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Boron

In the past, people made use of boric acid for its antiseptic and cleansing properties. Today, this compound is still used as an eye disinfectant and a water softener.

Boron, which borders the transition between the metals and non-metals, is regarded as a semiconductor rather than a metallic conductor. Due to its ability to dissolve metal oxides, boron is used as a soldering flux.

Both in our homes and in the laboratories, a compound of boron – borax – is often encountered. Its toughness and resistance to heat makes borax an ideal material in the production of borosilicate glass products, commonly known under the trademark "Pyrex^TM".

One of boron's isotopes, boron-10, has outstanding neutron absorption properties. This isotope is normally used in nuclear reactors as a shield against nuclear radiation and in instruments to detect neutrons. The National Research Council Canada (NRC) is one of the many laboratories that draw on these properties of boron. Materials containing boron are used to stop beams of neutrons emitted from the side ports of nuclear reactors, thus providing a radiation shield for people in the surrounding area.