Iron (Fe)
"The Iron Avenger, providing the strong, reliable backbone for everything from skyscrapers to superheroes' suits."
A memorable persona to anchor Fe in your mind.
7.874
Grams per cm³
1538
Celsius (°C)
194
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Iron is found in the steel frame of a car or a cast-iron skillet.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
Ancient
Discovered By
Unknown
Origin of Name
"The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon name ''iren''."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
55.845 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
2861°C
Electron Configuration
[Ar] 3d64s2
1st Ionization Energy
7.902 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"Iron is a strong, lustrous, silvery-gray metal that rusts easily."
Did You Know?
It is the most common element on Earth by mass, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core.
The red color of human blood comes from the interaction between iron and oxygen in the hemoglobin molecule.
Pure iron is actually quite soft and rusts very quickly, but when combined with carbon and other elements, it forms super-strong steel.
Meteorites that fall to Earth are often rich in iron, and for ancient civilizations, this "sky iron" was a precious source of the metal.