Random Facts
- Bromine was discovered by Antoine J Balard in 1826.
- It was used for important purposes long before it was formally discovered.
- Two separate scientists isolated bromine, including one who was still in school.
- Carl Lowig's school work prevented him from publishing his findings on bromine, leaving Balard to beat him to it.
- Bromine does not occur naturally on Earth as an element.
- Its salts are found in the crust at about .4 parts per million.
- Bromine is only the 64th most common element on Earth.
- It is more rare than three quarters of the elements that comprise the Earth's crust.
- Bromine's easy solubility means it has built up in the oceans through leaching.
- Most bromine produced is extracted from brine.
- Typically, bromine is found as the diatomic Br2.
- This Br2 is only found as bromide salts, never as pure bromine.
- It is somewhat transparent, even though it is a dark, reddish color.
- It evaporates easily under normal conditions.
- Along with mercury, bromine is one of two elements found to be a liquid at room temperature.
- Bromine reacts very strongly with most metals to produce bromide salts.
- Bromine has two stable isotopes.
- Br-79 makes up slightly more than 50% of all bromine found, and Br-81 makes up just over 49%.
- There are 23 known radioactive isotopes of bromine.
- The longest half-life of any known bromine radioisotope is 2.38 days.
- Bromine was first used industrially to replace iodine vapor in the daguerreotype.
- Two bromine compounds were used as sedatives and seizure medications in the 1800s and early 1900s.
- Bromine was a component of World War I era poison gas.
- Today, bromine plays a vital role in the production of flame retardant materials.
- This brominated retardant is the current largest industrial use for bromine.
- The US and Israel, typically extracted from the Dead Sea, are the world's two largest producers of bromine.