BO-RON

Chem4Kids Scientist Guy with Spiked Hair

Welcome to the element boron (B). It's the big number five on the periodic table of elements. Society has used boron for thousands of years, but it wasn't isolated and named until 1808. Sir Humphry Davy, Guy Lussac and another scientist named Theonard gave boron its name. You may have heard of borax. Boron is in those cleaning compounds.

It's a tough element to isolate, because it is never found alone in nature. Boron is always part of larger compounds in the real world. When you do find it, it will either be in a brown powder or a crystal. As scientists did more experiments, they discovered that boron was also a very poor conductor of electricity. You can also find boron ceramics, fiberglass, and flare guns.

Where else can you find boron?


		Ceramics You might have made pots in school. First you get a big lump of clay and mold it. Sometimes you paint the pot before you put it in the oven. When you paint it, or glaze it, that paint has boron in it.
	Soaps Next time you take a bath there might be boron in your soap. Also take a look at the detergent that you wash your clothes with. There might be boron in there too!
		Glass Manufacturing Scientist use boron to make glass. Check out the glass in your windows at home, the glass in your car or even the glasses that hold your water. Boron might have been used to make all of them.
	Flare Guns Have you ever seen a flare gun? Many boats have flare guns in case of emergency. If someone fires a flare gun and the flare is green... Thank boron. Boron makes the color of the flare green.
		Fiberglass Scientists use boron when they make fiberglass. Fiberglass is used in boats and cars instead of metal. Next time you see speedboats racing or someone surfing you will know that those things are made out of fiberglass.

RELATED LINKS

- Chem4Kids: Periodic Table
- Chem4Kids: Atoms
- Chem4Kids: Compounds
- Chem4Kids: Electrons
- Chem4Kids: Aluminum
- Chem4Kids: Chemical Bonds
- Geography4Kids: Electromagnetic Spectrum

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