Sodium appears as a silvery soft metal that turns grayish white when exposed to air. Shipped as solid or molten liquid. Burns violently with explosion that may splash material. Used in the manufacture of gasoline additives, power cables, sodium lamps and other chemicals.

Sodium is an element with atomic symbol Na, atomic number 11, and atomic weight 23.

Sodium atoms are alkali metal atoms. It functions as a metabolite and macronutrient for Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from the Latin sodium) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery white highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal that belongs to group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable isotope is 23Na. Free metals do not occur in nature and must be prepared from compounds. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the earth's crust and is found in many minerals such as feldspar, sodalite and halite (NaCl). Many sodium salts are highly water-soluble: sodium ions are leached from earth minerals by the action of water, so sodium and chlorine are the most common dissolved elements by weight in the oceans.

In 1807, Humphry Davy isolated sodium for the first time by electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. Among many other useful sodium compounds, sodium hydroxide (lye) is used in soap making, and sodium chloride (table salt) is a deicing agent and a nutrient for animals, including humans.