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Vanadium

Element 23 · Transition metal

Specimen

Atomic number
23
Atomic mass
50.9415
State at room temperature
Solid
Melting point
1,910 °C
Boiling point
3,407 °C
Density
6 g/cm³
Discovered
1801

Physical data from PubChem.1

Can I eat it?

In food and water
Not needed, little harm known. In their reference intakes, US and Canadian experts state that vanadium in food has not been shown to harm people. They advise caution with vanadium supplements. ATSDR reports nausea, mild diarrhea and stomach cramps from some vanadium compounds. 23

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The atom

V
ShellElectrons
1 (K) 2
2 (L) 8
3 (M) 11
4 (N) outermost 2
Total23

Configuration [Ar] 3d³ 4s²

3d ↑ ↑ ↑
4s ↑ ↓
A shell diagram: each ring is an electron shell and each dot is one electron. The nucleus holds 23 protons. The outermost shell is shown in red. Electrons do not travel on rings: they fill orbitals, regions where an electron is likely to be found. The boxes are those orbitals for the electrons outside the Ar core, with one arrow per electron.

Related elements

Group 5
Nb Niobium Ta Tantalum Db Dubnium

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Sources

  1. 1

    National Center for Biotechnology Information (PubChem), 2026. Periodic Table of Elements .

    Atomic mass, electron configuration, melting and boiling points, density and discovery year for all 118 elements.

  2. 2

    Health Canada, from the Institute of Medicine (US) Dietary Reference Intakes reports, 2010. Dietary Reference Intakes tables (Institute of Medicine values), updated November 2010 , Reference Values for Elements, footnotes 20 to 27.

    The joint US and Canadian reference intakes. The values are from the Institute of Medicine reports of 1997 to 2004 and 2010.

    • Although vanadium in food has not been shown to cause adverse effects in humans, there is no justification for adding vanadium to food and vanadium supplements should be used with caution.
  3. 3

    Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 2015. ToxFAQs for Vanadium .

    • Nausea, mild diarrhea, and stomach cramps have been reported in people who have been exposed to some vanadium compounds.