Iron (Fe) is element number 26, has a molecular weight of 55.847, melting point of 1535°C, boiling point of 2800°C and a specific gravity of 7.874. Four stable isotopes of iron are found in nature; 54Fe, 56Fe, 57Fe and 58Fe. Iron commonly exists in one of three oxidation states; Fe0 (elemental iron), Fe2+ (ferrous iron) and Fe3+ (ferric iron). It is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, exceeded only by oxygen, silicon and aluminium, but is believed to be the most abundant in the Earth as a whole. Current theories suggest that early in the history of the Earth, iron and nickel became concentrated in the core. The average crustal abundance of iron is 70 000 ppm (7%; Taylor and McLennan, 1985), and values for several selected rock types are given in Table I8.
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Williamson, M.A. (1998). Iron . In: Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4496-8_172
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