Lead
chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82
Lead ( ) is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from Latin plumbum) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal, denser than most common materials. Lead is soft, malleable, and has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut or melted, it appears shiny silvery with a bluish tint, but tarnishes to dull gray on exposure to air. Lead has the highest atomic number of any stable element, and three of its isotopes are endpoints of major nuclear decay chains of heavier elements.
Lead is a relatively un-reactive post-transition metal. Its weak metallic character is shown by its amphoteric behavior: lead and lead oxides react with both acids and bases, and it tends to form covalent bonds. Lead compounds usually occur in the +2 oxidation state rather than the +4 state common in lighter members of the carbon group, with exceptions mostly limited to organolead compounds. Like the lighter members of the group, lead can bond with itself, forming chains and polyhedral structures.
Since lead is easily extracted from its ores, prehistoric people in the Near East were aware of it.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Lead” as chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q708.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lead” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.