Transition metals
Zinc
A bluish metal used to galvanize steel against rust.
Atomic #30Mass65.38Blockd-blockPeriod4Group12
Zn30 · 65.38
3D Atom Explorer
Inside the Zinc 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 Zinc atom step by step.
Loading 3D atom…
Electron configuration
[Ar] 3d10 4s2
A neutral Zinc atom has 30 electrons (equal to its proton count). Choosing a different isotope above changes only the neutron count.
Shell distribution
Shell 12 e⁻Shell 28 e⁻Shell 318 e⁻Shell 42 e⁻
Electrons fill inner shells before outer ones; the outermost (valence) shell drives the element's chemistry.
Properties
Physical & atomic properties
- State (room temp)
- Solid
- Melting point
- 693 K (420 °C)
- Boiling point
- 1180 K (907 °C)
- Density
- 7.134 g/cm³
- Electronegativity
- 1.65 Pauling
- Atomic radius
- 135 pm
- 1st ionization energy
- 906 kJ/mol
- Category
- Transition metals
History
Discovery & naming
- Discovered
- 1746
- Discovered by
- Andreas Sigismund Marggraf
- Origin of name
- German 'zinke', meaning prong or tooth.
Notable uses
Galvanizing steel, brass, and dietary supplements.
Cosmic origin
Where Zinc comes from
Supernovae
Produced in the neutrino-driven winds and explosive layers of supernovae, with a stellar contribution too.
Simplified origin map — many elements form through more than one astrophysical pathway.
Summary
- Atomic number
- 30
- Atomic mass
- 65.38
- Category
- Transition metals
- Group · Period
- 12 · 4
- Block
- d-block
- Shells
- 2 · 8 · 18 · 2