Rubidium | Chemistry

Rosary High School, Fullerton, California, U.S.A.

Rubidium, 37, Rosary High School, California USA

Rubidium: Rubidium, Rb, is a solid silver element. The triangle-print background symbolizes how the German scientists, Bunsen and Kirchoff, discovered rubidium using a prism. The two scientists are depicted in a spaceship decorated with the colors of the German flag, as rubidium is used in rocket fuel. The flames from the spaceship show rubidium’s reddish-purple colored flames. The red lines represent rubidium’s red spectral lines. The water waves at the bottom signify its violent reactivity to water. The fireworks show how rubidium is used for the purple color in fireworks. We selected rubidium because our school colors are red and gold.

Josephine Golcher, Rosary High School, Fullerton, California, U.S.A.

Atomic properties*

Name:

Rubidium

Symbol:

Rb

Atomic number:

37

Atomic mass:

85.4678 amu

Melting point:

39.3°C

Boiling point:

688°C

Density:

1.53 g/cm³

Electronegativity:

0.82

# of Isotopes:

3

State:

Solid

Colour:

Silvery-white±

Classification:

Metallic±

* Haynes, W. M. (2011). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 91st edition: http://www.hbcponline.com/ Retrieved April 7, 2011

± Winter, M. (2010). Home of the Periodic Table. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Web Elements: http://www.webelements.com/