Fearless is down to 37 in his trek across the periodic table
of elements and its relationship to the Washington Capitals (really, has the
summer come to this??)…
Rubidium
Rubidium is the element in search of a role. Pity that.
As an alkali metal it oxidizes rapidly in air, is easily vaporized, and
is highly reactive. In nature, it occurs
as two isotopes. One, the stable one,
comprises about three-quarters of the substance found on the planet. The other, the radioactive one, has a
half-life of 49 billion years. To put
that in context, the European Space Agency’s “Planck” mission found that the
age of the universe is only 13.82 billion years. It is about as common in nature as Zinc.
But, poor Rubidium.
There is no known necessity for its use by any living organisms, even
though it resembles potassium – a critical element in the function of all
living cells. Not that it does not have
some uses, but they are generally of the infrequent type, such as laser
cooling, vapor turbines, or in atomic clocks.
The name “Rubidium” comes from the Latin word “rubidus,”
which means “dark red.” But, as if to
throw its meaning just a bit off kilter, its application in fireworks is to
give the sparkle a purple color. That
suggests a certain unpredictability, and it in fact it is usually kept sealed
in glass in an inert atmosphere or shielded with mineral oil to prevent its
spontaneous, even concussive reaction with air.
OK… As common as Zinc, behaves like Potassium, but it is an
element in search of a role. The more
energetic isotope has a half-life longer than the age of the universe…sort of
the iron man of elements, but the rarer instance of it. Its name means “dark red.” It suggests a player in search of a role,
who, if in his less common “iron man” state could be quite energetic. For now, though, there are not a lot of uses
for it.
A defenseman comes to mind here. One who might be a productive one on offense,
but the Caps have Mike Green and John Carlson to fill those roles. One who can be a timely defensive player (hip
checks being his signature, if infrequent, signature). He has spent a lot of time recently
hermetically sealed on the shelf with injuries.
And, since “Rubidium” starts with the letters, “Ru”…
Rubidium… the Russian defenseman “Dmitry Orlov” of the
periodic table.
