Group 14 - Carbon group
Group 14 - Carbon, Silicon, Germanium, Tin and Lead
The Carbon group has the elements C, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb. The group has the properties of Carbon and this is reflected by the (mostly) repeating active Carbon nuclet (blue).
Germanium is clearly diverging in shape from the rest. The elements are 'as if' all a Carbon with a different sized 'neutralized' extra backbone.
Source Wikipedia: Each of the elements in this group has 4 electrons in its outer orbital (the atom's top energy level). The last orbital of all these elements is the p2orbital. In most cases, the elements share their electrons. The tendency to lose electrons increases as the size of the atom increases, as it does with increasing atomic number. Carbon alone forms negative ions, in the form of carbide (C4−) ions. Silicon and germanium, both metalloids, each can form +4 ions. Tin and lead both are metals while flerovium is a synthetic, radioactive (its half life is very short), element that may have a few noble gas-like properties, though it is still most likely a post-transition metal. Tin and lead are both capable of forming +2 ions.
Carbon
Carbon is special. This is the most perfect geometric shape possible and this shape is the recurring shape that nature strives to achieve. The nucleus heavier elements are in essens a combination of Carbons.
Source Wikipedia: Carbon is the 15th most abundant element in the Earth's crust, and the fourth most abundant element in the universe by mass after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. Carbon's abundance, its unique diversity of organic compounds, and its unusual ability to form polymers at the temperatures commonly encountered on Earth enables this element to serve as a common element of all known life. It is the second most abundant element in the human body by mass (about 18.5%) after oxygen.
Carbon 12
This is Carbon 12
Silicon
Silicon 28
This is Silicon 28
Germanium
![Missing content item. Missing content item.](/core/modules/media/images/icons/no-thumbnail.png)
This is Germanium 70
Tin (yet to be 'created')
Lead (try-out)
![Missing content item. Missing content item.](/core/modules/media/images/icons/no-thumbnail.png)
- Log in to post comments
Comments
Why is the icosahedron /…
Why is the icosahedron / carbon the largest possible shape that has stability?
Anything in spherical densest packing larger then 12 densest packed spheres is not geometrical !
Even when we start with a tetrahedron and keep creating only new perfect tetrehedrons we end up with the following structure <picture of collapsed carbon>
Any placement beyond this stacking and there will be a gap emerging that will not allow a spherical grows anymore except for 6 directions that show spiral growth. This is tru for the only perfect tetrahedrons stacking. in the center is the collapsed carbon structure.
Plato named the 5 platonics, this model also shows only those (slight difference there) and even in perfect tetrahedron shape growth above the number 12 there is no more geometrical structure!
Carbon is truly the most complete structure that nature strived for,
Any element beyond Carbon / number 12 will have to be an integrated structure, otherwise we would violate the core postulations and observations that this model uses.
see list of postulations for SAM even things such as the observation that all protons and all electrons share the same properties, from charge to size, to weight, etc. This also poses the questiobn as to why this is the case?! It also could imply that these are indeed the most fundamental particle, because otherwise there would be much more variation observed!
Elements are merelly a specific geometric grouping of these protons and electrons and when in a stable configuration it will be called an element / isotope.
Interesting, with all the…
Interesting, with all the amazing properties of graphene that we read about today.