Sunday, October 17, 2010

Crisp Cobalt

As I have been working on my monogram for Cobalt I have started to use a typeface called Foundry Gridnik. It is built out of rectangles and portrays my element's metallic nature and atomic build more realistically.  Further research and planning for my monogram has included moving the lowercase o around. After working on this placement I moved onto trying to involve continuation.  My idea was to have it so that the viewers mind would connect the lines for itself.  

Some variations look like Cu as opposed to Co. 

I also built a electron cloud configuration for my image of Cobalt.

Cobalt was discovered in 1735 when a Swedish chemist was able to show that it was Cobalt that gave glass the blue color and not bismuth. The word cobalt comes format he German word for goblin and evidence of its use has been found in Egyptian, Persian, and Bronze Age cultures. Their use of the element included being ingredients in specialized paints, glass, glazes, and ceramics because of its deep rich blue color.  The use of cobalt has changed in recent times and its uses now include being ingredient in batteries, pigments, radioisotopes, nuclear weapons, and acting as catalysts.  Cobalt has still not been found in nature as a pure element and it is still obtained today as a by-product of nickel and copper mining. 

Cobalt is necessary for life in tiny amounts, but prolonged exposure shows that cobalt can act as a carcinogen and handling is strongly advised against. This element belongs to the transition metals group, which gives it high melting and boiling points. This element is hard, brittle, and has a lustrous gray appearance. Cobalt is also found to be stable in the air and water. Cobalt can be magnetized and is chemically active, which causes it to form many compounds.


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