Usually we know sodium as a nutritional micro-element which is crucially important for various biological processes in our bodies. But in our bodies this micro-element exists in molecular compounds, not in its pure metallic form.
A robot puts small piece of pure sodium in a bowl filled with ice cubes. Image credit: The Action Lab (still image from YouTube video)
Yes, this is right – pure sodium is a highly reactive alkali metal. Its reactivity is so strong, that certain chemical reactions occur between sodium and our everyday materials such as water – that is why this metal is chemically dangerous and must be handled with care. For example, when it comes in contact with water, sodium spontaneously explodes, because this reaction generates hydrogen gas and also emits lots of heat which is quite enough to ignite the mixture of hydrogen and ambient oxygen.
But what if we put a small piece of sodium on solid ice? Would it still cause an explosion? The following video demonstrates this experiment:
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