transition metal element!!

Wow this thing (element) rock! 

Cobalt in small amounts is essential to many living organisms, including humans. Having 0.13 to 0.30 mg/kg of cobalt in soils markedly improves the health of grazing animals, coming up next:

_{It is a hard, lustrous, grey metal, a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27.}

Cobalt compounds have been used for centuries since the Bronze Age to impart a rich blue and green color to glass,glazes, inks, paints,varnishes and ceramics. It has been detected in Egyptian sculpture and Persian jewelry from the third millennium BC, and in China dating from the Tang (my ancestor) and the Ming dynasty. 

Cobalt is a ferromagnetic metal. Pure cobalt is not found in nature, but compounds of cobalt are common. Small amounts of it are found in most rocks, soil, plants, and animals. Cobalt is a central component of the vitamin cobalamin, or vitamin B_12. Mammals require small amounts of cobalt which is the basis of vitamin B₁₂.

Cobalt is found in various metallic-lustred, but it is produced as a by-product of copper and nickel mining.

Cobalt is used in the preparation of magnetic, wear-resistant, and high-strength alloys. 

Cobalt is also an active nutrient for bacteria, algae, and fungi, and may be a necessary nutrient for all life.

Cobalt radioisotopes in medicine

Cobalt-60 (Co-60 or ⁶⁰Co) is a radioactive metal that is used in Radiation therapy (the medical use of ionizing radiation as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells). Unfortunately, cobalt-60 has a radioactive half-life of only 5.27 years. This decrease in activity requires periodic replacement of the sources used in radiotherapy and is reason why cobalt machines have been largely replaced by linear accelerators in modern radiation therapy.

Cobalt-57 (Co-57 or ⁵⁷Co) is a radioactive metal that is used in medical tests. It is used as a radiolabel for vitamin B₁₂ uptake, and is useful for the Schilling test.

Cobalt-60 (Co-60 or ⁶⁰Co) is useful as a gamma ray source because it can be produced in predictable quantity and high activity by simply exposing natural cobalt to neutrons in a reactor for a period. Its uses include sterilization of medical supplies and medical waste, radiation treatment of foods for sterilization, and tank fill height switches. 

Batteries

Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂) is widely used in Lithium ion battery electrodes.Nickel-cadmium (NiCd) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries also contain significant amounts of cobalt.

^{On the other hand, ho ho:}

^{60Co is a high-energy gamma ray emitter. Acute high-dose exposures to gamma emissions can cause severe burns and death. Extended exposures increase the risk of morbidity or mortality from cancer. Nuclear weapon designs could intentionally incorporate 59Co, some of which would be activated in a nuclear explosion to produce 60Co. The 60Co, dispersed as nuclear fallout, creates what is sometimes called a dirty bomb or cobalt bomb.}

Well, nothing can be too perfect..enough as it is ne...