What is Zinc atom?

     

Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30.  Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a blue-silvery appearance when oxidation is removed.  It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table.  In some respects, Zinc is chemically similar to magnesium; both elements exhibit only one normal oxidation sate(+2), and the Zn2+and Mg2+ ions are of similar size.  Zinc is the 24th most abundant element in Earth's crust and has five stable isotopes.  The most common zinc ore is sphalerite , a zinc sulfide mineral.  The largest workable lodes are in Australia, Asia, and the United States.  Zinc is refined by froth flotation of the ore, roasting and final extraction using electricity. 

     Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc in various proportions, was used as early as the third millennium BC in the Aegean, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kalmykia, Turkmenistan and Georgia and the second millennium BC in West Israel/Palestine.  Zinc metal was not produced on a large scale until the 12th century in India,  though it was known to the ancient Romans and Greeks.  The mines of Rajasthan have given definite evidence of zinc production going back to the 6th century BC.  To date, the oldest evidence of pure zinc comes from Zawar, in Rajasthan, as early as the 9th century AD when a distillation process was employed to make pure zinc.  Alchemists burned zinc in air to form what they called "Philosopher's wool" or "white snow".

     Zinc is an essential mineral, including to prenatal and postnatal development.  Zinc deficiency affects about two billion people in the developing world and is associated with many diseases.  In children, deficiency causes growth retardation, delayed sexual maturation, infection susceptibilty, and diarrhea.  Enzymes with a zinc atom in the reactive center are widespread in biochemistry, such as alcohol dehydrogenase in humans.  Consumption of excess zinc may cause ataxia, lethargy and copper deficiency.