Cd
Cadmium · element 48
Transition Metal · Solid at room temperature
Cadmium is a chemical element with symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it prefers oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds and like mercury it shows a low melting point compared to transition metals.
Key facts
Atomic mass
112.4144 u
how heavy one atom is
Phase (room temp.)
Solid
Density
8.65 g/cm³
how tightly packed it is
Melting point
594.22 K (321 °C)
when solid turns to liquid
Boiling point
1040 K (767 °C)
when liquid turns to gas
Period
5
its row in the periodic table
Group
12
its column in the periodic table
Block
D-block
the neighbourhood it lives in
Electronegativity
1.69
how strongly it pulls electrons
Electron configuration
[Kr] 4d10 5s2
where its electrons live
Shells
2 · 8 · 18 · 18 · 2
electrons in each layer, inside to out
Discovered by
Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann
who found it
Named by
Isotopes of cadmium
who gave it its name
Appearance
silvery bluish-gray metallic
what it looks like
Source: Wikipedia