Battle of the Elements

 by Harvey Xu

Over the few short years of my life studying chemistry, I have always been fascinated by the uniqueness of elements in the periodic table. Recently, there was a large surge on social media of viral videos that included edits of multiple different elements on the periodic table aiming to promote each one as the most important. Various back-and-forth discussions were streamlined across the internet as users combined and created edited videos of why one element should be crowned as the “best element of all time”.

It is not technically appropriate to say that one element is the "best" on the periodic table as each element has its own special qualities and these characteristics apply to its importance and value in various ways. However, some factors significantly affect how we live our lives and the role they play in the growth of contemporary industry and technology. 

Carbon is one such element. As Walter White once said, “Carbon is at the centre of it all. Everything that lives, lived, will live… Carbon”. It is the building block of all organic chemistry and a crucial component of the molecules that give rise to life on Earth. A large variety of stable molecules, including those containing hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, can be created by combining carbon with other elements. From everything we eat to the plastics we use and the fuel we burn, carbon makes up all of these compounds. Carbon is an essential element not only in organic chemistry but also in materials science. One form of carbon is graphite which is one of the thinnest and strongest materials ever known. It is used in applications such as electronics, energy and water purification playing an extremely important role in our society. 

You may or may not have come across the element francium. Being the most reactive metal on the entire periodic table, the characteristics of francium make it one of the most interesting to study and observe. Francium is a highly radioactive element that is extremely rare and challenging to produce in any meaningful quantity. It is the most volatile and unstable element due to having the lowest electronegativity and ionisation energy. Francium has no major practical uses due to its high amount of radioactivity and brief half-life of only 22 minutes. Studying francium's characteristics and potential applications is also tough due to the challenges involved in its properties and potential applications. Francium has been theorised to have some uses in nuclear physics research, but due to its scarcity, it is difficult to explore.

Another element to explore is oxygen. It is the most abundant element on planet earth making up over 23% of the atmosphere, 89% of all of earth's water and about 47% of the earth's mass. Often referred to as one of the most important elements of all time, it provides life to almost every living creature and its applications in critical infrastructure. Oxygen is used by animals and humans to break down nutrients such as sugar which then releases energy. Without this, living organisms would not be able to survive. Also formed with the help of oxygen is the ozone layer. A layer in the Earth's atmosphere that filters dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun and is the main line of aid in shielding the planet from the damaging impacts of UV radiation, including skin cancer and other illnesses.

In conclusion, it is difficult to say which element can be crowned at the top as a large section of the elements in the period table play a significant role in shaping the way we live and it would be difficult to live without just one of them. It is estimated that around 25 of the known elements are essential to life. The application and importance of these elements stretch on forever as others include helium, mercury, bromine, chlorine, and galium. As we continue to explore the mysteries of the natural world, the battle of elements will remain a fascinating and important area of study. We can continue to make new discoveries to improve our livelihood and understanding of the world around us.