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To: realpatriot71
"You should be able to get elemental flourine out of the ground."

Yeah, but it takes lots of energy to get it from minerals. Fluorine binds tightly. Making elemental F2 is a major industrial operation and requires lots of electric power.

For example:

"(fl´rn, –rn) , gaseous chemical element; symbol F; at. no. 9; at. wt. 18.998403; m.p. -219.6 deg C; b.p. -188.14 deg C; density 1.696 grams per liter at STP; valence -1. Fluorine is a yellowish, poisonous, highly corrosive gas. It is the most chemically active nonmetallic element and is the most electronegative of all the elements. Fluorine is a member of group VIIa of the periodic table. It readily displaces the other halogens from their salts. It combines spontaneously with most other elements—exceptions are chlorine, nitrogen, oxygen, and the so-called inert gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon), but it even combines with most of these when heated. Fluorine reacts with most inorganic and organic compounds. With hydrogen it forms hydrogen fluoride gas, whose water solution is called hydrofluoric acid. Because of its extreme reactivity, fluorine does not occur uncombined in nature. Fluorine gas is produced commercially by electrolysis of a solution of hydrogen fluoride containing potassium hydrogen fluoride. The mineral fluorite, or fluorspar (calcium fluoride), is the chief commercial source. Cryolite and apatite are other important natural compounds. Although there was no commercial production of fluorine before World War II, the use of the gas in a process for refining uranium ores prompted its manufacture."

"Fluorine occurs chiefly in the minerals fluorspar and cryolite, but is rather widely distributed in other minerals. It can be obtained by electrolysing a solution of potassium hydrogen fluoride in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride in a vessel of metal or transparent fluorspar."

--Boris

8 posted on 09/16/2002 7:41:06 PM PDT by boris
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To: boris
Even so, I think the Iraqis could get flourine. However, and I'm no particle physicist, I'm pretty sure they'd have trouble making the uranium flouride salt.
9 posted on 09/16/2002 8:20:53 PM PDT by realpatriot71
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