What is the only other element whose solid can float on its liquid besides water?
I.e. water in a frozen state (ice) can float in water.

---

Request for Question Clarification by till-ga on 12 Mar 2004 01:36 PST

Water is not an element as it is a molecule made of the two elements
Hydrogen and Oxygen (formula is H2O).
So your question is a little bit confusing. Could you please try to
modify your question ?

till-ga

Dear cyncprjct1-ga,
I have found two elements which match your criteria.

Gallium
No. 31 on the Periodic Table of the Elements
"Gallium is one of the few substances that expands as it freezes,
making solid gallium less dense than liquid gallium (water is another
substance that possesses this property)."
http://www.mii.org/periodic/Ga.htm

Additional information
http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/31.html

Bismuth
No. 83 on the Periodic Table of the Elements
"Bismuth is a brittle, pinkish-silver metal that is stable in air and
water but reacts with some acids. Bismuth, shares a property with
water and gallium, it is less dense as a solid than as a liquid."
http://www.mii.org/periodic/Bi.htm

Additional information
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/80th/print/bismuthprint.html


"When a liquid freezes to become a solid, its volume usually shrinks
by approximately 10 percent as its molecules move closer together. In
solid aluminum, for example, each atom has 12 neighboring atoms, each
at a distance of 2.86 x 10-8 cm. In liquid aluminum, each atom has 10
or 11 neighboring atoms at a distance of 2.96 x 10-8 cm. Thus, the
atoms are less tightly packed in the liquid, and the liquid must
contract as it freezes. The exceptions to this rule are water and the
liquid forms of gallium and bismuth. These substances expand upon
freezing. The structure of their solid state is less dense than that
of their liquid state near the freezing point. In ice, each water
molecule is solidly packed into a lattice, surrounded by four
molecules equally distant from each other. This structure is actually
less dense than the molecular patterns that can occur in the liquid
form of water, which is why ice floats on water."

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571486/liquids.html


I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder


"less dense as a solid"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22less+dense+as+a+solid%22
Gallium
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Gallium
bismuth
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=bismuth

Excelent answer to my unexact question!!

Dear cyncprjct1-ga,
Thank you very much for your rating and tip. Pleased I could help.
answerfinder-ga