Lead is a unique metal that has a lot of positive and negative properties. Over many years, people have learned to take advantage not only of harm, but also of the physical and chemical properties of this substance. Now a chemical element such as lead is located in the periodic table at number 82, denoted as Pb and is called "plumbum". It is gray in color, lead density - 11.34g / cm3, is one of the softest metals. But do not confuse these two scientific concepts. The density of lead in other words is its specific gravity per unit volume, and softness is determined by the structure of the crystal lattice. Lead is soft only in its pure form, but if it is subjected to heat treatment at certain temperature conditions, it can become quite strong metal.
The origin of the name "lead" is very controversial, in many languages it sounds like "tin" and not surprising, because lead looks like tin, which was discovered much later and left its current name behind it, but the substance in question changed its name. These two metals are quite similar to each other not only visually, but also in some properties, although the density of lead is much higher than the density of tin.
People learned about lead itself and its properties for more than 7 thousand years BC and most likely it happened by accident, since this metal has a low melting point of -327 C. A case is known when, due to a forest fire, by chance, under the ash of trees lead ingots were discovered. Thus, they discovered a rich deposit of this metal in America. Smelting of lead was the first of the known metallurgical processes, which entailed the manufacture of many items. For example, in Ancient Rome, dishes were made from lead, added to cosmetics, even plumbing was made from this metal, which was facilitated by the high density of lead and the ability to withstand the negative effects of the environment. People then did not know that all soluble compounds of this metal are very toxic.
Subsequently, some people used lead in the process of torture and finally invented one of the most deadly weapons - a bullet. Of course, with the help of lead a lot of harm was done in the old days, but the metal itself had nothing to do with it, people were to blame. Now, in our progressive age, we have learned how to take a lot of benefit from the properties of lead, since its relative density plays an important role in some places. About a third of the total production of this substance goes to the manufacture of conventional batteries for automobiles. Also, this metal is used in the fuel industry, added to gasoline to improve its qualities. Since we have a century of transport collapse, and almost everyone has a car, the use and then evaporation of lead with gasoline vapors into the atmosphere causes enormous damage to the environment. If we take into account the evaporation of asphalt during the hot season, when the density of bitumen decreases with increasing temperature, then we may face an environmental disaster. But man is to blame for this himself!
Just think about it, over a year more than 50 thousand tons of lead vapor are released into the atmosphere. It is also used for the ceramic industry in the production of crystal, and who has not heard of lead white? This substance is in many colors, which, in particular, are used to write icons. Over time, people have learned not only to protect themselves from this metal, but also to protect with it. For example, they learned how to make painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs from a specific composition. And one of the useful properties of this metal is its “opacity” for X-rays and radioactive rays, which is used in the equipment of X-ray rooms and in the nuclear industry.
In conclusion, we can say that any chemical element has both positive and negative properties, but only a person decides which ones to use, and it is good if he uses his knowledge for the benefit of all of us!