Why is pb 2?

Have you ever wondered why on earth pb is 2? What does it even mean? Is it a scientific term for something out-of-this-world, or perhaps just an inside joke among scientists that nobody else seems to get? Well, fear not my curious friend! We are about to delve deep into the world of chemistry, and uncover the mystery of why our beloved element Pb happens to be number 2.

A brief history lesson

Before we begin explaining why Pb is 2, let’s take a quick stroll through history. The element lead (Pb) has been known to humans since ancient times. The Romans frequently used lead in their daily lives – from piping water supplies to using it in cosmetics (yeah, I know – pretty scary stuff). In fact, one of the most famous artifacts made of lead is the Roman Colosseum.

It wasn’t until many centuries later that chemists began studying elements and assigning them numbers based on their properties. In 1789 Antoine Lavoisier became one of the first scientists to list elements according to their atomic weight. He assigned oxygen as being number one with hydrogen following at two; interestingly enough he had no way yet investigated these values but carried over by default from relative weights equivalents applied before transformation theory was developed clearer. Over time more accurate measurements were taken which led Jons Jakob Berzelius ten years later came up with a new system called atomism where each atom had its own unique position within this hierarchy giving rise what we now call “the periodic table”.

Enter Dmitri Mendeleev

It wasn’t until Dmitri Mendeleev came onto the scene in 1869 that things really started coming together regarding our understanding of chemical elements.

He realized that if he arranged all known elements according both by atomic weight — how heavy they were compared against each other — and by chemical similarity ie: how atoms reacted to form compounds, this pattern would repeat at regular intervals creating rows and columns just like a mountain range. His genius was that he left gaps for elements that had yet to be discovered ‘the missing links’ which meant the fertile ground became conceptual playground for predicting as-yet-unknown properties of these future discoveries: here is where we get our modern concept of “periodic element table”.

But why 2?

The atomic number represents how many protons are in an atom’s nucleus; it is the fundamental property describing each element. The question remains – how did Mendeleev come up with the numbers assigned to each element?

Flag down your science teacher from 10th grade if you want a more thorough answer, but basically in brief any atom can have different numbers of neutrons — electrically neutral particles found in the nucleus alongside protons — hence isotopes (for example carbon having molecular weights for its most common ’12 variant and slightly heavier though rare 13 version). This fact led naturally to defining an element’s atomic weight specifically in relation! As it so happened, because lead has two stable isotopes – Pb206(~85%) and Pb204 (~15%) – they were both considered when assigning atomic weight.

So when Mendeleev began ordering his newly devised list by increasing atomic weights, guess what number ended up coming after hydrogen (atomic number one)? Yep, you guessed it – good ol’ lead with two protons, earning itself symbolically… Pb2!

Wait…that doesn’t explain everything

Okay okay, I hear ya. Naming conventions aside – why exactly does Lead have two protons? Is there something extra special regarding this trait or were chemists simply lazy dogs on this matter?

Well unbeknownst to some who skim Wikipedia too quickly/LR Paywall-Habitue included/: PB actually belongs to a group pioneers called ‘heavy metals’ (no, not the guitar music type). Other members of this group include gold, silver and copper. Heavy metals are characterized by their high density which can be chalked up to a particularly large nucleus — or more specifically a large number of protons in said nucleus!

So think about it – our friend pb has 82 protons battling for position in that tiny little nucleus! That’s enough protons to throw one heck of a party but seriously speaking, any atom with that many subatomic particles jammed into such close quarters is sure to experience some unique effects.

Pb2: Some cool properties

  1. Super dense baby: As mentioned earlier due its heavy nature lead “weighs” significantly more than most other elements; over 11 times denser than water!
  2. Melting point is higher than butter.: While we’re at it let’s give credit where credit is due – Lead mightn’t have won bronze medal on ski-jumping team but it does melt at pretty darn high temperature ~327C (for comparison melting-point values vary from helium-272C to carbon-4210c)
  3. Poisonous? Yup….elements acting like Mama Bears often have down-side effects which unlucky late users may come across.

And there you have it ladies and gents – those are just some unbelievably astounding reasons why good ol’ pb should always be second best after hydrogen!

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