Talk:Potassium

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Template:Chemical Element

changeover to WP Elements

Article changed over to Wikipedia:WikiProject Elements format by User:maveric149. Elementbox converted 11:57, 1 July 2005 by Femto (previous revision was that of 23:29, 26 June 2005).

Uses

Can we have more information about what potassium is used for on its own, rather than just what it is useful for when combined with other elements please? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.5.177.222 (talk) 19:04, 31 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Information Sources

Some of the text in this entry was rewritten from Los Alamos National Laboratory - Potassium. Additional text was taken directly from USGS Periodic Table - Potassium. Other information was obtained from the sources listed on the main page but was reformatted and converted into SI units.

Decomposes

Similar to other alkali metals potassium decomposes in water…'

This is hard to grok—exactly what does it mean for an element to decompose?
—Herbee 23:44, 2004 Apr 1 (UTC)

Water decomposes violently when an alkali metal is in it.

But water is not an "element", unless you are still living in the days of alchemy! It is the water that "decomposes" or breaks down into its constituent elements, not the Potassium, which forms a compound (not the same as "decomposing"). 70.106.60.44 03:33, 29 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Self-combustion

Yaelle Chovav Rosner said: ...regarding ‘self combustion' - it happened to people! It was reported on TV /a documentary 'Unsolved mysteries'...

I think/assume these people might have had too high levels of ALKALI METAL in their body. That substance reacted violently with the body cell/water to produce HYDROGEN then spontaneously caught fire (as it suppose to do around water/blood). Another hint that helped me 'solve' the mysterry: the salts emitted the purple color found on the bodies after the fire died.

Can anyone explain the cause of 'self combustion'?(remember, these people were heavy smokers)

—ya-elle 23:44, 2005 Apr 1 (SD)

ya, they either fell asleep or died; there was a fire in a closed room which caused the combustion process to stop. Sorry, no aliens were involved. Scot.parker 13:43, 22 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Punctuation

Hyphens used as dashes have been turned into proper dashes. — Chameleon 16:12, 23 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

First, American spelling is the standard on element articles. Second, by changing this article, you make it inconsistent with the other element articles.

Darrien 16:30, 2004 May 23 (UTC)

You want spelling consistent across series of articles, now, eh? Next you'll be extending this series to the whole of Wikipedia. The world and the Internet is Coca-Colonized enough as it is without your little crusade for Webster spellings. In any case, the Americanism I corrected en passant is not the issue. The issue is that there are all sorts of punctuation around Wikipedia, and I correct all pages I come across. You should too. If the other element pages are different, we need to change them too, but I haven't got time to do them all today.

The fact there is no dash key on common keyboards is no excuse for sloppy punctuation. Chameleon 16:56, 23 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Are you trying to wind me up or something? You are a vandal undoing useful proofreading work. Chameleon 17:06, 23 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

etymology of the name

Why is it called potassium in English when the Latin name is so different? --Joy [shallot] 01:33, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Thanks to the anonymous user who filled in the blank there. --Joy [shallot]

Where exactly did Kalium come from, anyway? It's not a native Latin word (Classical Latin uses no k letter). It must have been either borrowed from Greek or named so in much later times. - 81.15.146.91 14:03, 17 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I believe kalium comes from the Arabic al'Qali (also the origin of alkali). The Arabic word refers to the ashes of certain plants that were mostly potassium carbonate.

Agreed, it derives from an Arabic word, but there is actually one natively Latin word with k. It would also be interesting who dropped this mere incorrect statement here. 80.129.168.51 23:34, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You cook your vittles in a 'pot' over an open fire. There is wood 'ash'. Hence the word(s) pot-ash from where potassium was first isolated. It is very common to have an English name and a Latin name when naming things in science (like flowers). In this case the English-derived word became the common-usage term but the Latin symbol, 'K' was retained. Kalium the is mediaval Latin word for pot-ash which may have come from Arabic as described above (qali -> kalium).

Potassium in Diet

There was a recent change to the page indicating that bananas are actually low in Potassium. I can find no evidence to this, and much evidence to the contrary, including pages that claim to indicate the measured quantities of potassium in bananas. Should this be reverted? http://www.weightlossforall.com/potassium-rich-food.htm http://nhnh.essortment.com/potassiumfoodh_rkyn.htm http://www.healthyeatingclub.com/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data5b.html http://www.healthtouch.com/bin/EContent_HT/cnoteShowLfts.asp?fname=02023&title=POTASSIUM+CONTENT+OF+FOODS+LIST+&cid=HTHLTH

Are there any risks in ingesting too much potassium? If so, how serious, and what levels constitute an unhealthy amount? Maybe answers could be useful to this part of the article. Peoplesunionpro 13:26, July 25, 2005 (UTC)

Ingesting potassium salts should be only somewhat more dangerous than eating sodium salts. For example, the LD₅₀ for potassium chloride is measured in grams per kilogram body mass by this route, though it seems at least one person has been killed by ingesting just 20 mg/kg. [1] Potassium chloride is much more dangerous when injected (given intravenously, the LD₅₀ is an order of magnitude lower), which makes it effective for lethal injection. There are, on the other hand, some circumstances by which dietary potassium could accumulate in the body (causing hyperkalemia), such as if one takes potassium-sparing diuretics.

I'm pretty sure one could technically chew and swallow pure potassium metal, but that would cause serious burns and hurt terribly. ‣ᓛᖁ

ᑐ 18:00, 14 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Potassium is important for regulating the heartbeat (it may 'cure' heart palpatations, for example). Too much sodium will give you high blood pressure but too much potassium will stop your heart, the intravaneous lethal dose being less than the oral dose.

The section regarding dietary intake of K is confusing. Adequate intake is virtually guaranteed with a balanced diet, yet populations in the US Germany and Italy consume too little K? This should be clarified. Also, in what way does glucose cause hyperkalemia? I would assume through differential renal filtration and reabsorption of glu and K, but this section should be explained a little more thoroughly. 68.227.185.210 (talk) 08:31, 8 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Detonate on Opening?

What is this sillyness about "shock-sensitive peroxides"? Can i get a source on that, or is it vandalism?

Silly me, forgot to sign my post -qnaal 04:57, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Oh yeah, it's in the "Precautions" section, at the bottom. -qnaal 04:59, 7 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a reference, which I got from google. I'm still looking for any reports of anybody actually injured by an explosion from opening an old container of peroxidized K metal. Is this a theoretical danger, or one that really has bitten real chemists?? If the latter, it ought to be more widely known! Here's the ref: [2] S B H arris 21:21, 11 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

[3] (mostly german) covers some recent incidents. -ml 28 January 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.206.120.167 (talk) 19:15, 28 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Stupid Name

dont you think that potasium as name for a element with then signature Na is kinda stupid? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.100.13.232 (talk)

Yeah, especially since potassium's symbol is "K" rather than "Na". Perhaps you meant to post this on Talk:Sodium? Not that I would recommend it. Bryan 21:29, 29 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Production of Metal

The article states that "thermal methods" are used to prepare potassium. Is this referring to the reduction of molten potassium chloride with sodium vapor? If so, it should be more specific.

Potassium burning in air or oxygen

When potassium burns in air the oxide and peroxide are formed. In pure oxygen the superoxide is formed.

Scot.parker 22:14, 21 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Kazakhstan??

What is the source of Kazakstan being number one exporter of potassium87.66.104.83 13:24, 17 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

XD, that was probably a joke. Seen Borat?

-- Mik 01:22, 19 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

potassium = Kalium (and Kalium is better)

Why do you english people always have to use your own names for calling things? Why don't you simply call this element Kalium, like it is officially called and international? I'm often to have the opinion, that english men (especially americans) are living behind the moon, so ignorant are they. That has only less to do with consistance of culture. But a much better example for that stupidness (sorry) is "X-Ray". Are they still so undiscovered or don't you simply want to accept, that Mr. Röntgen has noticed them first? Whatabout calling the element Nr. 111 "X-Rayium"?? *gggg* Everyone in the world assimilates to your language. Why don't you just do a little bit the same?? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 87.165.68.73 (talk) 23:06, 28 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Professor Roentgen named them X-rays, and we use the name to honor him. Look, what made you leave India for Germany? And why are you here complaining about English, instead of trying to learn German? This is a language which allows the world to communicate, and here you are using it to communicate, and complaining at the same time. Scram. S B H arris 00:55, 29 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Stop bagging EnglishEddy Dude 07:08, 31 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Until you find yourself able to speak the language properly, don't complain about how we name things. 204.10.220.4 (talk) 17:07, 17 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism

Can someone submit this for semi protection, I would love to, but I gotta go, and don't have tome t find the appropriate place and report it. Thanks, Omega Archdoom^Talk 15:53, 16 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

grades of potassium

I've found agricultural grade, pharmaceutical grade - are there others? thnx 99.224.220.52 (talk) 04:37, 14 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

All chemicals can be purchased in a number of "grades" - indicating purity and form (powder, pellets), etc. Each individual supplier would potentially name the grades that they sell differently, so I don't think this is sufficiently factual or notable to form part of the article. -- MightyWarrior (talk) 11:51, 14 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Agree. These things change from place to place and time to time, continuously. We don't want to keep track of it. S B H arris 01:00, 19 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Possible vandalism?

Are tomatoes actually good sources of potassium or was this edit just vandalism? – FISDOF 9 02:51, 17 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Melting Point of potassium

I think the page has a typo. Shouldn't it be 336.35 Kelvin instead of 336.53 Kelvin? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.138.140.172 (talk) 23:02, 26 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, I found several sources that say it melts at 336.8K. I'll change the article and add a ref. J.delanoy ^gabs _adds 23:08, 26 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Nevermind, just found one that says it's 336.53. J.delanoy ^gabs _adds 23:09, 26 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe it doesn't really matter? I've found lots of different references each haivng a different value so maybe these represent a type of measurement uncertainty. However, none of the references are a report of an actual measurement of the melting temperature. Additionally, the references don't reference where they found the melting temperature. Ref: {Alfa Aesar catalog (2008-2009). p2126 Pure Elements: Potassium} says 63.3ºC = 336.45 Kelvin. Ref: {B. Shirinzadeh and C. C. Wang, Applied Optics 22, pg3265 (1983)} claims 336.35 Kelvin. I suggest rounding to the nearest 0.1ºC since that is likely the measurement uncertainty. Best Ref I've found: {Douglas, T. B.; Ball, A. F.; Ginnings, D. C. & Davis, W. D., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 74, 2472-2478 (1952).} They measure the melting point of potassium and quote 63.22ºC = 336.37 Kelvin. However, it is unlikely that their thermocouple (E-type) had an absoulute accuracy to better than 0.05ºC. So I still feel this number should be rounded to the nearest 0.1ºC to account for measurement uncertainties. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.138.140.172 (talk) 21:28, 28 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The wikified reference for the triple point is Douglas, T.B. (1952). "Heat Capacity of Potassium and Three Potassium—Sodium Alloys between 0° and 800°, the Triple Point and Heat of Fusion of Potassium1" (PDF). Journal of the American Chemical Society. 74 (10): 2472–2478. Retrieved 2008-03-29. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) but adding it to the page appears to mess up the table. Anyone know how to integrate into the table without causing an error? Also, the triple point should include atmospheric pressure I believe, and the reference above doesn't have a second page appended meaning I can see what their final kpa figure was. WLU (talk) 11:19, 29 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can't have references inside of template definitions. This is a limitation of the wikimedia system. The choices are: a) make the triple point an argument of the potassium infobox template, b) use the generic element infobox template, or c) include the reference somewhere in the text of the article (that is outside of the template). Karl Hahn (T) (C) 16:57, 31 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The pressure at the triple point is indirectly quoted in {B. Shirinzadeh and C. C. Wang, Applied Optics 22, pg3265 (1983)} and is a little below 1E-6 torr.

Sloppy terminology

I think this page is a bit sloppy in terms of the terminology used.

I think editors should think hard whether they are referring to the element which is extremely reactive and the ion of potassium which is found some soaps.

For example the current page states that potassium was know to the Romans. To me I read this to mean that the Romans had isolated the reactive metal. I presume that is not what is meant!

I suspect the above comment will be true of all metal articles -- Quantockgoblin (talk) 23:30, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Taste in Biochemical function

In the Biochemical function section of the document, it states 'Potassium may be detected by taste because it triggers three of the five types of tastebuds'... as far as I know (and the wiki article Taste bud seems to agree) this is now understood to be an inaccurate concept of how tastebuds work; there are four distinct types of buds, but the actual taste reception is not differentiated across the different types of tastebuds. This should maybe be cleaned up? -- Krinberry (talk) 16:54, 24 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Also, as mentioned above, there is confusion between potassium and the potassium ion. Otherwise it is very easy to recognize potassium by taste because it nearly blows up when you put it on your tongue! (Don't try this at home...) --Itub (talk) 17:30, 24 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it should say "taste sensations", not "taste buds." As for the "sloppiness" of saying "potassium" when "potassium ion" is meant, that's true across all of chemistry and biology, where the distinction is understood in context. Referring to an element also refers to its chemical forms. It's the "Nitrogen cycle" for example, not the "nitrogen compound cycle". It's also "nitrogen balance" in nutrition, not "nitrogen compound balance". When somebody says "this guy is iron-deficient" it's considered pedantic to the point of silliness to say "you mean iron compound deficient." Defaults in language go to common things. In Texas they have "tea" and "hot tea", the default going to cold. In the UK they have "tea" and "ice tea." In Colorado they have skiing and "water-skiing." But in Texas it's skiing and "snow-skiing." Get used to it. S B H arris 00:43, 25 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Production Section Clarification

I haven't looked at any history, but I suspect that the following was either yanked from somewhere else out of context, or was a rather incomplete (and not-so-neat) attempt to add helpful info:

Pure potassium metal can be isolated by electrolysis of its hydroxide in a process that has changed little since Davy.[1] Thermal methods also are employed in potassium production, using potassium chloride Humphrey Davies extracted this metal in 1807 along with sodium.

Firstly, since "Davy" has not been discussed before, one wonders if it is a person, event, or tradition. You have to click on the link to find out who it is, so the text needs to have some context added.

Also, it's inconsistent, because the second sentence refers to the man as "Davies," and lacks a wiki link.

I like to help, but don't like to step on toes. Perhaps someone with more ownership of this article would like to help add more context and consistency here? Pammalamma (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 04:21, 22 September 2008 (UTC).[reply]

Polar Bears

This seems like a bad place to ask this, and I'm sorry for that. But it's not addessed and I'd like to know.... the old schoolyard rumor about a polar bear liver having "enough potassium to kill you", is it true? Murdersaurusrex (talk) 17:10, 17 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]