[CHEMISTRY | Week #3] Chemical Bonding

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Element of the Week: Bismuth



I chose to bismuth as my element of the week because of its strange properties (and how cool it looks! 😍).  It is the heaviest, non-radioactive metal on the periodic table. Bismuth is also diamagnetic, meaning you can place a magnet between two pieces of bismuth and it will levitate.  Bismuth, specifically bismuth oxychloride is commonly found in cosmetics because of it is a cheap filler for products, adheres to the skin well and provides make-up powders with a pearlescent, shimmer. The FDA added bismuth as a color agent in 1977 for use as an synthetic ingredient. There isn't much data yet, but some people argue that bismuth may be toxic because it shares similar chemical compounds to arsenic.  Many make-up companies are now manufacturing products without bismuth oxychloride. 


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