Germanium is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white, and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors silicon and tin. It is used as a semiconductor.

Crystal structure

Germanium has the Cubic, Diamond Structure - Space Group Fd3m.

Common isotopes

Most common isotopes: Ge-74 (36.28 percent of natural abundance), Ge-72 (27.54 percent of natural abundance), Ge-79 (20.84 percent of natural abundance), Ge-73 (7.73 percent of natural abundance), Ge-76 (7.61 percent of natural abundance)

Uses

Germanium oxide has a high index of refraction and dispersion. This makes it suitable for use in wide-angle camera lenses and objective lenses for microscopes. This is now the major use for this element.

Germanium is also used as an alloying agent (adding 1% germanium to silver stops it from tarnishing), in fluorescent lamps and as a catalyst.

Both germanium and germanium oxide are transparent to infrared radiation and so are used in infrared spectroscopes.

Health benefits

There have been claims that germanium may be beneficial for health, including improving the immune system, and oxygen supply in the body, and destroying free radicals. According to Healthline, germanium has also been considered to be beneficial in treating allergies, asthma, arthritis, HIV/AIDS, and various forms of cancer.

Safety

Germanium has no known biological role. The element is non-toxic. Certain germanium compounds have low toxicity in mammals while being effective against some bacteria. This has led some scientists to study their potential use in pharmaceuticals.