are used for mechanical
part s when st iffness, light weight , and dimensional st abilit y are required over a wide t emperat ure
range.[58][59] Beryllium-9 is used in small-scale neut ron sources t hat use t he react ion
9Be + 4He (α) → 12C + 1n, t he react ion used by James Chadwick when he discovered t he neut ron.
It s low at omic weight and low neut ron absorpt ion cross sect ion would make beryllium suit able as
a neut ron moderat or, but it s high price and t he readily available alt ernat ives such as wat er, heavy
wat er and nuclear graphit e have limit ed t his t o niche applicat ions. In t he FLiBe eut ect ic used in
molt en salt react ors, beryllium's role as a moderat or is more incident al t han t he desired propert y
leading t o it s use.

Magnesium has many uses. It offers advant ages over ot her st ruct ural mat erials such as
aluminium, but magnesium's usage is hindered by it s flammabilit y.[60] Magnesium is oft en alloyed
wit h aluminium, zinc and manganese t o increase it st rengt h and corrosion resist ance.[61]
Magnesium has many ot her indust rial applicat ions, such as it s role in t he product ion of iron and
st eel, and in t he Kroll process for product ion of t it anium.[62]

Calcium is used as a reducing agent in t he separat ion of ot her met als such as uranium from ore. It
is a major component of many alloys, especially aluminium and copper alloys, and is also used t o
deoxidize alloys. Calcium has roles in t he making of cheese, mort ars, and cement .[63]

St ront ium and barium have fewer applicat ions t han t he light er alkaline eart h met als. St ront ium
carbonat e is used in t he manufact uring of red fireworks.[64] Pure st ront ium is used in t he st udy of
neurot ransmit t er release in neurons.[65][66] Radioact ive st ront ium-90 finds some use in
RTGs,[67][68] which ut ilize it s decay heat . Barium is used in vacuum t ubes as a get t er t o remove
gases.[50] Barium sulfat e has many uses in t he pet roleum indust ry,[4] and ot her indust ries.[4][50][69]

Radium has many former applicat ions based on it s radioact ivit y, but it s use is no longer common
because of t he adverse healt h effect s and long half-life. Radium was frequent ly used in
luminous paint s,[70] alt hough t his use was st opped aft er it sickened workers.[71] The nuclear
quackery t hat alleged healt h benefit s of radium formerly led t o it s addit ion t o drinking wat er,
t oot hpast e, and many ot her product s.[60] Radium is no longer used even when it s radioact ive
propert ies are desired because it s long half-life makes safe disposal challenging. For example, in
brachyt herapy, short half-life alt ernat ives such as iridium-192 are usually used inst ead.[72][73]

Representative reactions of alkaline earth metals

Reaction with halogens

Ca + Cl2 → CaCl2

Anhydrous calcium chloride is a hygroscopic subst ance t hat is used as a desiccant . Exposed t o
air, it will absorb wat er vapour from t he air, forming a solut ion. This propert y is known as
deliquescence.

Reaction with oxygen

Ca + 1/2O2 → CaO
Mg + 1/2O2 → MgO

Reaction with sulphur

Ca + 1/8S 8 → CaS
Reaction with carbon

Wit h carbon, t hey form acet ylides direct ly. Beryllium forms carbide.

2Be + C → Be 2C
CaO + 3C → CaC2 + CO (at 2500 °C in furnace)
CaC2 + 2H2O → Ca(OH)2 + C2H2
Mg2C3 + 4H2O → 2Mg(OH)2 + C3H4

Reaction with nitrogen

Only Be and Mg form nit rides direct ly.

3Be + N2 → Be 3N2
3Mg + N2 → Mg3N2

Reaction with hydrogen

Alkaline eart h met als react wit h hydrogen t o generat e saline hydride t hat are unst able in wat er.

Ca + H2 → CaH2

Reaction with water

Ca, Sr and Ba readily react wit h wat er t o form hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Be and Mg are
passivat ed by an impervious layer of oxide. However, amalgamat ed magnesium will react wit h
wat er vapour.

Mg + H2O → MgO + H2

Reaction with acidic oxides

Alkaline eart h met als reduce t he nonmet al from it s oxide.

2Mg + SiO2 → 2MgO + Si

2Mg + CO2 → 2MgO + C (in solid carbon dioxide)

Reaction with acids

Mg + 2HCl → MgCl2 + H2
Be + 2HCl → BeCl2 + H2

Reaction with bases

Be exhibit s amphot eric propert ies. It dissolves in concent rat ed sodium hydroxide.
 Be + NaOH + 2H2O → Na[Be(OH)3] + H2

Reaction with alkyl halides

Magnesium react s wit h alkyl halides via an insert ion react ion t o generat e Grignard reagent s.

RX + Mg → RMgX (in anhydrous et her)

Identification of alkaline earth cations

The flame test

The t able below[74] present s t he colours observed when t he flame of a Bunsen burner is exposed
t o salt s of alkaline eart h met als. Be and Mg do not impart colour t o t he flame due t o t heir small
size.[75]

Metal Colour

Ca Brick-red

Sr Crimson red

Ba Green/Yellow

Ra Carmine red

In solution

Mg 2+

Disodium phosphat e is a very select ive reagent for magnesium ions and, in t he presence of
ammonium salt s and ammonia, forms a whit e precipit at e of ammonium magnesium phosphat e.

Mg2+ + NH3 + Na2HPO4 → (NH4)MgPO4 + 2Na+

Ca2+

Ca2+ forms a whit e precipit at e wit h ammonium oxalat e. Calcium oxalat e is insoluble in wat er, but
is soluble in mineral acids.

Ca2+ + (COO)2(NH4)2 → (COO)2Ca + NH4+

Sr 2+

St ront ium ions precipit at e wit h soluble sulphat e salt s.

 Sr2+ + Na2SO4 → SrSO4 + 2Na+

All ions of alkaline eart h met als form whit e precipit at e wit h ammonium carbonat e in t he
presence of ammonium chloride and ammonia.

Compounds of alkaline earth metals

Oxides

The alkaline eart h met al oxides are formed from t he t hermal decomposit ion of t he
corresponding carbonat es.

CaCO3 → CaO + CO2 (at approx. 900°C)

In laborat ory, t hey are obt ained from hydroxides:

Mg(OH)2 → MgO + H2O

or nit rat es:

Ca(NO3)2 → CaO + 2NO2 + 1/2O2

The oxides exhibit basic charact er: t hey t urn phenolpht halein red and lit mus, blue. They react
wit h wat er t o form hydroxides in an exot hermic react ion.

CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2 + Q

Calcium oxide react s wit h carbon t o form acet ylide.

CaO + 3C → CaC2 + CO (at 2500°C)

CaC2 + N2 → CaCN2 + C
CaCN2 + H2SO4 → CaSO4 + H2N—CN
H2N—CN + H2O → (H2N)2CO (urea)
CaCN2 + 2H2O → CaCO3 + NH3

Hydroxides

They are generat ed from t he corresponding oxides on react ion wit h wat er. They exhibit basic
charact er: t hey t urn phenolpht halein pink and lit mus, blue. Beryllium hydroxide is an except ion as
it exhibit s amphot eric charact er.

Be(OH)2 + 2HCl → BeCl2 + H2O

Be(OH)2 + NaOH → Na[Be(OH)3]
Salts

Ca and Mg are found in nat ure in many compounds such as dolomit e, aragonit e, magnesit e
(carbonat e rocks).
Calcium and magnesium ions are found in hard wat er. Hard wat er represent s a
mult ifold issue. It is of great int erest t o remove t hese ions, t hus soft ening t he wat er. This
procedure can be done using reagent s such as calcium hydroxide, sodium carbonat e or sodium
phosphat e. A more common met hod is t o use ion-exchange aluminosilicat es or ion-exchange
resins t hat t rap Ca2+ and Mg2+ and liberat e Na+ inst ead:

Na2O·Al2O3·6SiO2 + Ca2+ → CaO·Al2O3·6SiO2 + 2Na+

Biological role and precautions

Magnesium and calcium are ubiquit ous and essent ial t o all known living organisms. They are
involved in more t han one role, wit h, for example, magnesium or calcium ion pumps playing a role
in some cellular processes, magnesium funct ioning as t he act ive cent er in some enzymes, and
calcium salt s t aking a st ruct ural role, most not ably in bones.

St ront ium plays an import ant role in marine aquat ic life, especially hard corals, which use
st ront ium t o build t heir exoskelet ons. It and barium have some uses in medicine, for example
"barium meals" in radiographic imaging, whilst st ront ium compounds are employed in some
t oot hpast es. Excessive amount s of st ront ium-90 are t oxic due t o it s radioact ivit y and st ront ium-
90 mimics calcium (i.e. Behaves as a "bone seeker") where it bioaccumulat es wit h a significant
biological half life. While t he bones t hemselves have higher radiat ion t olerance t han ot her
t issues, t he rapidly dividing bone marrow does not and can t hus be significant ly harmed by Sr-90.
The effect of ionizing radiat ion on bone marrow is also t he reason why acut e radiat ion syndrome
can have anemia-like sympt oms and why donat ion of red blood cells can increase survivabilit y.

Beryllium and radium, however, are t oxic. Beryllium's low aqueous solubilit y means it is rarely
available t o biological syst ems; it has no known role in living organisms and, when encount ered by
t hem, is usually highly t oxic.[7] Radium has a low availabilit y and is highly radioact ive, making it
t oxic t o life.

Extensions

The next alkaline eart h met al aft er radium is t hought t o be element 120, alt hough t his may not
be t rue due t o relat ivist ic effect s.[76] The synt hesis of element 120 was first at t empt ed in
March 2007, when a t eam at t he Flerov Laborat ory of Nuclear React ions in Dubna bombarded
plut onium-244 wit h iron-58 ions; however, no at oms were produced, leading t o a limit of 400 fb
for t he cross-sect ion at t he energy st udied.[77] In April 2007, a t eam at t he GSI at t empt ed t o
creat e element 120 by bombarding uranium-238 wit h nickel-64, alt hough no at oms were
det ect ed, leading t o a limit of 1.6 pb for t he react ion. Synt hesis was again at t empt ed at higher
sensit ivit ies, alt hough no at oms were det ect ed. Ot her react ions have been t ried, alt hough all
have been met wit h failure.[78]

The chemist ry of element 120 is predict ed t o be closer t o t hat of calcium or st ront ium[79]
inst ead of barium or radium. This not iceably cont rast s wit h periodic t rends, which would predict
element 120 t o be more react ive t han barium and radium. This lowered react ivit y is due t o t he
expect ed energies of element 120's valence elect rons, increasing element 120's ionizat ion
energy and decreasing t he met allic and ionic radii.[79]

The next alkaline eart h met al aft er element 120 has not been definit ely predict ed. Alt hough a
simple ext rapolat ion using t he Aufbau principle would suggest t hat element 170 is a congener of
120, relat ivist ic effect s may render such an ext rapolat ion invalid. The next element wit h
propert ies similar t o t he alkaline eart h met als has been predict ed t o be element 166, t hough due
t o overlapping orbit als and lower energy gap below t he 9s subshell, element 166 may inst ead be
placed in group 12, below copernicium.[80][81]

See also

Alkaline eart h oct acarbonyl complexes

Explanatory notes

1. Noble gas notation is used for conciseness; the nearest noble gas that precedes the element in
question is written first, and then the electron configuration is continued from that point forward.

2. Energies are given in −kJ/mol, solubilities in mol/L; HE means "hydration energy".

3. The number given in parentheses refers to the measurement uncertainty. This uncertainty applies to
the least significant figure(s) of the number prior to the parenthesized value (i.e., counting from
rightmost digit to left). For instance, 1.007 94(7) stands for 1.007 94 ± 0.000 07, whereas 1.007 94(72)
stands for 1.007 94 ± 0.000 72.[15]

4. The element does not have any stable nuclides, and a value in brackets indicates the mass number of
the longest-lived isotope of the element.[16][17]
 5. The color of the flame test of pure radium has never been observed; the crimson-red color is an
extrapolation from the flame test color of its compounds.[20]

References

1. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (2005). Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry
(IUPAC Recommendations 2005). Cambridge (UK): RSC–IUPAC. ISBN 0-85404-438-8. pp. 51. Electronic
version. (https://old.iupac.org/publications/books/rbook/Red_Book_2005.pdf) .

2. Royal Society of Chemistry. "Visual Elements: Group 2–The Alkaline Earth Metals" (http://www.rsc.org/c
hemsoc/visualelements/PAGES/data/intro_groupii_data.html) . Visual Elements. Royal Society of
Chemistry. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20111005182238/http://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/visua
lelements/pages/data/intro_groupii_data.html) from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved
13 January 2012.

3. "Periodic Table: Atomic Properties of the Elements" (https://www.nist.gov/pml/data/upload/periodic_tab

le_composite_2010_nobleed.pdf) (PDF). nist.gov. National Institute of Standards and Technology.
September 2010. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120809222201/https://www.nist.gov/pml/d
ata/upload/periodic_table_composite_2010_nobleed.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2012-08-09.
Retrieved 17 February 2012.

4. Lide, D. R., ed. (2003). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (84th ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

5. Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-
Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8.

6. "Abundance in Earth's Crust" (http://www.webelements.com/webelements/properties/text/image-flash/a

bund-crust.html) . WebElements.com. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070309033534/http://
www.webelements.com/webelements/properties/text/image-flash/abund-crust.html) from the original
on 9 March 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2007.

7. Jakubke, Hans-Dieter; Jeschkeit, Hans, eds. (1994). Concise Encyclopedia Chemistry. trans. rev.
Eagleson, Mary. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

8. Bell, N. A. (1972). "Beryllium halide and pseudohalides" (https://books.google.com/books?id=VupzlLU9

NB0C&q=beryllium+fluoride+covalent&pg=PA257) . In Emeléus, Harry Julius; Sharpe, A. G. (eds.).
Advances in inorganic chemistry and radiochemistry, Volume 14. New York: Academic Press. pp. 256–
277. ISBN 978-0-12-023614-5.

9. Walsh, Kenneth A. (2009-08-01). Beryllium chemistry and processing (https://books.google.com/books?

id=3-GbhmSfyeYC&q=beryllium+fluoride+covalent&pg=PA119) . ASM International. pp. 99–102, 118–
119. ISBN 978-0-87170-721-5.
10. Hertz, Raymond K. (1987). "General analytical chemistry of beryllium" (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=uaWTfwrG644C&q=beryllium+fluoride&pg=PA74) . In Coyle, Francis T. (ed.). Chemical analysis of
metals: a symposium. ASTM. pp. 74–75. ISBN 978-0-8031-0942-1.

11. Wiberg, Wiberg & Holleman 2001, pp. XXXVI–XXXVII.

12. Wiberg, Wiberg & Holleman 2001, p. XXXVI.

13. Lide 2004, p. 12-23.

14. Wiberg, Wiberg & Holleman 2001, p. 1073.

15. "Standard Uncertainty and Relative Standard Uncertainty" (http://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/cuu/Info/Con

stants/definitions.html) . CODATA reference. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20111016021440/http://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/cuu/Info/Constants/de
finitions.html) from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.

16. Wieser, Michael E.; Berglund, Michael (2009). "Atomic weights of the elements 2007 (IUPAC Technical
Report)" (http://iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/2009/pdf/8111x2131.pdf) (PDF). Pure Appl. Chem.
IUPAC. 81 (11): 2131–2156. doi:10.1351/PAC-REP-09-08-03 (https://doi.org/10.1351%2FPAC-REP-09-0
8-03) . S2CID 98084907 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:98084907) . Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20121102010700/http://iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/2009/pdf/8111x2131.pd
f) (PDF) from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.

17. Wieser, Michael E.; Coplen, Tyler B. (2011). "Atomic weights of the elements 2009 (IUPAC Technical
Report)" (http://iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/2011/pdf/8302x0359.pdf) (PDF). Pure Appl. Chem.
IUPAC. 83 (2): 359–396. doi:10.1351/PAC-REP-10-09-14 (https://doi.org/10.1351%2FPAC-REP-10-09-
14) . S2CID 95898322 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:95898322) . Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20120211145548/http://iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/2011/pdf/8302x0359.pdf)
(PDF) from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.

18. Slater, J. C. (1964). "Atomic Radii in Crystals". Journal of Chemical Physics. 41 (10): 3199–3205.
Bibcode:1964JChPh..41.3199S (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1964JChPh..41.3199S) .
doi:10.1063/1.1725697 (https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.1725697) .

19. Jensen, William B. (2003). "The Place of Zinc, Cadmium, and Mercury in the Periodic Table" (https://web.
archive.org/web/20100611152417/http://www.che.uc.edu/jensen/W.%20B.%20Jensen/Reprints/091.%
20Zn-Cd-Hg.pdf) (PDF). Journal of Chemical Education. American Chemical Society. 80 (8): 952–961.
Bibcode:2003JChEd..80..952J (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003JChEd..80..952J) .
doi:10.1021/ed080p952 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fed080p952) . Archived from the original (http://w
ww.che.uc.edu/jensen/W.%20B.%20Jensen/Reprints/091.%20Zn-Cd-Hg.pdf) (PDF) on 2010-06-11.
Retrieved 2012-05-06.

20. Kirby, H. W; Salutsky, Murrell L (1964). The Radiochemistry of Radium (https://books.google.com/book

s?id=3cgQLgEACAAJ) . National Academies Press.
21. Audi, Georges; Bersillon, Olivier; Blachot, Jean; Wapstra, Aaldert Hendrik (2003), "The NUBASE
evaluation of nuclear and decay properties" (https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/in2p3-00020241/docum
ent) , Nuclear Physics A, 729: 3–128, Bibcode:2003NuPhA.729....3A (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/a
bs/2003NuPhA.729....3A) , doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.nuclph
ysa.2003.11.001)

22. Richard B. Firestone (15 March 2010). "Isotopes of Calcium (Z=20)" (https://web.archive.org/web/2012
0506025523/http://ie.lbl.gov/education/parent/Ca_iso.htm) . Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Archived from the original (http://ie.lbl.gov/education/parent/Ca_iso.htm) on 6 May 2012. Retrieved
12 June 2012.

23. Richard B. Firestone (15 March 2010). "Isotopes of Barium (Z=56)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120
506025741/http://ie.lbl.gov/education/parent/Ba_iso.htm) . Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Archived from the original (http://ie.lbl.gov/education/parent/Ba_iso.htm) on 6 May 2012. Retrieved
12 June 2012.

24. Robert E. Krebs (2006). The history and use of our earth's chemical elements: a reference guide (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=yb9xTj72vNAC) . Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 65–81. ISBN 0-
313-33438-2.

25. Miller, M. Michael. "Commodity report:Lime" (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lime/3

90498.pdf) (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20111112
224558/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lime/390498.pdf) (PDF) from the
original on 2011-11-12. Retrieved 2012-03-06.

26. Weeks 1968, p. 535.

27. Weeks, Mary Elvira (1932). "The discovery of the elements. X. The alkaline earth metals and magnesium
and cadmium". Journal of Chemical Education. 9 (6): 1046. Bibcode:1932JChEd...9.1046W (https://ui.a
dsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1932JChEd...9.1046W) . doi:10.1021/ed009p1046 (https://doi.org/10.1021%
2Fed009p1046) .

28. Weeks, Mary Elvira (1932). "The discovery of the elements. XII. Other elements isolated with the aid of
potassium and sodium: Beryllium, boron, silicon, and aluminum". Journal of Chemical Education. 9 (8):
1386. Bibcode:1932JChEd...9.1386W (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1932JChEd...9.1386W) .
doi:10.1021/ed009p1386 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fed009p1386) .

29. Weeks, Mary Elvira (1933). "The discovery of the elements. XIX. The radioactive elements". Journal of
Chemical Education. 10 (2): 79. Bibcode:1933JChEd..10...79W (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/193
3JChEd..10...79W) . doi:10.1021/ed010p79 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fed010p79) .

30. Weeks 1968, p. 537.

31. Vauquelin, Louis-Nicolas (1798). "De l'Aiguemarine, ou Béril; et découverie d'une terre nouvelle dans cette
pierre" (https://books.google.com/books?id=dB8AAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA155) . Annales de Chimie
(26): 155–169. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160427192005/https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=dB8AAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA155) from the original on 2016-04-27.

32. Wöhler, Friedrich (1828). "Ueber das Beryllium und Yttrium" (https://zenodo.org/record/1423522) .
Annalen der Physik. 89 (8): 577–582. Bibcode:1828AnP....89..577W (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/ab
s/1828AnP....89..577W) . doi:10.1002/andp.18280890805 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fandp.1828089
0805) .

33. Bussy, Antoine (1828). "D'une travail qu'il a entrepris sur le glucinium" (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=pwUFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA456) . Journal de Chimie Médicale (4): 456–457. Archived (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20160522013803/https://books.google.com/books?id=pwUFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA456)
from the original on 2016-05-22.

34. Weeks 1968, p. 539.

35. Davy, H. (1808). "Electro-chemical researches on the decomposition of the earths; with observations on
the metals obtained from the alkaline earths, and on the amalgam procured from ammonia" (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=gpwEAAAAYAAJ&pg=102) . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society of London. 98: 333–370. Bibcode:1808RSPT...98..333D (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/18
08RSPT...98..333D) . doi:10.1098/rstl.1808.0023 (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frstl.1808.0023) .
JSTOR 107302 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/107302) . Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150
930135639/https://books.google.com/books?id=gpwEAAAAYAAJ&pg=102) from the original on
2015-09-30.

36. Williams, Richard (2004). Lime Kilns and Lime Burning (https://books.google.com/books?id=ryap1yyEG
AgC&pg=PA4) . p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7478-0596-0.

37. Oates, J. A. H (2008-07-01). Lime and Limestone: Chemistry and Technology, Production and Uses (htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=vHQsGAKAdYoC) . ISBN 978-3-527-61201-7.

38. Davy H (1808). "Electro-chemical researches on the decomposition of the earths; with observations on
the metals obtained from the alkaline earths, and on the amalgam procured from ammonia" (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=gpwEAAAAYAAJ&pg=102) . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society of London. 98: 333–370. Bibcode:1808RSPT...98..333D (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/18
08RSPT...98..333D) . doi:10.1098/rstl.1808.0023 (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frstl.1808.0023) .
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150930135639/https://books.google.com/books?id=gpwEAA
AAYAAJ&pg=102) from the original on 2015-09-30.

39. Murray, T. (1993). "Elemementary Scots: The Discovery of Strontium". Scottish Medical Journal. 38 (6):
188–189. doi:10.1177/003693309303800611 (https://doi.org/10.1177%2F003693309303800611) .
PMID 8146640 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8146640) . S2CID 20396691 (https://api.semanticsc
holar.org/CorpusID:20396691) .
40. Davy, Humphry (1808). researches on the decomposition of the earths; with observations on the metals
obtained from the alkaline earths, and on the amalgam procured from ammonia (https://books.google.
com/books?id=gpwEAAAAYAAJ&pg=102) . Vol. 98. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of
London. pp. 333–370. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150930135639/https://books.google.c
om/books?id=gpwEAAAAYAAJ&pg=102) from the original on 2015-09-30.

41. "Masthead" (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fjlac.18550930301) . Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie. 93

(3): fmi. 1855. doi:10.1002/jlac.18550930301 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fjlac.18550930301) .

42. Wagner, Rud.; Neubauer, C.; Deville, H. Sainte-Claire; Sorel; Wagenmann, L.; Techniker; Girard, Aimé
(1856). "Notizen" (https://zenodo.org/record/1427814) . Journal für Praktische Chemie. 67: 490–508.
doi:10.1002/prac.18560670194 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fprac.18560670194) .

43. Curie, Pierre; Curie, Marie; Bémont, Gustave (1898). "Sur une nouvelle substance fortement radio-active,
contenue dans la pechblende (On a new, strongly radioactive substance contained in pitchblende)" (htt
p://www.aip.org/history/curie/discover.htm) . Comptes Rendus. 127: 1215–1217. Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20090806083923/http://www.aip.org/history/curie/discover.htm) from the original
on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2009-08-01.

44. "radium" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=radium) . Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived

(https://web.archive.org/web/20120113061207/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=radium)
from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2011.

45. Merck contributors (2006). O'Neil, Marydale J.; Heckelman, Patricia E.; Roman, Cherie B. (eds.). The
Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals (14th ed.). Whitehouse Station, NJ,
USA: Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc. ISBN 0-911910-00-X. {{cite book}}:
|author= has generic name (help)

46. Emsley, John (2001). Nature's Building Blocks: An A–Z Guide to the Elements (https://archive.org/detail
s/naturesbuildingb0000emsl) . Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850340-7.

47. "Abundance in oceans" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110805145627/http://www.webelements.com/p

eriodicity/abundance_seawater/) . Mark Winter, The University of Sheffield and WebElements Ltd, UK.
WebElements. Archived from the original (http://www.webelements.com/periodicity/abundance_seaw
ater/) on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.

48. "Abundance in stream water" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110804233559/http://www.webelements.

com/periodicity/abundance_stream/) . Mark Winter, The University of Sheffield and WebElements Ltd,
UK. WebElements. Archived from the original (http://www.webelements.com/periodicity/abundance_st
ream/) on 4 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.

49. Ober, Joyce A. "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010: Strontium" (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pu

bs/commodity/strontium/mcs-2010-stron.pdf) (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20100716142558/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/stronti
um/mcs-2010-stron.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
50. Kresse, Robert; Baudis, Ulrich; Jäger, Paul; Riechers, H. Hermann; Wagner, Heinz; Winkler, Jocher; Wolf,
Hans Uwe (2007). "Barium and Barium Compounds". In Ullman, Franz (ed.). Ullmann's Encyclopedia of
Industrial Chemistry. Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a03_325.pub2 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2F143
56007.a03_325.pub2) . ISBN 978-3527306732.

51. "Radium" (http://periodic.lanl.gov/88.shtml) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20121115182006/

http://periodic.lanl.gov/88.shtml) 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, Los Alamos National
Laboratory. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.

52. Malley, Marjorie C (2011-08-25). Radioactivity (https://books.google.com/books?id=t-fpKQ54f44C&pg=

PT115) . pp. 115–. ISBN 978-0-19-983178-4. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2015090521225
8/https://books.google.com/books?id=t-fpKQ54f44C&pg=PT115) from the original on 2015-09-05.

53. Kemal, Mevlüt; Arslan, V; Akar, A; Canbazoglu, M (1996). Production of SrCO, by black ash process:
Determination of reductive roasting parameters (https://books.google.com/books?id=5smDPzkw0wEC&
pg=PA401) . p. 401. ISBN 9789054108290. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160427034326/
https://books.google.com/books?id=5smDPzkw0wEC&pg=PA401) from the original on 2016-04-27.

54. Miller, M. M. "Barite" (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/barite/mcs-2012-barit.pdf)

(PDF). USGS.gov. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120707093505/http://minerals.usgs.gov/mi
nerals/pubs/commodity/barite/mcs-2012-barit.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2012-07-07.

55. Petzow, G. N.; Aldinger, F.; Jönsson, S.; Welge, P.; Van Kampen, V.; Mensing, T.; Brüning, T. (2005).
"Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry.
doi:10.1002/14356007.a04_011.pub2 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2F14356007.a04_011.pub2) .
ISBN 3527306730.

56. Diehl, Roland (2000). High-power diode lasers (https://archive.org/details/springer_10.1007-3-540-4785

2-3) . Springer. p. 104 (https://archive.org/details/springer_10.1007-3-540-47852-3/page/n117) .
ISBN 3-540-66693-1.

57. "Purdue engineers create safer, more efficient nuclear fuel, model its performance" (http://www.purdue.e
du/uns/html4ever/2005/050927.Solomon.nuclear.html) . Purdue University. 27 September 2005.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120527141643/http://www.purdue.edu/uns/html4ever/2005/
050927.Solomon.nuclear.html) from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2008.

58. Davis, Joseph R. (1998). "Beryllium" (https://books.google.com/books?id=IpEnvBtSfPQC&pg=PA690) .

Metals handbook (https://archive.org/details/metalshandbook00davi/page/690) . ASM International.
pp. 690–691 (https://archive.org/details/metalshandbook00davi/page/690) . ISBN 978-0-87170-654-
6.

59. Schwartz, Mel M. (2002). Encyclopedia of materials, parts, and finishes (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=6fdmMuj0rNEC&pg=PA62) . CRC Press. p. 62. ISBN 1-56676-661-3.
60. Gray, Theodore (2009). The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe (http
s://archive.org/details/elementsvisualex0000gray) . New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.
ISBN 978-1-57912-814-2.

61. Baker, Hugh D. R.; Avedesian, Michael (1999). Magnesium and magnesium alloys. Materials Park, OH:
Materials Information Society. p. 4. ISBN 0-87170-657-1.

62. Amundsen, K.; Aune, T. K.; Bakke, P.; Eklund, H. R.; Haagensen, J. Ö.; Nicolas, C.; Rosenkilde, C.; Van Den
Bremt, S.; Wallevik, O. (2003). "Magnesium". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry.
doi:10.1002/14356007.a15_559 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2F14356007.a15_559) .
ISBN 3527306730.

63. Lide, D. R., ed. (2005). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (86th ed.). Boca Raton (FL): CRC
Press. ISBN 0-8493-0486-5.

64. Moreno, Teresa; Querol, Xavier; Alastuey, Andrés; Cruz Minguillón, Mari; Pey, Jorge; Rodriguez, Sergio;
Vicente Miró, José; Felis, Carles; Gibbons, Wes (2007). "Recreational atmospheric pollution episodes:
Inhalable metalliferous particles from firework displays" (https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/18583
6/1/Recreational%20atmospheric%20pollution%20episodes%20inhalable%20metalliferous%20particle
s.pdf) (PDF). Atmospheric Environment. 41 (5): 913. Bibcode:2007AtmEn..41..913M (https://ui.adsab
s.harvard.edu/abs/2007AtmEn..41..913M) . doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.09.019 (https://doi.org/10.
1016%2Fj.atmosenv.2006.09.019) . hdl:10261/185836 (https://hdl.handle.net/10261%2F185836) .

65. Miledi, R. (1966). "Strontium as a Substitute for Calcium in the Process of Transmitter Release at the
Neuromuscular Junction". Nature. 212 (5067): 1233–4. Bibcode:1966Natur.212.1233M (https://ui.adsa
bs.harvard.edu/abs/1966Natur.212.1233M) . doi:10.1038/2121233a0 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F21
21233a0) . PMID 21090447 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21090447) . S2CID 11109902 (http
s://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:11109902) .

66. Hagler D.J., Jr; Goda Y. (2001). "Properties of synchronous and asynchronous release during pulse train
depression in cultured hippocampal neurons". J. Neurophysiol. 85 (6): 2324–34.
doi:10.1152/jn.2001.85.6.2324 (https://doi.org/10.1152%2Fjn.2001.85.6.2324) . PMID 11387379 (htt
ps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11387379) . S2CID 2907823 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusI
D:2907823) .

67. Standring, WJF; Selnæs, ØG; Sneve, M; Finne, IE; Hosseini, A; Amundsen, I; Strand, P (2005),
Assessment of environmental, health and safety consequences of decommissioning radioisotope
thermal generators (RTGs) in Northwest Russia (https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210325/http://
www.nrpa.no/dav/c600d1d288.pdf) (PDF), Østerås: Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority,
archived from the original (http://www.nrpa.no/dav/c600d1d288.pdf) (PDF) on 2016-03-03, retrieved
2019-03-13
68. "Power Sources for Remote Arctic Applications" (http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ota/Ota_1/DATA/1994/9
423.PDF) (PDF). Washington, DC: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. June 1994. OTA-
BP-ETI-129. Archived (https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ota/Ot
a_1/DATA/1994/9423.PDF) (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09.

69. Jones, Chris J.; Thornback, John (2007). Medicinal applications of coordination chemistry (https://archi
ve.org/details/medicinalapplica0000jone) . Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 102 (https://archive.org/det
ails/medicinalapplica0000jone/page/102) . ISBN 978-0-85404-596-9.

70. Terrill, JG Jr.; Ingraham Sc, 2nd; Moeller, DW (1954). "Radium in the healing arts and in industry:
Radiation exposure in the United States" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2024184) .
Public Health Reports. 69 (3): 255–62. doi:10.2307/4588736 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4588736) .
JSTOR 4588736 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/4588736) . PMC 2024184 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pmc/articles/PMC2024184) . PMID 13134440 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13134440) .

71. "Mass Media & Environmental Conflict – Radium Girls" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090721113733/

http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/envhist/radium.html) . Archived from the original (http://www.radf
ord.edu/~wkovarik/envhist/radium.html) on 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-08-01.

72. Committee On Radiation Source Use And Replacement, National Research Council (U.S.); Nuclear And
Radiation Studies Board, National Research Council (U.S.) (January 2008). Radiation source use and
replacement: Abbreviated version (https://books.google.com/books?id=3cT2REdXJ98C&pg=PA24) .
p. 24. ISBN 978-0-309-11014-3. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150905164805/https://book
s.google.com/books?id=3cT2REdXJ98C&pg=PA24) from the original on 2015-09-05.

73. Bentel, Gunilla Carleson (1996). Radiation therapy planning (https://books.google.com/books?id=bk0go

_-FO5QC&pg=PA8) . p. 8. ISBN 978-0-07-005115-7. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/201509051
74312/https://books.google.com/books?id=bk0go_-FO5QC&pg=PA8) from the original on 2015-09-
05.

74. "QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS TESTS for metal cations identifying positive ions, carbonates, ammonium ion,
hydrogen ions, acids identification" (http://www.docbrown.info/page13/ChemicalTests/ChemicalTests
c.htm) .

75. "Beryllium and magnesium do not give colour to flame whereas other alkaline earth metals do so. Why"
(https://www.askiitians.com/forums/Physical-Chemistry/beryllium-and-magnesium-do-not-give-colour-to
-flam_83845.htm) .

76. Gäggeler, Heinz W. (5–7 November 2007). "Gas Phase Chemistry of Superheavy Elements" (https://web.
archive.org/web/20120220090755/http://lch.web.psi.ch/files/lectures/TexasA%26M/TexasA%26M.pd
f) (PDF). Lecture Course Texas A&M. Archived from the original (http://lch.web.psi.ch/files/lectures/Te
xasA&M/TexasA&M.pdf) (PDF) on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
77. Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; Utyonkov, V.; Lobanov, Yu.; Abdullin, F.; Polyakov, A.; Sagaidak, R.; Shirokovsky, I.;
Tsyganov, Yu.; Voinov, A. (2009). "Attempt to produce element 120 in the 244Pu+58Fe reaction". Phys.
Rev. C. 79 (2): 024603. Bibcode:2009PhRvC..79b4603O (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009PhRv
C..79b4603O) . doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.79.024603 (https://doi.org/10.1103%2FPhysRevC.79.02460
3) .

78. http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/kollo/Duellmann_FIAS-Kolloquium.pdf

79. Seaborg, G. T. (c. 2006). "transuranium element (chemical element)" (https://www.britannica.com/EBche

cked/topic/603220/transuranium-element) . Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20101130112151/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/603220/transuranium-eleme
nt) from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.

80. Fricke, B.; Greiner, W.; Waber, J. T. (1971). "The continuation of the periodic table up to Z = 172. The
chemistry of superheavy elements". Theoretica Chimica Acta. 21 (3): 235–260.
doi:10.1007/BF01172015 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF01172015) . S2CID 117157377 (https://api.s
emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:117157377) .

81. Hoffman, Darleane C.; Lee, Diana M.; Pershina, Valeria (2006). "Transactinides and the future elements".
In Morss; Edelstein, Norman M.; Fuger, Jean (eds.). The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide
Elements (3rd ed.). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer Science+Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4020-
3555-5.

Bibliography

Lide, David R. (2004). Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (ht t ps://archive.org/det ails/crchandb
ookofche81lide) (84t h ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-0566-5.

Weeks, Mary Elvira; Leichest er, Henry M. (1968). Discovery of the Elements (ht t ps://archive.org/
det ails/discoveryofeleme0000week) . East on, PA: Journal of Chemical Educat ion. LCCCN 68-
15217.

Wiberg, Egon; Wiberg, Nils; Holleman, Arnold Frederick (2001). Inorganic chemistry (ht t ps://book
s.google.com/books?id=Mt t h5g59dEIC) . Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-352651-9.
Ret rieved 3 March 2011.

Further reading

Group 2 – Alkaline Eart h Met als (ht t p://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/visualelement s/pages/dat a/int r

o_ groupii_ dat a.ht ml) , Royal Chemist ry Societ y.
 Hogan, C. Michael. 2010. "Calcium" (ht t ps://web.archive.org/web/20120612123626/ht t p://ww
w.eoeart h.org/art icle/Calcium?t opic=49557) . A. Jorgensen, C. Cleveland, eds. Encyclopedia of
Earth. Nat ional Council for Science and t he Environment .

Maguire, Michael E. "Alkaline Eart h Met als". Chemistry: Foundations and Applications. Ed. J. J.
Lagowski. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 33–34. 4 vols. Gale Virt ual
Reference Library. Thomson Gale.

Pet rucci R.H., Harwood W.S., and Herring F.G., General Chemist ry (8t h edit ion, Prent ice-Hall,
2002)

Silberberg, M.S., Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change (3rd edit ion, McGraw-
Hill, 2009)

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Alkaline_earth_metal&oldid=1115058691"

Last edited 1 month ago by Rlink2