Magnesium and Potassium - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of magnesium and potassium, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Magnesium vs Potassium.

magnesium and potassium - comparison

Compare magnesium with another element

Compare potassium with another element

Magnesium and Potassium – About Elements

Magnesium

Magnesium is a shiny gray solid which bears a close physical resemblance to the other five elements in the second column (group 2, or alkaline earth metals) of the periodic table: all group 2 elements have the same electron configuration in the outer electron shell and a similar crystal structure.

Potassium

Potassium was first isolated from potash, the ashes of plants, from which its name derives. In the periodic table, potassium is one of the alkali metals. All of the alkali metals have a single valence electron in the outer electron shell, which is easily removed to create an ion with a positive charge – a cation, which combines with anions to form salts. Naturally occurring potassium is composed of three isotopes, of which 40K is radioactive. Traces of 40K are found in all potassium, and it is the most common radioisotope in the human body.

Magnesium in Periodic Table

Potassium in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Magnesium and Potassium – Applications

Magnesium

Magnesium is the third-most-commonly-used structural metal, following iron and aluminium.[35] The main applications of magnesium are, in order: aluminium alloys, die-casting (alloyed with zinc), removing sulfur in the production of iron and steel, and the production of titanium in the Kroll process. Magnesium alloys are used in a wide variety of structural and nonstructural applications. Structural applications include automotive, industrial, materials-handling, commercial, and aerospace equipment. Magnesium alloys are used for parts that operate at high speeds and thus must be light weight to minimize inertial forces. Commercial applications include hand-held tools, laptops, luggage, and ladders, automobiles (e.g., steering wheels and columns, seat frames, transmission cases). Magnox (alloy), whose name is an abbreviation for “magnesium non-oxidizing”, is 99% magnesium and 1% aluminum, and is used in the cladding of fuel rods in magnox nuclear power reactors.

Potassium

Potassium (K) is an essential nutrient for plant growth. It’s classified as a macronutrient because plants take up large quantities of K during their life cycle. Agricultural fertilizers consume 95% of global potassium chemical production, and about 90% of this potassium is supplied as KCl. Due to its high degree of reactivity, pure potassium is rarely used in its elemental /metallic form. It is used as a powerful reducing agent in organic chemistry. Potassium/Sodium alloys are It used as a heat exchange medium . The heat in the potassium warms water and makes it hot enough to boil. Then water is changed into steam, which is used to work devices that generate electricity.

Magnesium and Potassium – Comparison in Table

Element	Magnesium	Potassium
Density	1.738 g/cm3	0.856 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	200 MPa	N/A
Yield Strength	N/A	N/A
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	45 GPa	3.53 GPa
Mohs Scale	2.5	0.4
Brinell Hardness	260 MPa	0.36 MPa
Vickers Hardness	N/A	N/A
Melting Point	649 °C	63.25 °C
Boiling Point	1090 °C	760 °C
Thermal Conductivity	156 W/mK	102.4 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	24.8 µm/mK	83 µm/mK
Specific Heat	1.02 J/g K	0.75 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	8.954 kJ/mol	2.334 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	127.4 kJ/mol	79.87 kJ/mol