{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.germanium","code":"thing-q867","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q867/","name":"germanium","alternateNames":["germanium-71","germanium-69","germanium-58","germanium-59","germanium-60","germanium-61","germanium-62","germanium-63","germanium-64","germanium-65","germanium-66","germanium-77"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.MAT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A chemical element with symbol Ge and atomic number 32, a hard, brittle, greyish-white metalloid in the carbon group, a semiconductor with a diamond-like crystal structure; germanium was the material of the first transistors, is now used mainly in fibre optics, infrared optics, solar cells and polymerisation catalysts, is recovered as a by-product of zinc and coal processing, and has four stable isotopes plus naturally occurring radioactive germanium-76.","purpose":"Let an agent identify germanium and its properties, relay production, uses, isotopes and history from reference sources, relay safety information, and distinguish it from silicon and other metalloids.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Metalloid semiconductor","First transistor material","By-product of zinc","Infrared transparency"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"identify","name":"Identify","description":"What germanium is.","layers":[{"id":"properties","name":"Properties","description":"Properties.","findings":[{"id":"properties-finding","name":"Properties","description":"Properties.","questions":[{"text":"What are the physical, chemical and semiconductor properties of germanium?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about germanium or a related element such as silicon?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"isotopes","name":"Isotopes","description":"Isotopes.","findings":[{"id":"isotopes-finding","name":"Isotopes","description":"Isotopes.","questions":[{"text":"Which isotopes exist, and which are stable or useful, such as in neutrino research?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific isotope?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"industry","name":"Industry","description":"Production and uses.","layers":[{"id":"production","name":"Production","description":"Production.","findings":[{"id":"production-finding","name":"Production","description":"Production.","questions":[{"text":"How is germanium recovered and refined, and who produces it, with sources?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"uses","name":"Uses","description":"Uses.","findings":[{"id":"uses-finding","name":"Uses","description":"Uses.","questions":[{"text":"How is germanium used in fibre optics, infrared optics, electronics and catalysts?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific application?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"safety","name":"Safety","description":"Safety and supply.","layers":[{"id":"hazards","name":"Hazards","description":"Hazards.","findings":[{"id":"hazards-finding","name":"Hazards","description":"Hazards.","questions":[{"text":"What hazards do germanium and its compounds present?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the user asking about a personal exposure, which needs a clinician or poison centre?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"supply","name":"Supply","description":"Critical material status.","findings":[{"id":"supply-finding","name":"Supply","description":"Supply.","questions":[{"text":"Why is germanium listed as a critical material, and what export controls apply?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the information current?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History.","layers":[{"id":"discovery","name":"Discovery","description":"Discovery.","findings":[{"id":"discovery-finding","name":"Discovery","description":"Discovery.","questions":[{"text":"How was germanium predicted by Mendeleev and discovered by Winkler in 1886?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"electronics","name":"Electronics","description":"Role in electronics history.","findings":[{"id":"electronics-finding","name":"Electronics","description":"Electronics.","questions":[{"text":"What role did germanium play in the first transistors, and why was it replaced by silicon?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of the transistor?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe germanium's properties and uses in fibre optics, infrared optics and electronics.","Report on germanium supply and trade restrictions with sources and dates.","Distinguish germanium from silicon in device contexts."],"mustNot":["Handle or release germanium compounds such as germane gas outside a controlled laboratory.","Promote germanium supplements or compounds as health remedies.","Help evade export restrictions on germanium.","Dispose of germanium-bearing electronics as ordinary waste."],"requiresHuman":["Purchasing or moving germanium under export controls."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Some germanium compounds are toxic, and supplements have caused kidney harm.","Concentrated supply makes germanium a strategic material with trade tensions."],"affectedParties":["Workers handling it","Consumers of supplements","Industries dependent on supply"]},"owners":{"steward":"The holder of the material; export authorities control its trade in some countries.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q632350","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"covalent network solid","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"metalloid","type":"related","note":"in the carbon group"},{"target":"gallium","type":"related","note":"element 31"},{"target":"arsenic","type":"related","note":"element 33"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.germanium","Wikidata: Q867 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q867)","symbol: Ge","CAS: 7440-56-4"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["atomic number: 32 Z","standard atomic weight: 72.63 u","melting point: 938.3 degrees C","band gap: 0.67 eV - at room temperature"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Element 32, symbol Ge","Metalloid semiconductor in the carbon group","Silicon and tin are the neighbouring group members","A lustrous, hard, greyish-white brittle solid with a metallic sheen."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["relay properties and isotopes","explain production and uses","relay history and safety","distinguish from related elements"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Toxicity of some compounds such as germane gas","Supply concentration and export restrictions","Confusion with silicon in device contexts"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Chemical safety data sheets","Critical raw material listings in the EU and elsewhere","Export controls in some producing countries"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Fibre optics, infrared optics, semiconductors and catalysts.","germanium metal and crystals","germanium compounds such as the dioxide and tetrachloride","isotopes from germanium-58 to germanium-89, with five stable isotopes","silicon-germanium alloys"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q867: germanium","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q867","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Germanium","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanium","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should isotopes be separate entries?","How should reference data be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming isotopes; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q867/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q867/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T22:38:08Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:33+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}