Explanation:
In 1811 the French chemist Bernard Courtois obtained a violet vapour by heating seaweed ashes with sulfuric acid as a by-product of the manufacture of saltpetre. This vapour condensed to a black crystalline substance, which he called “substance X.” In 1813 British chemist Sir Humphry Davy, who was passing through Paris on his way to Italy, recognized substance X as an element analogous to chlorine; he suggested the name iodine from the Greek word ioeides, “violet coloured.”
Periodic table of the elements. Left column indicates the subshells that are being filled as atomic number Z increases. The body of the table shows element symbols and Z. analysis and measurement
BRITANNICA QUIZ
Periodic Table of the Elements
Test your bond with the periodic table of elements in this quiz on all 118 chemical elements and their symbols. You may be familiar with the chemical symbols for hydrogen and oxygen, but can you match such lower-profile elements as gadolinium and erbium with their corresponding symbols?
Occurrence and distribution
Iodine is never found in nature uncombined, and it is not concentrated sufficiently to form independent minerals. It is present in seawater, but sparingly, as the iodide ion, I−, to the extent of approximately 50 mg per metric ton (0.0016 ounce per ton) of seawater. It is also formed in seaweeds, oysters, and cod livers. Sodium iodate (NaIO3) is contained in crude Chile saltpetre (sodium nitrate, NaNO3). The human body contains iodine in the compound thyroxine, which is produced in the thyroid gland.
The only naturally occurring isotope of iodine is stable iodine-127. An exceptionally useful radioactive isotope is iodine-131, which has a half-life of eight days. It is employed in medicine to monitor thyroid gland functioning, to treat goitre and thyroid cancer, and to locate tumours of the brain and of the liver. It is also used in investigations to trace the course of compounds in metabolism. Several iodine compounds are used as contrast mediums in diagnostic radiology. In aqueous solution even minute amounts of iodine in the presence of starch produce a blue-black colour
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