Fearless seems to have an inexhaustible number of matches of
elements of the periodic table to Washington Capitals. What does he have for number 12?
Magnesium
When you go outside and look up into the trees on a spring
day, you can see the green shoots of leaves emerging after a tree’s long winter
slumber. The green color you see, as any
child learns in earth science class, is a product of “chlorophyll.” It is a complex molecule that is essential to
life on earth, allowing plants to absorb energy from light and convert it to
chemical energy (photosynthesis).
Chemically, it is a long-chain molecule with a “chlorin ring” at one
end. At the center of this chlorin ring
is a metal ion – Magnesium (strictly speaking Mg++), which binds to
nitrogen on either side of it.
Magnesium, at the heart of one of the most important
naturally occurring chemicals on earth, and it is born in the superheated
furnace of stars as the elements helium and neon are fused. However, it is not found naturally on earth
as a free element. It can be produced as
a free element, but in a process called “passivation,” it reacts in air to
produce a thin oxide coating that renders it “passive.” A good thing, too, because magnesium is an
extremely reactive element. It is one of
the reasons you will find it in flares (do not stare into the light).
It shares a history with manganese, it being named for a region of Greece called “Magnesia.”
Despite it being one of the lightest elements, it is a
workhorse, even among the metals. It is
often used as a component in aluminum alloys, in iron and steel production (to
remove sulfur), and in the production of titanium. It has been used in aircraft (although it had
a nasty habit of contributing to the ignition of engine crankcases in flight),
race cars (mainly to reduce weight while maintaining structural strength),
advanced consumer electronics (tablet devices, smart phones, cameras…again, for
light weight, structural strength), water heaters (where it gives itself up to
protect the vessel from corrosion), fertilizers, antacids, and laxatives. In addition to its role in photosynthesis, it
is present in the synthesis of chemicals involved in energy transfer, and it essential
to nucleic acid chemistry, the manufacture of DNA and RNA in the body.
Magnesium… a chemical one pays little attention to, but one
that is critical for the functioning of plant and animal organisms, one that
shares a history with another, similarly named chemical, one that is an unsung
workhorse among the elements. Sounds
like a guy who gets little attention but attends to the little things that help
make a hockey team go, a player who shares a history with a teammate who is the
Capital that most closely resembles that element with the similar history (the
players shared a championship in Hershey in 2009 and 2010), a workhorse who
plays the role of grinder and occasional pest.
Magnesium….the “Jay Beagle” of the elements of the periodic
table.