Germanium
A semiconductor metalloid used in fiber optics and infrared.
Inside the Germanium atom
Switch between Bohr and Quantum Cloud modes to compare a simple teaching model with a more realistic probability-based view, and follow the guided tour to explore the Germanium atom step by step.
Electron configuration
[Ar] 3d10 4s2 4p2
A neutral Germanium atom has 32 electrons (equal to its proton count). Choosing a different isotope above changes only the neutron count.
Shell distribution
Electrons fill inner shells before outer ones; the outermost (valence) shell drives the element's chemistry.
Physical & atomic properties
- State (room temp)
- Solid
- Melting point
- 1211 K (938 °C)
- Boiling point
- 3106 K (2833 °C)
- Density
- 5.323 g/cm³
- Electronegativity
- 2.01 Pauling
- Atomic radius
- 125 pm
- 1st ionization energy
- 762 kJ/mol
- Category
- Metalloids
Discovery & naming
- Discovered
- 1886
- Discovered by
- Clemens Winkler
- Origin of name
- Latin 'Germania', for Germany.
Notable uses
Fibre-optic and infrared optics, and semiconductors.
Where Germanium comes from
Several comparable sources
Both slow neutron capture in dying stars and rapid capture in explosive events contribute meaningfully.
Simplified origin map — many elements form through more than one astrophysical pathway.
Summary
- Atomic number
- 32
- Atomic mass
- 72.630
- Category
- Metalloids
- Group · Period
- 14 · 4
- Block
- p-block
- Shells
- 2 · 8 · 18 · 4