Bismuth is a chemical element; it has symbol Bi and atomic number 83. It is a post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens, with chemical properties resembling its lighter group 15 siblings arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth occurs naturally, and its sulfide and oxide forms are important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead. It is a brittle metal with a silvery-white color when freshly produced. Surface oxidation generally gives samples of the metal a somewhat rosy cast. Further oxidation under heat can give bismuth a vividly iridescent appearance due to thin-film interference. Bismuth is both the most diamagnetic element and one of the least thermally conductive metals known.
Bismuth used to be considered one of the elements with the highest atomic mass whose nuclei do not spontaneously decay. However, in 2003 it was discovered to be extremely weakly radioactive. The metal's only primordial isotope, bismuth-209, undergoes alpha decay with a half-life about a billion times the estimated age of the universe.[7][8]
Bismuth metal has been known since ancient times. Before modern analytical methods bismuth's metallurgical similarities to lead and tin often led it to be confused with those metals. The etymology of "bismuth" is uncertain. The name may come from mid-sixteenth century Neo-Latin translations of the German words weiße Masse or Wismuth, meaning 'white mass', which were rendered as bisemutum or bisemutium.
Bismuth compounds account for about half the global production of bismuth. They are used in cosmetics; pigments; and a few pharmaceuticals, notably bismuth subsalicylate, used to treat diarrhea.[8] Bismuth's unusual propensity to expand as it solidifies is responsible for some of its uses, as in the casting of printing type.[8] Bismuth, when in its elemental form, has unusually low toxicity for a heavy metal.[8] As the toxicity of lead and the cost of its environmental remediation became more apparent during the 20th century, suitable bismuth alloys have gained popularity as replacements for lead. Presently, around a third of global bismuth production is dedicated to needs formerly met by lead.
^"Standard Atomic Weights: Bismuth". CIAAW. 2005.
^Prohaska, Thomas; Irrgeher, Johanna; Benefield, Jacqueline; Böhlke, John K.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Ding, Tiping; Dunn, Philip J. H.; Gröning, Manfred; Holden, Norman E.; Meijer, Harro A. J. (4 May 2022). "Standard atomic weights of the elements 2021 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. doi:10.1515/pac-2019-0603. ISSN 1365-3075.
^ abArblaster, John W. (2018). Selected Values of the Crystallographic Properties of Elements. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International. ISBN 978-1-62708-155-9.
^Bi(0) state exists in a N-heterocyclic carbene complex of dibismuthene; see Deka, Rajesh; Orthaber, Andreas (6 May 2022). "Carbene chemistry of arsenic, antimony, and bismuth: origin, evolution and future prospects". Royal Society of Chemistry. 51 (22): 8540–8556. doi:10.1039/d2dt00755j. PMID 35578901. S2CID 248675805.
^Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.
^Kondev, F. G.; Wang, M.; Huang, W. J.; Naimi, S.; Audi, G. (2021). "The NUBASE2020 evaluation of nuclear properties" (PDF). Chinese Physics C. 45 (3): 030001. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddae.
^Dumé, Belle (23 April 2003). "Bismuth breaks half-life record for alpha decay". Physicsworld.
^ abcdKean, Sam (2011). The Disappearing Spoon (and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the Periodic Table of Elements). New York/Boston: Back Bay Books. pp. 158–160. ISBN 978-0-316-051637.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
Bismuth is a chemical element; it has symbol Bi and atomic number 83. It is a post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens, with chemical properties...
Bismuth subsalicylate, sold generically as pink bismuth and under brand names including Pepto-Bismol, Pepti-Calm and BisBacter, is a medication used to...
Bismuth (83Bi) has 41 known isotopes, ranging from 184Bi to 224Bi. Bismuth has no stable isotopes, but does have one very long-lived isotope; thus, the...
pnictogen bismuth. Moscovium is calculated to have some properties similar to its lighter homologues, nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth, and...
the elements nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi), and moscovium (Mc). Since 1988, IUPAC calls it Group 15. Before that...
Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) is a gray powder that is a compound of bismuth and tellurium also known as bismuth(III) telluride. It is a semiconductor, which...
Bismuth chloride (or butter of bismuth) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula BiCl3. It is a covalent compound and is the common source of...
Bismuth bronze or bismuth brass is a copper alloy which typically contains 1-3% bismuth by weight, although some alloys contain over 6% Bi. This bronze...
of a bismuth salt and is usually described as bismuth oxide hydrate or bismuth hydrate. Bismuth hydrate is a component used in milk of bismuth which...
Joseph Roger Bismuth (4 November 1926 – 1 October 2019) was a Tunisian businessman and senator. He was elected into the newly formed upper chamber, the...
N2O5 and H2O. Other names for bismuth oxynitrate include bismuth subnitrate and bismuthyl nitrate. In older texts bismuth oxynitrate is often simply described...
Bismuth subcarbonate (BiO)2CO3, sometimes written Bi2O2(CO3) is a chemical compound of bismuth containing both oxide and carbonate anions. Bismuth is in...
Bismuth subgallate, with a chemical formula C7H5BiO6, is commonly used to treat malodor by deodorizing flatulence and stools. In the United States, it...
substance, but is usually mixed with water, bismuth tetroxide or bismuth trioxide. bismuth pentoxide www.prepchem.com/synthesis-of-bismuth-pentoxide/...
Bismuth oxyiodide is an inorganic compound, an oxyiodide of bismuth, with the chemical formula BiOI. Bismuth oxyiodide can be obtained by reacting bismuth(III)...
Bismuth subcitrate potassium is a bismuth salt used in combination with antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori...
Boaz Bismuth (born 25 November 1964) is a member of the Israeli Knesset, a journalist and columnist who served as editor-in-chief of Israel Hayom between...
flatus events. Bismuth The odor created by flatulence is commonly treated with bismuth subgallate, available under the name Devrom. Bismuth subgallate is...
Ranitidine bismuth citrate - drug, which has antisecretory and bactericidal action. Group affiliation: H2-histamine receptor blocker. Pills. The film-coated...
Patrick Bismuth (born 15 December 1954) is a French classical violinist and conductor. Bismuth studied the violin with Roland Charmy at the Conservatoire...
Bismuth vanadate is the inorganic compound with the formula BiVO4. It is a bright yellow solid. It is widely studied as visible light photo-catalyst with...