Pencil "plumbago" (Latin for "lead ore"). Because the pencil core is still referred to as "lead", or a "lead", many people have the misconception that the graphite in the pencil is lead, and the black core of pencils is still referred to as "lead", even though it never contained the element lead. The words for pencil in German ("bleistift"), Irish ("peann luaidhe"), Arabic (قلم رصاص "qalam raṣāṣ"), and some other languages literally mean "lead pen". The value of graphite would soon be realised to be enormous, mainly because it could be used to line the moulds for cannonballs; the mines were
Lead tetrachloride Lead tetrachloride Lead tetrachloride, also known as lead(IV) chloride, has the molecular formula PbCl. It is a yellow, oily liquid which is stable below 0 °C, and decomposes at 50 °C. It has a tetrahedral configuration, with lead as the central atom. The Pb–Cl covalent bonds have been measured to be 247 pm and the bond energy is 243 kJ⋅mol. Lead tetrachloride can be made by reacting lead(II) chloride PbCl, and hydrochloric acid HCl, in the presence of chlorine gas (Cl), leading to the formation of chloroplumbic acid HPbCl. It is then converted to the ammonium salt (NH)PbCl by adding