Astrophysics (Index)About

sodium

(Na)
(metal, Na, atomic number 11)

Sodium (Na) is the element with atomic number 11, symbol Na. It has one stable isotope (mass number 23). Sodium nuclei originate from carbon burning in large stars. Sodium spectral lines are seen in the Sun, e.g., Fraunhofer D lines, two prominent yellow lines, and I presume at least some other stars show detectable sodium. A layer of Earth's atmosphere has a fair amount of neutral sodium (the sodium layer), and laser guide stars, which are used for adaptive optics in astronomical telescope observation, are often formed by a resulting glow of that sodium at a spot where a laser is pointed.


(element,metal,chemistry)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_layer
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pertab/na.html
https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/11/sodium

Referenced by pages:
ANAIS-112
carbon burning
COSINE-100
DAMA/LIBRA
element
Fraunhofer lines
globular cluster (GC)
hydroxyl (OH)
Lick Observatory
light pollution
LINER
nitrite (NO2-)
nucleosynthesis
oxidation state

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