Sodium is a soft, silvery metal and is a member of the alkali metal family about the periodic table. Sodium was discovered in 1807 by the English chemist Humphry Davy from electrolysis of caustic soda (NaOH). The symbol Na derives from the Latin natrium for “natron” (soda in English). The name derives from the English soda and Latin sodanum for “headache remedy”. Sodium is a chemical element with the atomic number 11 and the symbol Na – hence the ever popular joke: “Do you know any sodium jokes? Na.” A soft, silvery white and highly reactive metal, sodium was first isolated in 1807 by Humphry Davy during the process of electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. But sodium salts have more uses than the metal itself. Sodium is used as a heat exchanger in some nuclear reactors, and as a reagent in the chemicals industry.
Sodium is a soft metal that tarnishes within seconds of being exposed to the air.
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