Editing Rubidium (section)

=== Physical properties ===
[[File:RbH.JPG|thumb|left|Partially molten rubidium metal in an ampoule]]
Rubidium is a very soft, [[ductility|ductile]], silvery-white metal.<ref name=Ohly>{{cite book |last=Ohly |first=Julius |date=1910 |chapter=Rubidium |title=Analysis, detection and commercial value of the rare metals |publisher=Mining Science Pub. Co. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dGUuAQAAIAAJ |via=Google books }}</ref> It has a melting point of {{convert|39.3|°C|°F}} and a boiling point of {{convert|688|°C|°F}}.<ref name="www.rsc.org">{{cite web |title=Rubidium |department=Element information, properties and uses |series=Periodic Table |url=https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/37/rubidium |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=www.rsc.org}}</ref> It forms [[amalgam (chemistry)|amalgams]] with [[mercury (element)|mercury]] and [[alloy]]s with [[gold]], [[iron]], [[caesium]], [[sodium]], and [[potassium]], but not [[lithium]] (despite rubidium and lithium being in the same periodic group).<ref name=HollemanAF>{{cite book |first1 = Arnold F. |last1 = Holleman |last2 = Wiberg |first2 = Egon |last3 =Wiberg |first3 = Nils |date = 1985 |chapter = Vergleichende Übersicht über die Gruppe der Alkalimetalle |trans-chapter=Brief overview of the Alkalai metal group |title = Lehrbuch der Anorganischen Chemie |lang = de |trans-title=Textbook of Inorganic Chemistry |edition = 91–100 |publisher = Walter de Gruyter |isbn = 978-3-11-007511-3 |pages = 953–955 }}</ref> Rubidium and potassium show a very similar purple color in the [[flame test]], and distinguishing the two elements requires more sophisticated analysis, such as spectroscopy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ahrens |first1=L.H. |last2=Pinson |first2=W.H. |last3=Kearns |first3=Makgaret M. |date=1952-01-01 |title=Association of rubidium and potassium and their abundance in common igneous rocks and meteorites |journal=[[Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta]] |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=229–242 |issn=0016-7037 |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037%2852%2990017-3|bibcode=1952GeCoA...2..229A |doi=10.1016/0016-7037(52)90017-3 }}</ref>