Find Some Fluorine Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gas

Pure fluorine is indeed a gas, as most non-metallic elements are. It appears as a yellow to yellow-pale green gas. Solid fluorine exists at temperatures below -220 °C and liquid fluorine evaporates at -188 °C.

Pure fluorine is highly toxic and reacts violently. That's why most uses are of compounds with fluorine.

Answer: Flowing

The name fluorine is derived from the Latin "fluens" which means flowing. The reason is from one of the first uses of the fluorite ore (CaF2), which was used in metal ores to lower the melting point.

Neon is named after the Greek word for "new". Chlorine is named after the Greek for its colour, "pale green". Bromine was named after the Greek word for "stench" or "stinking", as this is one of the defining characteristics of this liquid.

Answer: Refining aluminium

Cryolite has the chemical formula Na3AlF6. It was discovered in 1798 in Greenland. The name is Greek for "frozen stone". One of the main uses was in the refining of bauxite (aluminium ore) to pure aluminium. Bauxite contains aluminium oxides, and the oxygen has to be removed before obtaining pure aluminium. Before the discovery of cryolite, this process involved heating to more than 2000 °C, but placing the bauxite in molten cryolite lowers the needed temperature to less than 1000 °C. As cryolite is almost depleted, the same technique is now used with synthetic compounds of sodium, aluminium and fluorine.

Fluorite has the chemical formula Ca2F and fluorapatite has the chemical formula Ca5(PO4)3F. So both common forms of fluorine sources contain calcium, and the fluorapatite also contains phosphorous and oxygen.

Smoke detectors use americium to signal a significant difference in ionization.
One of the early anaesthetics was diethyl ether, with the chemical formula (C2H5)2O. Ether has been replaced with other anaesthetic agents because it is quite flammable. Cleaning agents are very diverse. One of the earliest chemicals used for cleaning is bleach (chemical formula NaClO), which is still widely in use. The brand name for bleach is eau de javel.

Answer: China

In 2008, China was responsible for over half of the annual production of fluorite, the main ore for the production of fluorine. Second came Mexico, followed by South Africa. Production in Turkey, Pakistan and Vietnam was only marginal.

Answer: Neon

Bismuth pentafluoride (BiF5) is a white polymer extensively studied by scientists, but of no practical value (as yet). Uraniumhexafluoride (UF6) is used to enrich uranium as fuel for nuclear reactors. Rhenium heptafluoride (ReF7) is a stable molecule with seven fluorine atoms at standard temperature and pressure. Iodine heptafluoride (IF7) dissolves at extreme low temperature (-271,5 °C).

Neon is one of the six noble gases, and thus reacts very rarely. And yet xenon hexafluoroplatinate (XePtF6) and krypton difluoride (KrF2) have been isolated. Radon difluoride forms at temperatures exceeding 400 °C. Argon fluorohydride (HArF) can be obtained at extreme temperature and pressure, and even helium fluorohydride (HHeF) has appeared for some milliseconds. But no molecule with neon and fluorine has been discovered.

Answer: It destroys the ozone layer

In the early 1930s a team of scientists sought a cheap, non-flammable, non-toxic liquid that could be used as a refrigerant. They came up with various chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), such as the aforesaid dichlorofluoromethane. All these were marketed as Freon followed by a number, in which the number refers to the specific chemical formula.

The problem with the different Freon compounds is that they destroy the ozone layer, which protects earth from most of the dangerous UV radiation. That's why several states in the USA have banned the CFCs and imposed the use of hydrofluorocarbons (molecules with hydrogen, fluorine and carbon) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (molecules which combine hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine and carbon).

Answer: It repels stains

Surfactants are surface-active agents, molecules that combine a hydrophobic (water repellent) tail and a hydrophilic (water absorbing) head. They have the property of lowering the surface tension between two different substances, which enhances the separation of (for instance) water and fat.

As such, the fluorinated surfactants contribute to repelling fatty stains. The company 3M used PFOS for its product Scotchgard, a water repellent coating on fabric, furniture and rugs. PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonate, with the chemical formula C8HF17O3S) was invented by two scientists working for 3M and extensively used, until scientific studies uncovered the dangers. PFOS is almost non degradable, so a continuous exposure in very low concentrations can gradually build up to dangerous levels. Since 2003 the company is gradually replacing PFOS by other chemicals with similar effects.

To diminish wrinkles in clothing, most housewives recommend starch (C6H10O5). To make something explode violently, you could use, for instance, trinitrotoluene (TNT) with the chemical formula C7H5N3O6. To brighten colours, you need dye - for example the synthetic dye mauveine (C27H25N4) for deep purple. None of these contain fluorine.

Answer: Teflon

Polyfluoroethylene is officially abbreviated to PTFE and has the chemical formula (C2F4)n, where n can be any whole number greater than zero. So there are many variants of PTFE. Chemours has registered the brand name Teflon for PTFE.
The characteristics of PTFE are a melting point of 327 °C (so much more than used in cooking), a very low friction coefficient and a high resistance against chemical corrosion. All these make a Teflon coated frying pan very handy in removing its contents. It would, for instance, be possible to cook some eggs in a Teflon coated pan without oil or butter, and yet remove the fried eggs without trouble. (I've never tried if this statement used in some ads is true, and player GoodwinPD stated that it would be hardly possible).

Out of the kitchen, another characteristic of PTFE that comes in handy is that it is quite good at isolating electrical currents. Other non-kitchen applications for PTFE are fittings in piping (especially when the pipes can transport corrosive materials) or insulation of electric wiring.

Answer: Atorvastatin

Atorvastatin (C33H35FN2O5) was patented by Warner-Lambert (in 2000 absorbed by Pfizer) and was sold under the brand name Lipitor. During the 25 years that Lipitor was protected by its patent, it was the best selling drug at that time: it even contributed to over a quarter of Pfizer's annual revenue, while Pfizer was one of the five largest pharma companies worldwide. Atorvastatin was used to combat hypercholesterolemia (too high cholesterol levels in the blood) and hyperlipidemia (too much fat in the blood). In 2011 the patent on Lipitor expired, and so there are generic drugs with similar applications.

Fluticasone (C22H27F3O4S) is used to treat nasal troubles, and is one of the main components of an anti-asthmatic drug.

Fludrocortisone (C23H31FO6) is a corticoid, used to treat adrenal insufficiency (the condition in which the pancreas does not produce enough steroid hormones, including cortisone).

Levofloxacin (C18H20FN3O4) is one of several fluoroquinolones, broad-spectrum antibiotics. It is used to fight bacterial infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections.

Answer: To prevent tooth decay

Water fluoridation is the addition of sodium fluoride (NaF), fluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6) or sodium fluorosilicate (Na2SiF6) to reservoirs of drinking water. It is a cheap procedure which has been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of tooth decay. That is also the reason why fluorine compounds have been added to many toothpastes.

Water fluoridation does not affect the appearance, the smell or the taste of the water. Light emitting water (as one of the red herrings tries to suggest) is utter nonsense.

Why would anyone feel the need to demagnetize drinking water? Water is not known for having any magnetism.