Halogen

Chlorine

When I think of chlorine I don’t think of warm and fuzzy things.I think of swimming pools and bleach. I think of chlorine’s oxidizing effects and reactive oxygen species which can damage cells. I think of chlorine gas.

The name for Chlorine comes from the Greek word ‘khloros’, which means ‘pale green’. Chlorine has an atomic # of 17, is a halogen and is highly reactive.

In nature, chlorine is found as chloride, a component of salt. Sodium chloride (salt) is found in abundance in nature and is key to life. This is quite ironic given the fact that chlorine can be so corrosive and dangerous to life in other forms.