QI - What's The Commonest Metal In The Human Body?

I remember watching this episode on the TV and thinking after finishing the entire thing, that Rory Mcgrath could give Stephen Fry a run for his money in the know-it-all stakes. He seems to just remember every single thing he's ever heard
ForgedRealitysays...

Calcium is a metal? O.O Why doesn't everyone set off metal detectors then? How do people work around huge magnets, like in a wrecking yard, without being stuck to them? Why don't bones rust? Why don't bones make sparks when a bone saw is applied? Why in the hell do some people think it's a good idea to put onions in when making a tuna fish sandwich?

DonanFearsays...

^ "Metal" doesn't always equal "Iron". It's not pure anyway so it's not like having a "metal skeleton" like a Terminator.
Pure calcium is soft and reacts pretty violently with water, you wouldn't want bones like that.

mauz15says...

Yeah Calcium is a metal, but the inorganic part of bones (bone is 2/3 inorganic matter and one third of organic) is made primarily of hydroxyapatite (85%), which is a crystallized form of the Calcium Phosphate salt. The rest of the inorganic part is Calcium Carbonate, and small amounts of magnesium, fluoride, sulfate, potassium, etc.

Chloride by itself is a deadly gas, sodium by itself is a very volatile metal. But if you get sodium chloride the result is table salt. In the same way, Calcium by itself is a metal and therefore would behave like one, but when it gets together with phosphate in the right combination you get the main component of bones.



>> ^ForgedReality:
Calcium is a metal? O.O Why doesn't everyone set off metal detectors then? How do people work around huge magnets, like in a wrecking yard, without being stuck to them? Why don't bones rust? Why don't bones make sparks when a bone saw is applied? Why in the hell do some people think it's a good idea to put onions in when making a tuna fish sandwich?

siftbotsays...

Tags for this video have been changed from 'qi, stepehn fry, rory mcgrath, jimmy carr, seaon locke, alan davies' to 'qi, stepehn fry, rory mcgrath, jimmy carr, sean locke, alan davies' - edited by xxovercastxx

Sagemindsays...

What do they mean by commonest????

We all have iron in common
We all have calcium in common.

Are there some people out there without iron which makes calcium more common?
The question is flawed from the start!

Sagemindsays...

Animals and humans have similar evolutionary backgrounds. This outlines some of the elements in the structure of animals and humans.

Macro Elements
* Calcium (Ca)
* Phosphorous (Ph)
* Magnesium (Mg)
* Sodium (Na)
* Potassium (K)
* Chlorine (Cl)
* Sulfur (S)

Micro Elements
* Iron (Fe)
* Copper (Cu)
* Manganese (Mn)
* Iodine (I)
* Zinc (Zn)
* Selenium (Se)
* Fluorine (Fl)
* Cobolt (Co)
* Molybdenum (Mo)
* Chromium (Cr)

Other Elements (These elements are all toxic at high levels)
* Lead (Pb)
* Nickel (Ni)
* Silicon (Si)
* Vanadium (Vn)

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_role_of_metals_in_human_body

mauz15says...

>> ^Sagemind:
What do they mean by commonest????
We all have iron in common
We all have calcium in common.
Are there some people out there without iron which makes calcium more common?
The question is flawed from the start!


Commonest as in the most common, most widespread, or most frequently encountered. Many of the other metals found in the body are in extremely minute quantities. We are talking of quantities such as less than 0.07% of the human body, compared to 1.5% of Calcium. This 1.5% may not seem like much, but Calcium is part of the 6 major elements in your body. These 6 are practically 99% while the other 1 percent is distributed among several other elements (like 60) so you can imagine the insignificant quantities.

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