![]() When bleeding from a wound suddenly occurs, platelets gather at the wound and attempt to block the blood flow. Calcium is also very important in helping blood to clot. Fluxes of Ca 2+ trigger enzyme action in cells in response to receiving a hormonal or electrical signal from elsewhere in the organism. This loss of bone mass which occurs with increasing age makes bones more susceptible to breaking under stress and it occurs mainly in older people, especially women.Ĭalcium ions also play a crucial role in higher organisms as an intracellular messenger. Bone does not last forever a serious medical problem is osteoporosis which is the decalcification of bone. Thus, during pregnancy, bones tend to be raided for their Ca in a process called demineralisation. The bone in our body functions not only as a structural support, but also as the central Ca store. Indeed, the different properties (such as stiffness) of bone are produced by varying the amount of organic component, mostly a fibrous protein called collagen, with which hydroxyapatite is associated. Calcium phosphate (also known as hydroxyapatite) is the mineral component of bones and teeth and is a particularly good example of how organisms fabricate 'living' composite materials. Calcium is used to produce the minerals contained in bones, shells and teeth through a process called biomineralisation. Which is what the old milk TV adverts were trying to tell us after all. Calcium is what is known as an essential element, meaning that it is an element which is absolutely necessary for life processes. The pure metal is priced at $20 for every 100 gram. With a bit of effort, it can be cut by a sharp knife that is quite uncommon for a metal.It is the most abundant of all the metallic elements constituting the human body.From it, he removed the mercury by distillation and obtained pure calcium. Then he added more lime to the mixture producing a greater amount of the amalgam. Though it did produce an amalgam each of calcium and mercury, the quantity was not enough to establish the existence of a new element. Next, he tried to electrolyze a mixture of lime and mercury oxide. In 1808, Davy tried to reduce moist lime by the process of electrolysis but found no success. However, he suspected that it could be the oxide of an unknown element. French chemist, Antoine Lavoisier classified lime as an ‘earth’ since it seemed impossible to reduce it any more. įor centuries plaster and mortar were made by heating limestone into lime (calcium oxide). When Was It Discovered and Where: It was discovered in 1808 in London. Who Discovered Calcium: Cornish chemist, Sir Humphry Davy. Origin of Its Name: Its name is derived from the Latin word “calx” meaning lime (limestone is an ore of Ca). It is highly reactive towards the halogens chlorine, bromine, iodine and fluorine to form calcium dihalides. ![]() When heated in air, it burns to produce a mixture of calcium oxide and calcium nitride. The surface of the metal remains covered by a thin layer of its oxide that prevents further attack by air (oxygen). It slowly reacts with water to form calcium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Besides that, it has 19 synthetic, radioactive isotopes with known half-lives. Naturally occurring Ca is a mixture of 6 isotopes with mass numbers 40, 42, 43, 44, 46 and 48. Properties and Characteristics of CalciumĬalcium (pronunciation KAL-see-em ), represented by the chemical symbol or formula Ca, is a soft element belonging to the family of alkali earth metals.
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