Boron

Symbol

B

Atomic number

5

Atomic mass	10.81		Thermal conductivity	0.270
Atomic radius	1.17		Covalent radius	0.82
Density	2.45		Atomic volume	4.6
Melting point	2573		Oxidation states	3
Boiling point	2823		Stable isotopes	2
Heat of vapor.	489.7		Electronegativity	2.04
Heat of fusion	50.2		First ionization	8.298
Specific heat	1.02		Electrical conduct.	...

Electron configuration

Boron

Boron forms brilliant transparent crystals, nearly as hard as diamond. The compound boron carbide, B₄C, is the hardest substance known next to diamond. It has found extensive use as an abrasive and for the manufacture of vessels for grinding very hard substances.

Boric acid, H₃BO₃, is a very weak acid which is used in medicine as a mild antiseptic. Boric acid is a white crystalline solid which is found in nature in some volcanic steam jets in central Italy. It is volatile enough to be carried along by the steam.

Vast deposits of boron are found in California in the form of the minerals borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate, Na₂B₄O₇. 10H₂O), kernite (sodium tetraborate tetrahydrate, Na₂B₄O₇. 4H₂O), and colemanite (calcium hexaborate pentahydrate, Ca₂B₆O₁₁. 5H₂O). It is also found in the mineral danburite. It appears with magnesium in the fibrous mineral Szaibelyite and in the mineral boracite.

Boron Nuclear Data