What happens to alkali metals in water and why?

All alkali metals are combustible in water to a certain extent. Lithium (the least reactive) is burns quickly in water. The reaction is neither explosive or dangerous if done properly. As you move down the alkali metal column on the periodic table the elements have a much stronger reaction with water. So as we move down the list sodium is next. Sodium as a slightly more interesting reaction with water as it tends to spiral around the beaker of water as it burns a bright red. Potassium reacts more dangerously and usually burns with a light purple flame. Now rubidium and caesium have reactions that anyone can appreciate. Rb sinks in water whereas the three before it float along the top of the water. After it sinks it then explodes producing a shock wave which can shatter the container it is in. Cs has a similar reaction with water but on a larger scale, causing a much larger explosion. Information on francium is still hard to come by but I am sure it must have been tested in water many times given that the other alkali metal produced such interesting reactions. Answering why these chemicals react like this has been a bit harder but this is what I have found out so far. When an alkali metal reacts with water it produces an alkali hydroxide and hydrogen gas. During this reaction a massive amount of heat is released which combusts with the hydrogen gas causing the combustion of the entire alkali metal.
A knowledge of chemistry is important in the situation foremost because without it these reactions could be highly dangerous. Chemistry is also important with these chemicals because with a knowledge of chemistry these reactions could be put into great applications. Although after hours of searching I have not been able to find a direct application for alkali metal's highly explosive nature, the products of their reactions have numerous applications. For example, Lithium hydroxide is used as an air purifier, a lubricant, a catalyst and much more. Potassium hydroxide is used for a much wider variety of things than lithium hydroxide however not as many things as sodium hydroxide which is used in analytical chemistry, soap making, paper production, biodiesel fuels, cleaners, drugs, and that is just the beginning. These things could not have been made or discovered without a knowledge of chemistry. So I think the second reason chem is important here is for exploration and discovery...and we all know how chemists love that.

Mini Bibliography
"Group one: The Alkali Metals." Chemsoc. 28 Jan 2008 <http://www.chemsoc.org/viselements/pages/data/intro_groupi_data.html>.

"Sodium hydroxide." 2008. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Jan 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sodium_hydroxide&oldid=186158691>.

"Lithium." 2008. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Jan 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lithium&oldid=187460066>.

Narrowing the scope

Upon further research I have narrowed my topic to Alkali metals and Phosphine gas and their reactions with water. I have learned that as you go down the periodic table the alkali metals become more reactive. Then, hypothetically, Fr (francium) should be the most reactive. And as Rb and Cs are both less reactive and both explode in water I was very curious to learn how Fr would react. Because of this I was upset when I could find very little information on Fr and almost nothing on its reaction with water. On site said that it is unlikely that it has ever been reacted with water but I am quite hesitant to believe this is true. On thing I did find about Fr that was interesting was that scientist have estimated that at any given time there is about an ounce of Fr on the world's surface. Because of this any time that scientists wish to work with Fr they must make it themselves. Anyway when I started researching alkali metals and water I found a video clip from a TV show over in England called Brainiac. It was a very cool clip showing the alkali reactions in water. However, later I found a site that said that reporters in England found out that the best reactions on the clip (Rb and Cs) were fake. I kept the video on my link list because it has other reactions in it as well which have not been proven fake. I also put other videos of Rb and Cs to compare (whether or not these are real I guess we'll never know). I also found that Phosphine gas (one of the chemicals that ignites flares underwater) is highly explosive in many situations and can even spontaneously combust in air. Because of this I thought further research into its uses was necessary.

(Mrs. V--I commented on Sandra, James, and Zach's pages)

Internet Credibility

I think it can be hard to distinguish between credible sites and something a high school chemistry student wrote... The primary way I check is to see if the information on one site can be found on multiple other sites. This can be a simple way if multiple other sites have completely contrasting information. Another way can be if the site is a college or university website. This can usually be trusted. Otherwise sites like encyclopedia brittanica are always good. Also depending on what you are looking for there are specific sites that can be trusted, like, for example if you need information on drugs or diseases the CDC is always a good site to check out. Other than that I try to use my instincts to decide if the information could be false.

Final Idea

Ok i have decided to do my blog on Chemicals and how they react with water. At the moment I am thinking about mostly underwater chemicals. Why some explode in water and others are extinguished, how thinks can harden underwater while others simply dissolve. I think there are a lot of interesting reactions that happen with water so I think it will be a good topic.

New Idea

I've been researching some more and I've been thinking about researching new drugs that help diseases that don't (or didn't) have a cure. Such as gardasil the new HPV shot. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find out about what chemicals are used in the drugs or how it cures the disease but I'm looking into it.

Blog Ideas

• Antibacterial soap
• creating bacteria that are immune
  
• Chemicals underwater
• Flares underwater
  
• Cement drying underwater

• Gunpowder
• sensitivity with age