35 facts about Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals it occurs naturally only in combination with other elements and it almost always has an oxidation state of +2.

Symbol: Mg
Atomic mass: 24.305 u
Atomic number: 12
Electronegativity: 1.31
Electron configuration: [Ne] 3s2
Density: 1.738 g/cm³
Discoverers: Humphry Davy, Joseph Black

List of facts

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg

Magnesium has the atomic number 12
The name magnesium originates from the Greek word for locations related to the tribe of the Magnetes, either a district in Thessaly called Magnesia or Magnesia ad Sipylum, now in Turkey.
It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity
Like the other alkaline earth metals it occurs naturally only in combination with other elements
Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust
Magnesium is the fourth most common element in the Earth
Magnesium makes up 13% of the planet’s mass and a large fraction of the planet’s mantle.
It is the third most abundant element dissolved in seawater, after sodium and chlorine
This element is the eleventh most abundant element by mass in the human body and is essential to all cells and some 300 enzyme
Elemental magnesium is a gray-white lightweight metal, two-thirds the density of aluminium
Magnesium has the lowest melting 650 °C and the lowest boiling point 1,090 °C of all the alkaline earth metals
Milk of Magnesia, which works as a laxative and to treat indigestion, is a compound of magnesium, hydrogen and oxygen molecules
Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate
Magnesium is produced by large stars when they combine helium and neon.
It is found in large deposits of magnesite, dolomite, and other minerals, and in mineral waters, where magnesium ion is soluble.
Although magnesium is found in more than 60 minerals, only dolomite, magnesite, brucite, carnallite, talc, and olivine are of commercial importance.
China controls eighty percent of the world’s magnesium production.
Magnesium is the third-most-commonly-used structural metal, following iron and aluminium
World production was approximately 1,100 kt in 2017, with the bulk being produced in China (930 kt) and Russia (60 kt)
The metal itself was first isolated by Sir Humphry Davy in England in 1808.
Spices, nuts, cereals, cocoa and vegetables are rich sources of magnesium.
Green leafy vegetables such as spinach are also rich in magnesium.[64]
Beverages rich in magnesium are coffee, tea, and cocoa
In the UK, the recommended daily values for magnesium are 300 mg for men and 270 mg for women
In the U.S. the Recommended Dietary Allowances are 400 mg for men ages 19–30 and 420 mg for older; for women 310 mg for ages 19–30 and 320 mg for older
An adult body has 22–26 grams of magnesium
Plants require magnesium to synthesize chlorophyll, essential for photosynthesis.
Magnesium borate, magnesium salicylate, and magnesium sulfate are used as antiseptics.
Magnesium hydroxide, suspended in water, is used in milk of magnesia antacids and laxatives.
Magnesium has three stable isotopes: 24Mg, 25Mg and 26Mg
About 79 percent of Mg is 24Mg.
25Mg has 10 percent natural abundance and 26Mg has 11 percent natural abundance
In the body, 60% is found in the skeleton, 39% is found in the muscle cells, and 1% extracellular.
Of the intracellular magnesium, twenty percent of that amount is found in the skeletal muscle cells.

Properties of Magnesium