112 Interesting Facts About Potassium You Should Know About

Potassium is an essential electrolyte that is necessary for our normal body functioning.

Potassium is the 19th element (atomic number 19) in the modern periodic table. It is also the second-most lightest metal on the periodic table and can be easily cut with a knife.

The name of the element, potassium, comes from the word 'potash', originally meaning an initial process of extraction of potassium compounds from a solution of water and a pot of ash of burned wood or tree leaves. Potassium's symbol K comes from 'Kalium', the Latin name of the element as used in Germany and Scandinavia.

In 1807, Cornish chemist Humphry Davy isolated potassium for the very first time at the Royal Institution, London.

He ran an electric current through some potassium carbonate, commonly known as wet potash, and found that something metallic with bright colors had collected at the negatively charged electrode.

The voltage of the current actually broke the bonds of potassium hydroxide and helped isolate potassium ions for the very first time. He later discovered sodium with the help of this electrolysis experiment too.

If you like this article on potassium and want to know more about science and environmental topics, then do read other articles on facts about plastic and three magnetic metals.

Fun Facts About Potassium

Potassium was the first metal that was isolated by electrolysis. In his biography, 'Memoirs of the Life of Sir Humphry Davy', Humphry Davy's lab assistant, John Davy, said that the scientist was ecstatic with glee when he discovered a new element for the first time, and actually danced around the room.

Potassium is a very important mineral that sustains our life because all living cells need it. Our body does not produce potassium naturally, so we have to get it from our diet. Potassium helps in maintaining the fluid balance of electrolytes in the cells.

This mineral can be found in foods like fruits, greens, and dairy products. The best sources of potassium are fruits like bananas and vegetables like potatoes.

Potassium has a very low density, and as a result, it can float on oil. After discovering potassium, Humphry Davy did some experiments with it.

For example, he put a small amount of potassium in water and noticed that it reacted instantaneously with water and produced a bright purple flame.

The reaction occurs because the mixture of potassium and water create potassium hydroxide (KOH) and hydrogen gas (H2) as well as some excess heat due to the sudden reaction. As that heat ignites the hydrogen gas, it starts to burn bright purple, which is quite discernable with the naked eye.

Scientific Facts About Potassium

Potassium is a highly reactive metal. As a result, potassium compounds are almost never found in isolation in nature, although potassium is the seventh most abundant element on Earth. Potassium atoms often form abundant isotopes with other compounds in nature, which are less reactive in nature.

Potassium is a shiny silver metal in its pure form, but when it oxidizes, it changes to a very dull graphite color. The most common isotopes of potassium are K-39 (it is the most abundant isotope of potassium, with an atomic weight of 38.96), K-40, and K-41.

An isotope is a member of a family of an element that has different numbers of neutrons, but the same number of protons.

Let's learn come scientific potassium facts.

Its element symbol is K, its classification is alkali metal, its color is silvery-gray, its atomic number is 19, its atomic weight is 39.0983, its atomic radius is 243 pm, its atomic mass is 39.098, it occurs in a solid state at room temperature, it has a melting point of 336.5 K or 146.1 F (63.4 C) and a boiling point of 1038.7 K or 1410 F (765.6 C).

The number of protons in this atom is 19, the number of electrons is 19, and the number of neutrons is 20.

Natural potassium has three isotopes.

Some of the most common uses of potassium are in the areas of manufacturing things like gunpowder, fertilizers, deodorant, textile, and leather.

Amazing Facts About Potassium

Caustic potash or potassium hydroxide (KOH) is an alkaline liquid prepared by electrolyzing an aqueous solution of potassium chloride (KCl). Caustic potash has wide industrial usage in sectors like fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, different potash salts, soaps, detergents, and food additives.

Potassium hydroxide or KOH is an odorless, white or slightly yellow in color, and flakey or lumpy solid substance that is often put in a water solution. It is mainly used in making soap, batteries, paint, and varnish removers and in electroplating. Liquid drain cleaners have up to 25-36% of potassium hydroxide in them.

The main use of potassium bromide (KBr) is in manufacturing antiepileptic drugs for dogs to control seizures that can not be controlled by phenobarbital medicines alone. The medication works by decreasing seizure activities within the central nervous systems of dogs.

KBr is not approved by the FDA in the USA for human use in controlling seizures, but in Germany, it can be used to treat humans.

Potassium nitrate or KNO3 is an oxidizer which is used in making gunpowder (black powder). It is also used in making fertilizers, rocket propellants and fireworks, and for manufacturing various medicines.

Potassium nitrate is also used in toothpaste designed for tooth sensitivity, and it helps by calming the nerves. However, if it is somehow inhaled or if it is used by children under six, it can lead to a number of respiratory problems and skin irritations.

Potassium superoxide or KO2 is another useful compound of potassium. It is used in various respiratory equipment as it helps in supplying oxygen and removing carbon dioxide and water vapor from it.

Facts About Potassium In Our Everyday Life

Potassium chloride (KCl) is one of the safer alternatives as compared to sodium chloride (NaCl), aka table salt. Potassium salts have been proven to help treat low blood pressure.

There have been studies on women with normal blood pressure. Among them, those who ate the most potassium were 21% less likely to have a stroke due to high blood pressure than those who ate the least. It is one of the more important medicines included on the 'World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines'.

Did you know that eating potassium-rich food regularly can lower your risk of kidney stones? However, over consuming it or going above the daily potassium intake limit can cause hyperkalemia.

Some common symptoms of hyperkalemia include heart palpitations, muscle weakness, muscle pain, and numbness of the body. It can also lead to an abnormal heart rate which can turn into cardiac arrest which can often lead to untimely death. Hyperkalemia can lead to kidney failure.

On the other hand, people whose daily intake of potassium is lower than the recommended limit can suffer from hypokalemia. Severe hypokalemia can be at times life-threatening. Some of the symptoms of hypokalemia include irregular heartbeat, fatigue, muscle cramps, and constipation. Potassium ionic salts can help in curing hypokalemia.

Which fruit has the most potassium?

Potassium is an important mineral that plays a vital role in the body. Some fruits that are high in potassium include bananas, apricots, honeydew melons, oranges, kiwis, grapefruits, guavas, and avocados.

However, the banana is the most potassium-rich fruit.

Apart from fruits, vegetables like artichokes, spinach, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, zucchini, pumpkins, parsnips, Swiss chard, beets, beet greens, and brussels sprouts also contain a healthy dose of potassium. Other foods with potassium include some fish like salmon, tuna, halibut, and cod; milk, raisin, prunes, and some legumes like soybeans and kidney beans.

0.12-0.16 oz (3.5–4.7 g) of potassium is the recommended dose for a healthy adult human body.

Potassium is an electrolyte, meaning when it dissolves into the water inside our body, it releases positively charged ions. This electrical conduction is very important in our bodies because it helps in transmitting information through the nervous system and maintaining a normal heart rhythm.

If your body does not get its required amount of potassium day after day, it will react by showing signs of muscle weakness, cramps, and cognitive problems like confusion in the brain. On the other hand, exceeding the recommended limit of daily potassium intake can prove fatal too.

More than six millimoles of potassium in 0.264 gal (1 l) of blood can prove to be life-threatening.

If that happens, you should take note to avoid potassium-rich foods at any cost. You can have some fruits and veggies with low amounts of potassium, such as blueberries, cabbage, cranberries, eggplant, raspberries, watermelon, onion, and pineapple.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 112 interesting facts about potassium you should know about then why not take a look at are magnets metal or characteristics of alkali metals.