Ge - Germanium

Atomic Number: 32 Period Number: 4 Group Number: 14

Germanium is a hard and grayish-white metal in the carbon group. It is active and react with oxygen to form complex in nature. Germanium is mined primarily from sphalerite, silver, lead and copper ores. There are five isotopes of germanium: ⁷⁰Ge, ⁷²Ge, ⁷³Ge, ⁷⁴Ge and ⁷⁶Ge.

Germanium is used as a semiconductor material. It is commonly used, together with silicon, in high speed integrated circuits for improved performance. There is some work being done to replace silicon with germanium in miniaturized chips.It is also used in fluorescent lamps and some LEDs, some guitar effects pedals and solar panels. There are some suggestions that it can be used to support the immune system of cancer patients, but this is still being debated.

Some germanium compounds seem to be effective in killing some types of bacteria and are currently being studied for use in chemotherapy.

Physical and Chemical properties:

Atomic Weight: 72.64

Melting Point: 1211.40 K

Boiling Point: 3106 K

Density: 5.323 g/cm³

Phase at Room Temperature: Solid

Ionization Energy: 7.900 eV

Oxidation States: +4, +2