Answer 1:
At atmospheric pressure, Antimony will always
be found as a solid below 1167 degrees F. Above
1167 degrees F, it will be a liquid at atmospheric
pressure. If the pressure is reduced below one
atmosphere,Antimony will melt at a lower
temperature, although I can not find a good phase
diagram so I do not have exact numbers. In general
though,you can assume the lower the pressure, the
lower the melting temperature. Now for the
interesting facts (taken from Nature's Building
Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements by John
Emsley): Despite its toxicity, Antimony has
been used as medicine throughouthistory, starting
as early as the second half of the first century
AD.Although Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's death was
attributed to a diseasecalled Miliary fever, his
symptoms were "identical to those of acuteantimony
poisoning." It is likely that he was accidentally
poisoned because at the time doctors prescribed
antimony compounds as medicine. In ancient
Egypt, antimony sulfide was used as
mascara.
"Greek fire may have contained
antimony sulfide in the form of stibnite. The
incendiary liquid was fired from the warships of
the Byzantine navy and brought terror to those
exposed to it because it was impossible to
extinguish; it even burned on the surface of
water.How it was made has remained a secret to
this day and it was a capital offense to reveal
it. It was last used in the defense of the
capital,Constantinople, in 1453. The most likely
composition of Greek fire was crude oil, stibnite,
and salt petre, a combination that would be
highlyflammable and almost impossible to
extinguish with water. Once it is ignited
antimony sulfide generates a lot of heat.Antimony
sulfide has a different role to play in modern
warfare. Because it reflects infrared
radiation, in the same way as green vegetation, it
is used in camouflage paints." I hope this helps! Click Here to return to the search form.
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