Of the many elements, ‘magnesium’ is the one that sounds familiar. But do you actually know how it is used in society?

This article introduces the properties and characteristics of magnesium and its uses in society. Let’s look together at the ‘magnesium battery’, which is particularly packed with the latest technology and is likely to be a stepping stone to solving environmental problems!

Properties and characteristics of Magnesium

Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element on earth.

It is a metal, but can actually be taken from seawater as well as ores. The oceans account for about 71% of the Earth’s total, so magnesium is a very abundant and hard-to-deplete element.

It is a very light material for a utility metal, about a quarter the weight of steel. It is one third lighter than aluminum. This lightness is used for a variety of applications in society. I will show you the applications in society under the following headings.

By its nature, it burns with an intense light when set on fire. There are many opportunities to observe this in chemistry classes.

How Magnesium is used in society

Magnesium is used as an ingredient in ‘magnesium batteries’, ‘camera products’ and ‘anti-slip’. Let’s take a look at each of these.

Magnesium is useful for “magnesium battery”

This is the latest item under study. One type of fuel cell that extracts electricity through an electrochemical reaction, and is being developed to replace petroleum as an energy source.

Specific applications include magnesium fuel cell vehicles and extending the flight time of drones in a wide range of fields.

As I mentioned at the beginning, magnesium can be taken from seawater, so this is a dream battery that can also help improve environmental issues.

Magnesium is useful for “Camera products”

They are also used for camera tripods, taking advantage of their lightness and durability. Aluminum is also familiar to camera products, as some camera bodies are made of a combination of magnesium alloy and resin, and carrying cases are made of aluminum.

As an aside, magnesium burns with intense light and was used in the past as a strobe. (Nowadays strobes are digital, of course.)

Magnesium is useful for “non-slip powder.”

There is a white powder that baseball players and bolters put on their hands. That anti-slip material is actually magnesium carbonate powder.

For another, chalk for writing on blackboards is also made from calcium carbonate.

History of Magnesium

Chemical symbol: Mg
English name: Magnesium

The word magnesium is taken from the name of a place in northern Greece, Magnesia. As for the discovery, it was made by the British chemist ‘Davey’, who discovered ‘sodium’ and other substances.

Summary

In this article, we have explained ‘magnesium’. The key points of this article are as follows.

• Elements that are very light and strong metals and can be taken from seawater.
• Used in ‘magnesium batteries’, ‘camera products’, ‘anti-slip’, etc.
• Etymology taken from the place name ‘Magnesia’.

The other elements studied in high school are summarized in the following articles.

Please see also the following pages for a further understanding!