Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
To what extent could caesium see use in future industry - Coggle Diagram
To what extent could caesium see use in future industry
The past
How was it discovered
By german chemist
In 1860
Robert Wilhem Bunsen
through the spectroscopic analysis of Durkheim mineral water
An unidentified light blue line appeared on the spectrum
Only 93% of the elements present in the water were identifiable
They produced about 7 grams of caesium chloride (CsCl) but were unable to produce a pure sample of the metal
The first pure sample was obtained through the electrolysis of molten caesium cyanide
This was done by Carl Theodor Setterbergin 1882
First element to be discovered through spectroscopy
Comes from latin "caesus" meaning sky blue, after the colour displayed on its spectrum line
How was it stored
Before it was discovered that we could store it in its pure form it was kept in compounds such as caesium chloride or cyanide so it could be separated when it was needed
It took many years to work out how to store pure caesium simply due to it reacting with oxygen, water and most gases causing it to combust or explode
It was discovered that it could be stored safely in mineral oil and then the reacted layer around the outside could be carefully sliced off to reveal pure ceasium underneath
How was it used
Until the 1920s caesium how basically zero practical uses
Then it was discovered to have two major uses inside radio vacuum tubes
As a getter
A metal "filter" that absorbed and reacted with any gases that were present in the tube that shouldnt have been such as oxygen. This is because the caesium would react with it so it wouldnt disrupt the vacuum
Coating
It was used as a coating on a heated cathode during electrolysis in order to incerase the eletrical conductivity of the cathode
It was in the 1950s that non radioactive caesium started seeing lots of major uses
Optical components of Infrared spectrophotomteres
Measures the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission or relection. This allows for chemical or functional groups to be indentified in solid, liquid or gas forms
Used to identify and verify known and unknown substances
As a catalyst
It can boost the capacity of other metal oxides present and eases the process of hydrogination of organic compounds
In photoeletric cells seeing uses such as solar panels
Crystals for scintillation counters
A scintillation counter is a device used to detect and measure ionizing radiationby using the excitation effect of incident radiation on a scintillating material and then measuring the resultant light pulses. Ceasium flouride is used as a scintillating material.
Used in magnetohydrodynamic power
Transforms kinetic and thermal energy into eletricity
Secondary ion mass spectroscopy
Secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a technique used to analyze the composition of solid surfaces and thin films by sputtering the surface of the specimen with a focused primary ion beam and collecting and analyzing ejected secondary ions.
The present
Storage
Storage has not changed massively over the years with storage methods still being the same just improved in some areas
It is stored either in vacuum sealed borosilicate ampules, containers with an inert atmosphere of argon gas or submerged in kerosene or mineral oils
Borosilicate glass is made from 70% - 80% silica (SiO2) and 7% - 13% boron oxide (B2O3) with small amounts of the alkali sodium oxide (soda) (Na2O) and aluminum oxide (AI2O3)
Used due to it being nearly completely unreactive, its strength and its high thermal capacity preventing damage from heat up to around 165c
Ampules or containers with inert atmospheres are preferred due to little or no caesium being wasted from reactions as submersion in oil or kerosene creates a reacted outer layer around the caesium
This outer layer is what prevents the caesium from reacting as it acts like a shield around the pure caesium in the middle stopping any possible reactants from reaching it
Modern uses
In compound
Caesium formate
Aqueous solutions of caesium formate (HCOO−Cs+)
Made by reacting caesium hydroxide with formic acid
Used for oil well drilling and completion fluids
The drilling fluid is there to lubricate drill parts, bring rock cuttings to the surface as well as maintaining pressure during the drilling of the well
Completion fluids also assist the fitting of control hardware after drilling but prior to production by maintaining the pressure
Caesium formate is useful due to its high density (2.3g/cm^3) along with its inert nature, as is the case with most caesium compounds
This hugely reduces the need for toxic high density suspended solids in the fluid
This is a impressive technological and enviromental improvement
Using other alkalis, the density can be decreased to that of water
Caesium formate is also biodegradeable and recyclable
Caesium formate is also safe to handle and do not damage equipment as other high denisty brines, such as zinc bromide, are often corrosive. Using a non-corrosive brine also reduces clean up and repair costs
Due to pure caesium being extremely reactive, nearly all caesium compounds are very stable as reactive pure elements are much more stable in compounds and vice versa for inert pure elements.
For example, silver is a very unreactive metal however when in compound form, eg silver nitrate, it is very reactive with a variety of elements. Carbonates, sulphates, halogens
Electric power and components
Caesium vapour thermionic generators are low-power devices that convert heat energy to electrical energy
Caesium is very useful thanks to its photoemissive properties, converting light to electron flow
Commonly used in optical character recognition devices such as photocopiers
However there are cheaper alternatives such as silicon and tellerium
Centrifugation
Caesium ions are very dense compared to a lot of other metals
This means that solutions of caesium chloride, sulfate or trifluroacetate are very useful in density gradient untracentrifugation
Common applications are for separating viruses, organelles and nucleic acids in biological samples
Pure
Atomic clocks
Caesium base atomic clocks use the electromagnetic transitions in the hyperfine structure of caesium-133 atoms as a reference point
These clocks measure frequency with an error of 2 to 3 parts in 1014, which corresponds to an accuracy of 2 nanoseconds per day, or one second in 1.4 million years. The latest versions are more accurate than 1 part in 1015, about 1 second in 20 million years
This measurement is known as the "caesium standard"
This standard is responsible for time and frequency measurements.
The clocks are responsible for regulating the timing of phone networks and the internet
regarded as "the most accurate realization of a unit that mankind has yet achieved."
The second, symbol s, is the SI unit of time. It is defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the caesium frequency ΔνCs, the unperturbed ground-state hyperfine transition frequency of the caesium-133 atom
Radioactive isotopes
Caesium-137 is a radioisotope commonly used as a gamma-emitter in industrial applications. Its advantages include a half-life of roughly 30 years, its availability from the nuclear fuel cycle, and having 137Ba as a stable end product. The high water solubility is a disadvantage which makes it incompatible with large pool irradiators for food and medical supplies
It has been used in agriculture, cancer treatment, and the sterilization of food, sewage sludge, and surgical equipment
Hydrology
Caesium-137 has been employed in a variety of industrial measurement gauges, including moisture, density, levelling, and thickness gauges
Caesium-137 has been used in hydrologic studies analogous to those with tritium
Caesium-134, and to a lesser extent caesium-135, have also been used in hydrology to measure the caesium output by the nuclear power industry
However these isotopes do not naturally occur and are only found as a result of uranium being broken down
Caesium 135 is particularly rare as it can only be formed from xenon 136 which is already a rare product from xenon 135 being converted to 136 before being able to decay into caesium 135
The future
Satelites and space travel
Caesium has been found to be very useful in ion propulsion systems
An ion thruster ionizes propellant by adding or removing electrons to produce ions
a high-energy electron (negative charge) collides with a propellant atom (neutral charge), releasing electrons from the propellant atom and resulting in a positively charged ion. The gas produced consists of positive ions and negative electrons in proportions that result in no over-all electric charge
Commonly, elements like xenon were used as fuel for ion thruster due to its compressability, low density, ease to ionise along with its inert nature making it easy and safe to store on space crafts
However, 1 kilogram of cesium used in outer space is able to propel a vehicle 140 times as far as any other known fuel
Cesium is a critical element of Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Atomic clocks track vibrations inside cesium to measure time accurately. The same goes for GPS satellites orbiting Earth. It's only because of cesium that they are able to precisely triangulate.
With deep space exploration only just on the horizon, location and triagulation from extreme long distances will become more and more important, using caesium to manage this is likely the only faesible way forwards
Although caesium in deep space travel is incredibly fascinating, it has high potential much closer to home in self driving cars
Similar to with space travel, autonomous cars require highly accurate and detailed scanning, sensing and location systems and no material comes close to the accuracy required, except caesium
It is very likely that caesium will be the governing factor in whether or not autonomous cars become a thing of the immediate future.
Without an accurate guidance system, autonomous cars are simply too dangerous to have on the roads but the rapid resonance in caesium could allow for safe and quick reactions from cars in the case of danger