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Sodium Element: Facts
The Sodium element is the eleventh in the series of the Periodic Table and has the chemical symbol Na. Each atom of Sodium contains 11 protons and each atom has 11 electrons in its neutral state. While Sodium is classed as a metal, it is never encountered in metallic form in nature. This is due to its high reactivity. Sodium metal can be prepared by treating molten Sodium Chloride salt in a process called electrolysis. This metal must be stored very carefully as it will react with both air and water. 
The only stable isotope of Sodium is 23-Sodium, as shown in the simplified diagram to the right. This isotope contains 11 protons and 12 neutrons in the nucleus. Other isotopes range from 18- to 37-Sodium, containing between 7 and 26 neutrons. Only two of these have half lives grater than one minute, and they are 22- and 24-Sodium.Electron Structure of the Sodium Element 
The electron dot diagram produced by the subshell filling pattern for 11 electrons results in 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1 , so there is one outer shell electron for the neutral Sodium atom. This is the same configuration as for Lithium. The configuration of the electrons on a subshell by subshell basis is shown below.
Chemical Behaviour of the Sodium Element Sodium shares many properties with Lithium and it is grouped with it in the same column of the Periodic Table for this reason. Sodium achieves a full outer shell by shedding its single electron in the third shell. This results in Lithium atoms with the electron configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p6. Since they lose an electron from their neutral state, Sodium atoms have one more positive charge, from the protons, than there are negative charges from the electrons. For this reason Sodium atoms are said to have a +1 charge . Charged atoms are called ions. Positive ions, like Sodium ions, are called cations. Return from Sodium Element to Solar Chemistry 1 or return to the Green Planet home page for more Solar Power Facts.
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Sodium only occurs in its ionic form in nature, and these positive ions are always found joined to non metal negative ions. This joining of positive and negative ions is called ionic bonding. The great stability of Sodium ions means that metallic Sodium can only be extracted from molten salts such as Sodium Chloride, NaCl. This is because if Sodium atoms are formed in the presence of air or water they will instantly react to form the positive ions again.