Fluorine

Fluorine is a pale-yellow chemical element with atomic number 9 and the lightest halogen. Its extreme reactivity makes elemental fluorine one of the most powerful oxidizing agents.

Fluorine atom: A fluorine atom has nine protons and, in its neutral state, nine electrons, including seven valence electrons. Its nearly filled outer shell helps explain fluorine’s tendency to gain an electron.
Fluoropolymers: Polymers containing carbon–fluorine bonds, often valued for chemical resistance and thermal stability. Strong carbon–fluorine bonds give materials such as PTFE their distinctive durability.
André-Marie Ampère: A French physicist and chemist whose work helped establish the nature of electricity and magnetism. Ampère proposed that hydrofluoric acid contained an undiscovered element later named fluorine.
Chlorine: A reactive halogen element with atomic number 17, commonly found as Cl₂ gas. Chlorine shares fluorine’s halogen chemistry but is less electronegative and less reactive.
Fluorine–fluorine bond: The covalent bond joining two fluorine atoms in a diatomic fluorine molecule. This bond is unusually weak among halogen molecules, contributing to F₂’s high reactivity.
Teflon: A trade name commonly used for polytetrafluoroethylene, a chemically resistant fluoropolymer. PTFE is a familiar example of a material whose properties depend on fluorine.
Henri Moissan: A French chemist who isolated elemental fluorine in 1886 and received the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His electrochemical method overcame the hazards that had defeated earlier attempts.
Oxygen: A reactive nonmetallic element with atomic number 8, essential to respiration and combustion. Oxygen is also highly electronegative, but its bonding and elemental behavior differ from fluorine’s.
Electronegativity: A measure of how strongly an atom attracts shared electrons in a chemical bond. Fluorine has the highest electronegativity of any element.
Fluoride in drinking water: The addition or natural presence of fluoride ions in water supplies. Fluorine’s ionic form is used in some public-health programs to reduce tooth decay.

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