Your Favorite Element

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I've gotten really interested in the Periodic Table of Elements lately. One of my favorites is caesium because it was used to establish the definition of a second. What are some of your favorite elements and why?

Iridium is one of my favourite elements, I suppose. Its rarity in Earth's crust but relative abundance in asteroids and other celestial objects make it quite useful in determining prehistoric impact events, which I think is pretty awesome. It is also the most corrosion-resistant metal if I'm not mistaken. Moreover, I just think it looks cool.

Carbon would be up there in the top ten.

Partially because I am largely made of it! And also because of the amazing stuff you can make with it: diamonds, fossil fuels, plastics, nanotubes, the list goes on.

Cadmium is one of my favorite elements because it has a specific isotope (113Cd) that absorbs low energy neutrons. That ability can be used in certain nuclear reactors as a control mechanism. Cd also has a use in both quantum dots, UV lasers and rechargeable batteries. Granted, it does have some toxicity issues that some tend to want to shy away from (another reason why I like this element). In humans, absorption to too much Cd can lead to itai-itai disease (osteoporosis of the bones as Ca2+ becomes replaced with Cd2+).

Radium & cesium. After Fukushima, I sorta found a minor special interest; detecting radiation & the history of how it was discovered.

I like them all