Subsequently, it came to be known as magnesia, and then magnesia negra, to differentiate it from the white magnesia alba, which is magnesium oxide. It was originally identified as the feminine magnes, named after Magnesia in Greece where it was found, to differentiate it from the masculine magnes, which is the iron mineral magnetite. The manganese mineral pyrolusite (manganese dioxide, MnO2) was used since ancient times as a black pigment and in glass making. Display: Chromium metal piece and flakes, stainless steel nuts and bolts, chrome-plated plumbing fixtures, crocoite PbCrO4, rubies and a ruby wand Al2O3♼r, and paints with chromium pigments – chrome yellow (PbCrO4) and chromium oxide green (Cr2O3) It is also used for pigments and gives colour to some gemstones, such as rubies and emeralds. The main use of chromium is in metallurgy, for chromium plating to produce a polished appearance and prevent corrosion, and for making stainless steel which is approximately 11% chromium. Chromium is named after the Greek word chroma, meaning colour, owing to the colourful compounds it forms. In 1794, Louis Nicolas Vauquelin experimented with the pigment and showed that it contained a new element which he isolated in 1797. In 1761, Johan Gottlob Lehmann discovered an orange-red mineral he named siberian red lead (now called crocoite, which is lead chromate) which was used as a pigment in paints. Display: Vanadium crystals and pieces, chromium-vanadium steel tools, vanadinite Pb5(VO4)3)Cl, vanadium oxides – VO2 (dark) and V2O5 (orange)Ĭhromium was first investigated as it produces coloured minerals, which were used as pigments. Vanadium oxides are used as catalysts and as fixes for the dyeing of fabrics. Vanadium is used in alloys to increase strength, most commonly in steels, and in lighter titanium alloys for the aerospace industry. The name rionium, honouring del Rio, was also proposed but not adopted. Sefstrom named the element vanadium after the Norse goddess Vanadis, who amongst other things was the goddess of beauty, reflecting the range of beautiful colours of vanadium compounds, and because the symbol V was not in use. In 1831, vanadium was rediscovered by Nils Gabriel Sefstrom, and del Rio’s work was verified by Friedrich Wohler. However, in 1805 it was claimed that del Rio had mistaken chromium for a new element, causing del Rio to retract his discovery. He then changed the name to erythronium (meaning red in Greek) as many vanadium salts turned red when heated. He named the element panchromium (meaning all-colours in Greek) as it produced salts of many different colours. In 1801, Andres Manuel del Rio discovered vanadium in an ore called brown lead (now called vanadinite). Display: Titanium metal pellet and rod, titanium oxides – TiO (beige), Ti 2O 3 (purple), TiO 2 (white, also known as titania), titania-containing sunscreen and white paint, and rutilated quartz (quartz contained rutile TiO 2) Titanium alloys are also used in the aerospace industry as they are light, strong and durable. The main use of titanium is as titanium dioxide, used as a white pigment in many applications including paint, toothpaste and sunscreen. Klaproth, upon becoming aware of Gregor’s work, confirmed that he had discovered the same element.

In 1795, Martin Heinrich Klaproth independently discovered titanium in the mineral rutile and named it after the Titans of Greek mythology. He concluded that it contained iron oxide and a second oxide which he could not identify, and which he attributed to a new element that he named menachite. William Gregor discovered titanium in 1791 when examining the mineral ilmenite. Display: Scandium metal crystals and bicycle seat post clamp (bolt made from scandium alloy) The main use of scandium is in aluminium alloys to increase their strength for specialised applications in the aerospace industry and for sports equipment. Pure samples of scandium metal were not produced until 1937 as it is neither particularly easy to extract, abundant nor useful. It was detected ten years later in 1879 in the minerals gadolinite and euxenite by Lars Fredrik Nilson who named it after Scandinavia ( Scandia in Latin), as he was Swedish. Scandium was predicted by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869 who named it ekaboron.

41 element in periodic table