Bromine
One of only five chemical elements which can be solid, liquid, or gaseous at temperatures and pressures commonly found at Earth's surface and at the same time, bromine readily combines with the arcane metals and so is seldom found in its pure state. Bromine is Greek for fragrant. Bromine lives with the Halogen family and is so safe that if you get it on your hands you have to rush to A and E.
Discovery[edit | edit source]
King Nordpukka of Denmark, a keen amateur chemist, first identified bromine in the residue of a double-chocolate bundt cake served to celebrate the Urticaria of Cardinal Fie. Nordpukka suspected the cake had extraordinary properties when Cardinal Fie took the first bite and exploded.
Ignoring the still-twitching bits of the Cardinal scattered about the floor, the quick-thinking monarch grabbed the bundt cake and ran to his laboratory in the solarium. There he dissolved the chocolate in aqua regia, filtered out the coconut flakes, and washed the residue in cognac. What remained was a brownish-red liquid which made soft squeaking noises when swirled.
King Nordpukka named the chemical after his wife, Queen Bromine Arsenica Phlegm, because she too made squeaking noises when agitated. The King knighted himself in recognition of his discovery.
Properties[edit | edit source]
Bromine is a reddish-brown liquid at room temperature. However, if heated slightly it evaporates into a paisley-patterned gas and if addressed sarcastically it cools and hardens into stubborn crystals. It is a member of the halitosis group, along with chlorine, iodine, LSD, and Morgan Freeman.
There are 13 protons, 12 neutrons, and 9 morons in the nucleus of each bromine atom. Of its 15 electrons 11 have tenure and the rest are independent contractors. These four loosely-bound electrons cause bromine's sensitivity to sarcasm and criticism.
The combination of of bromine and one of the arcane metals (palladin, mithril, gauguin, or precambrium) forms a cliché compound—a bromide.
Safety Information[edit | edit source]
The complete Material Safety Data Sheet is available here. (It is identical to peanut oil.)
Consumption of bromine causes projectile haemorrhaging in rats. It causes the kidneys of rhesus monkeys to liquefy, and makes their eyeballs fall out. However, these effects should not concern human consumers of Orca Cola®. Orca Cola Corporation reminds us that the response of lab animals is not always equivalent to that of humans.Therefore bromine is good for people with insomnia and/or people with a high sex drive like teenage boys. It was even used in the army to calm horny young males.
Liquid bromine taken orally also causes detonation of the teeth. Concentrations less than 10% by weight may not cause outright dental explosions, but may cause localized crumbling of the tongue and soft palate. First aid consists of running away from the victim as fast as possible.
Bromine does not catch fire except in a methane atmosphere, or in an atmosphere of pervasive suspicion. It is classified as a paranoid inflammable.
Uses[edit | edit source]
Brazil supplies most of the world's bromine. In Brazilian mines the most common bromine mineral—gauguin bromide—occurs in globular cysts scattered through strata of infected wheystone. Miners remove the nodules and suture the wheystone shut to prevent cave-ins. Once excavated the pure chemical is separated from the ore using the Dortmünder Process: conveyor belts carry crushed gauguin bromide past teenage Tahitian girls and the gauguin melts in excitement, leaving the bromine behind.
Bromine tastes much like Orca Cola, so much so that the company often uses it as a substitute when supplies of cocaine run low. Some people say that bromine is one of the most toxic and lethal of the elements, but they are liars and are probably working for Pepsi.
It should be noted that the deadly chocolate bundt cake which left Cardinal Fie's scalp plastered to the ceiling contained nearly 15% bromine by weight—five times the amount in Orca Cola. The delightful soda is therefore only fizzy, not explosive.
Make sure you memorize these for the test!
| 1H Hydrogen | 2He Helium | ||||||||||||||||
| 3Li Lithium | 4Be Beryllium | 5B Boron | 6C Carbon | 7N Nitrogen | 8O Oxygen | 9F Fluorine | 10Ne Neon | ||||||||||
| 11Na Sodium | 12 Mg Magnesium | 13Al Aluminum | 14 Si Silicon | 15 P Phosphorus | 16 S Sulfur | 17Cl Chlorine | 18Ar Argent | ||||||||||
| 19 K Potassium | 20 Ca Calcium | 21Sc Scandinavium | 22Ti Titanium | 23 V Vanadium | 24Cr Chromium | 25 Mn Manganese | 26Fe Iron | 27 Co Cobalt | 28Ni Nickel | 29 Cu Copper | 30 Zn Zinc | 31 Ga Gallium | 32 Ge Germanium | 33 As Arsenic | 34 Se Selenium | 35 Br Bromine | 36Kr Krypton |
| 37 Rb Rubidium | 38 Sr Strontium | 39 Y Yttrium | 40 Zr Zirconium | 41 Nb Niobium | 42 Mo Molybdenum | 43 Tc Technetium | 44 Ru Ruthenium | 45 Rh Rhodium | 46 Pd Palladium | 47Ag Silver | 48 Cd Cadmium | 49In Indium | 50Sn Tin | 51 Sb Antimony | 99Te Tedium | 53 I Iodine | 54Xe Xenon |
| 55 Cs Caesium | 56 Ba Barium | 57-71 La-Lu Lanthanides | 72 Hf Hafnium | 73 Ta Tantalum | 74 W Tungsten | 75 Re Rhenium | 76 Os Osmium | 77 Ir Iridium | 78Pt Platinum | 79Au Gold | 80Hg Mercury | 81 Tl Thallium | 82Pb Lead | 83Bi Bismuth | 84Po Polonium | 85 At Astatine | 86Rn Radon |
| 87 Fr Francium | 88 Ra Radium | 89-103 Ac-Lr Actinides | 104 Rf Rutherfordium | 105 Db Dubnium | 106 Sg Seaborgium | 107 Bh Bohrium | 108 Hs Hassium | 109 Mt Meitnerium | 110 Ds Darmstadtium | 111 Uuu Unununium | 112 Cn Copernicium | 113 Nh Nihonium | 114 Fl Flerovium | 115 Mc Moscovium | 116 Lv Livermorium | 117 Ts Tennessine | 118 Og Oganesson |
| 119Un Uncyclopedium | 120 Ub Unobtanium | 121 Aeo Awesomnium | 122Fa Fartium | 123St Stalinium | 124Ob Obamium | 125Sl Stalloneium | 126 Ad Adamantium | 127 Vb Vibranium | -1SuStupidium | 1/5Bm Brucium | 1/2*Ch Cheesium | 3/4Pl Plotonium | 4.5Op Opium | ∞Hu Homoerectium | |||
| 57 La Lanthanum | 58 Ce Cerium | 59Pr Praseodymium | 60 Nd Neodymium | 61 Pm Pentium | 62 Sm Samarium | 63 Eu Europium | 64 Gd Gadolinium | 65 Tb Terbium | 66 Dy Dysprosium | 67 Ho Holmium | 68 Er Erbium | 69 Tm Thulium | 70 Yb Ytterbium | 71 Lu Lutetium | |||
| 89 Ac Actinium | 90 Th Thorium | 91 Pa Protactinium | 92U Uranium | 93 Np Neptunium | 94Pu Plutonium | 95 Am Americium | 96 Cm Curium | 97 Bk Berkelium | 98 Cf Californium | 99 Es Einsteinium | 100 Fm Fermium | 101 Md Mendelevium | 102 No Nobelium | 103 Lr Lawrencium |
*Technically an atom of Cheesium has an atomic number of four (4), but that's only for the idiotic table.