Specific weight of cobalt, its properties, applications, value table

Cobalt is an element of the eighth group of the secondary subgroup of the periodic table of chemical elements. Cobalt in its simple form is a slightly yellowish-white metal with a silvery shade and a bluish or pinkish tint. This material exists in two modifications: cobalt with a close-packed hexagonal lattice and cobalt with a face-centered cubic lattice. The transition temperature between these two modifications is 427 °C.

Cobalt is most often extracted from nickel ores, which are treated with solutions of ammonia and sulfuric acid. Processing methods used in pyrometallurgy are also possible; they involve the use of cobalt chloride or ordinary chlorine.

Table of cobalt specific weight

Since cobalt is a complex material, it is not possible to calculate its specific weight independently in field conditions. These calculations are carried out in specialized chemical laboratories. However, the average specific weight of cobalt is known and is equal to 8.9 g/cm³.

To simplify calculations, below is a table with the values of such parameters as the weight of cobalt and its specific weight depending on units of measurement.

Properties of cobalt

Cobalt belongs to hard-type metals. As mentioned earlier, cobalt has two modifications depending on temperature. Up to 427 °C, cobalt with a close-packed hexagonal lattice is stable, and at temperatures from 427 to 1494 °C, cobalt with a face-centered cubic lattice is stable. This type of metal belongs to ferromagnets; the Curie point is 1121 °C. The yellowish shade of cobalt is caused by a thin layer of oxides.

This element oxidizes in air at temperatures above 300 °C. It reacts well with halogens and fluorine when heated. When interacting with sulfur, two different modifications are formed: an alpha form of gray color with a silvery shade and a beta form of black color. It forms complex compounds with other oxidizing elements such as phosphorus, selenium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, and silicon.

Cobalt is capable of dissolving hydrogen without forming any compounds.

Applications of cobalt

Thanks to various types of cobalt compounds, it is widely used in different fields. The main areas include:

• Manufacturing of processing-type tools with the use of cobalt to increase heat resistance and improve mechanical properties
• Manufacturing of magnetic recording equipment, transformer cores, and electric motors with the use of cobalt due to its magnetic properties
• Creation of permanent magnets, where cobalt is used in a proportion of about 50 percent
• Use as a chemical catalyst
• Production of lithium batteries, where cobalt is used as a high-efficiency positive electrode
• Production of thermogenerators with a high efficiency factor
• Use of cobalt-60 as a radioactive source in medicine, sterilization and industrial gamma radiography; its half-life is about 5.27 years