False 47 Technology with very few liquids ( Br and Hg) and relatively few gases. The periodic table may be divided into a number of areas according to general chemical and physical properties, as shown in Panel 2, or the electronic structure of the elements as shown in Panel 3. The elements described in this series are metallic and non-metallic elements, which make up many of the salts used in the industry. Sodium ( Na) The name sodium was probably derived from the Arabic word for headache, suda, and a sodium compound called sodanum ( Latin) was a known remedy for headaches in Medieval Europe. The symbol, Na, is an abbreviation for the Latin name, Natrium, first published by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in the early 19th Century. The name paid tribute to the mineral " natron" ( from Egypt), which is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, salt and sodium sulfate, extracted from saline lake beds in arid areas ( Spanish natrón, Arabic natrun, Greek nitron, Ancient Egyptian netjeri, from the Wadi El Natrun, Egypt). Sodium was recognised as an element long before it was first isolated by Sir Humphry Davy in 1807. Magnesium ( Mg) The names for the element magnesium and manganese are both derived from minerals found in the Magnesia district of Thessally in Greece ( also the word magnet). Magnesian stone was the original name for the mineral now known as " steatite" or more commonly as soapstone or talc. The name magnesium was coined by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808 ( after his initial suggestion of magnium) when he isolated the element in pure form by the electrolysis of magnesium oxide. The healing power of Epsom salts ( hydrated magnesium sulfate) was recognised in 1618 in Epsom, England, and milk of magnesia ( magnesium hydroxide) was used to treat constipation, indigestion and heartburn. Calcium ( Ca) Calcium is derived from the Latin calxor calcisfor lime or limestone. If limestone ( CaCO3) is heated it produces quicklime ( CaO) which can be hydrated or slaked to produce hydrated or slaked lime, Ca( OH) 2, known chemically as calcium hydroxide. Sand and lime was used as a mortar in Italy as lime mortars withstood the moist climates of Italy better than the Egyptian mortars based on dehydrated gypsum ( CaSO4.2H2O). The name calcium was coined by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808 when he isolated the element in pure form by the electrolysis of calcium oxide. Chalk, marble and limestone are all forms of calcium carbonate. Boron ( B) Boron is the only non- metal in Group 3 and has a similar chemistry to carbon and silicon. The name boron was proposed by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808 to describe the similarity between isolated samples of impure boron to carbon, i. e., bor( ax + carb) on. Borax was known from ancient times where it was used in glazes in China from 300AD and hard borosilicate glasses in ancient Rome. It took until 1824 for Jöns Jakob Berzelius to recognise that boron was a new element and until 1909 before high purity samples were produced. Boron is used in Pyrex glass and boric acid is a nerve poison. Chlorine ( Cl) Common salt ( NaCl) has been used for millenia with archaeological evidence for the use of rock salt in 3000BC to written records about salt in ~ 400BC. Salt was used in ~ 200BC as part payment for services ( hence the term salary) and in the purification of noble metals in ~ 100AD. The use of aqua regia ( HCl/ HNO3) to dissolve gold is well known from the thirteenth century onwards. Concentratedhydrochloric acid was first produced in 1648 by Johann Rudolf Glauber and hydrogen chloride gas by Joseph Priestley in 1772. Chlorine was the first of the halogens to be isolated by Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1774 who mistakenly thought it contained oxygen. Sir Humphry Davy recognised that chlorine gas was an element composed of diatomic molecules, Cl2, rather than single atoms and the name proposed by Davy in 1811 describes the colour of the gas ( Greek chlorosmeans yellowish or light green). Sulfur ( S) The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by " Fire and Brimstone" in the Bible are some of the earliest references to sulfur ( brimstone). Sulfur was known to the Egyptians (~ 1600BC) and both Homer and Pliny the Elder mention its use as a fumigant among other things. Gunpowder ( mixture of saltpeter, carbon and sulfur) was discovered by Friar Roger Bacon in ~ 1245, although the Chinese and Arabs had produced incendiary powders centuries earlier. Antoine Lavoisier suggested sulfur as an element in 1777 but this was contradicted by Sir Humphry Davy. It was finally established as an element by Joseph Louis Gay Lussac and Louis Jacques Thénard in 1809. The spelling sulfur ( with an f, not ph) was adopted by IUPAC ( International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) in 1990 and by the Royal Society of Chemists in 1992. Latin sulpur, sulphurand sulfurand Sanskrit sulvari, all refer to brimstone. The Greek word for sulfur is thionhence the prefix thio- for many sulfur compounds. Acknowledgements • Greenwood N. N. and Earnshaw A., Chemistry of the Elements, Pergamon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 1984 • Panel 1: Periodic Table: http:// www. dayah. com/ periodic/ Images/ periodic% 20table. png WORLD LEATHERJUNE/ JULY 2008 Panel 3: the electronic structure of the elements s- block elements: Groups 1& 2. Electrons lost very easily ( except for H and He), very reactive with H2O and O2and are fire hazards ( except Be and Mg). p- block elements: Groups 13- 18. Mostly nonmetals and semimetals with a few metals, viz., Al, Ga, In, Sn, Tl, Pb and Bi. d- block elements: Also known as the Transition Metals. Groups 3- 13. Properties become slightly less metallic as we shift from left to right. f- block elements: Also known as the Lanthanide and Actinide Series. Highly reactive metals, very dense with high melting points and many have radioactive isotopes.

False 48WORLD LEATHERJUNE/ JULY 2008 Man bags: function versus fashion A t a time when so many things are becoming smaller— consumer electronic goods in particular— one item appears to be going hammer and tongs against the grain. Handbags have certainly been getting bigger and often now form the basis of an outfit, rather than simply functioning as a complementary accessory. And, according to designers, men’s bags are no exception to this rule. Gone are the plastic carrier bag and the bulging jacket pockets, and very much on the scene is the swanky man bag equipped with various functional pockets and designed to impress. Although the man bag is not as well established as the traditional women’s handbag, it has certainly taken off in recent years. US- based travel bags producer Jack Spade focused entirely on women’s bags when the company was first established in 1996, but soon realised there was an expanding market for men’s bags and started to produce bags for male customers too. “ Demand has certainly increased for men’s bags over the past few years,” affirms company spokesperson Mordechai Rubinstein. Unlike women’s bags, which appear to be getting bigger mainly because of fashion influences, founder and creative director of London- based handbag brand Belen Echandia, Jackie Cawthra, suggests men’s Part of Hamburg- based Kapworks’s collection for the current season is this timeless leather men’s messenger bag. CREDIT: RENE TILLMANN / MESSE DÜSSELDORF