|Atomic mass||35.5 amu|
|Date of discovery||1774|
|Name of discoverer||"Carl" Wilhelm Scheele|
|Name origin||"From" the Greek khlôros, refers to the color.|
|Uses||Chlorine is a common component of plastics and is a water purifier commonly used in swimming pools. It is also a bleach.|
|Obtained from||Electrolyzed brine|
Chlorine is in Group 7 of the periodic table, making it a halogen along with such elements as fluorine, bromine and iodine. It has an atomic number of 17. Like other halogens, it is reactive to most metals and is never found free in nature. It will always be found in a compound, and even after it effervesces from an electrolyzed solution, it will form a compound consisting of two chlorine atoms bonded together.
The primary use of chlorine is in the production of various plastics and artificial fibers, such as polyvinyl chloride. Chlorine is also used as a disinfectant for public water supplies and is an important component of several pharmaceuticals. Chlorine can also bond with an oxygen atom to form sodium hypocrite, which acts as a bleach.
|Periodic Table of the Elements|