Is boron a metal?Boron powder does not belong to the metal family, and it is not considered a solid because it lacks many of the properties that metals have. Boron has the lowest outermost electron count of any non-metallic. It is available in both amorphous (fuzzy) and crystalline form. The former has a brown-black powder to a black powder. While the latter is black, black to silver-gray with a metallic luster. It is hard like diamond. Amorphous Boron slowly oxidizes at room temperature in the air, and it self-ignites around 800 degC. Boron, hydrochloric and hydrofluoric gases do not work together even after they have been boiled for long periods of time.

Boron is slowly oxidized and eroded when a mixture of hot concentrated sodium dichromate with sulfuric acid and nitric acids is used. The boron crystals can be slowly oxidized by hydrogen peroxide or ammonium perisulfate. Boron reacts violently and rapidly with sulfur when heated to 600 deg C. A mixture of boronsulfide is formed. Boron nitride can be formed when boron, in the presence of nitrogen or ammonia is heated over 1000 deg C. At temperatures between 1800-2100 deg C, hydrogen and boron do not react. However, at 2100 deg C boron will react with silicon to form silicon-boride. At high temperature, boron can react with metals and metal oxides in order to produce metal borides.

Boron Properties:
It is a dark-brown or black powder. When it oxidizes in air, it prevents the internal elemental boran from oxidizing due to the formation boron film. It reacts at normal temperatures with fluorine and is uncorroded by hydrochloric or hydrofluoric aqueous solutions. Boron powder is soluble with sulfuric and boiling nitric, but not in water. Amorphous boron has a chemical activity, and the powder can be explosive when mixed with air.

Boron is an electrical conductor that is weak at normal temperatures and strong at higher temperatures. The elemental form of boron comes in different allotropes. Amorphous is brown and crystalline is grayish black. Elemental Boron has a hardness that is similar to diamond. It also has a very high electrical resistance. But its electrical conductivity will increase with temperature. Amorphous and crystalline boron are more active. The stable isotopes of boron are only two. Boric acid and borate are the main forms of boron in nature.

Boron Uses:
Boron is essential for ribonucleic-acid formation. Ribonucleic-acid is regarded as an important component of life. James Stephenson is a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Hawaii NASA Institute of Astrobiology. He said that "Bronze could be important for life's origin on Earth as it stabilizes nucleics, which are key components of the ribonucleic. Ribonucleic acids are considered a precursor to DNA information in the early stages of life.

Boron is an important chemical raw-material mineral. It is used primarily in the productions of borax and boric acid, as well as for boron compounds. Also, it is used for metallurgy. Building materials, machinery and electrical industries. Chemicals, light wools, agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, and nuclear industries. Boron is a very important material that can be added to an alloy as a component or a powder.

Boron is a raw material used for manufacturing high-purity, boron-halide halides. It can also be used for smelting special alloy steels or as gas scavengers. Boron is used as a raw material to make a variety borides. This can save valuable metals and reduce the amount of olefin deficient metals.

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