-
Nov 6, 1300
Mercury
Atomic Number- 80
Symbol- Hg
No known discoverer -
Nov 6, 1500
Gold
Atomic Number- 78
Symbol- Au
No known discovere -
Barium
Who discovered it: Vincentius Casciorolus
How was it discovered: He found that in the mountains something called the bologna stone which was not it's own element until the 1774.
Atomic Number: 56
Classification: Alkali Earth Metal
Sources: It is commercially taken from molten Barium Chloride. -
Bismuth
Symbol- Bi
Atomic Number-
Discovered by- Georgius Agricola -
Phosphorus
Symbol: P
Atomic Number: 15
Classification: Other Non-Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Hennig Brand
Germany
1669
Hennig Brand discovered phosphorus in 1669, in Hamburg, Germany, preparing it from urine. (Urine naturally contains
considerable quantities of dissolved phosphates.)
Imoptance/Uses:
used in the manufacture of safety matches, pyrotechnics, incendiary shells, smoke bombs, tracer bullets, etc.
Fertilisers -
Cobalt
Symbol: Co
Atomic Number: 27
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Georg Brandt
Sweden
1735
The element was first isolated by Swedish chemist George Brandt in 1735. He showed it was the presence of the element cobalt that caused the blue color in glass, not bismuth as previously thought.
Importance/Uses:
used in alloys used in jet turbines and gas turbine generators
compounds are used as paint pigments -
Platinum
Atomic Number- 78
Symbol- Pl
Ulloa discovered it -
Chlorine
Symbol: Cl
Atomic Number: 17
Classification: Halogen
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Carl William Scheele
Sweden
1774
Scheele collected the gas released by the reaction of pyrolusite [manganese dioxide] with spiritus salis – an alchemical term meaning spirit/breath of salt.
Importance/Uses:
PVC pipe used to provide safe drinking water
production of safe drinking water the world over. Even the smallest water supplies are now usually chlorinated -
Zinc
Symbol: Zn
Atomic Number: 30
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Andreas Marggraf
Germany
1746
Credit for isolating the metal is usually given to Andreas Marggraf in 1746, in Berlin. He heated a mixture of calamine ore and carbon in a closed vessel without copper to produce the metal.
Importance/Uses:
Zinc metal is used for dry batteries, roof cladding, and to protect iron structures from corrosion by attaching zinc as sacrifical anodes.
galvanize metals such -
Nickel
Symbol: Ni
Atomic Number: 28
Classification:
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Axel Fredrik Cronstedt
Sweden
1751
Axel Cronstedt carried out a number of experiments to determine the true nature of kupfernickel.Chemical reactions were not what he would have expected from a copper compound, he heated kupfernickel with charcoal to yield a hard,white metal,whose color alone showed it could not be copper.
Importance/Uses:
provide a protective coating for other metals
electroplating -
Magnesium
Symbol: Mg
Atomic Number: 12
Classification: Alkali Earth Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Sir Humphrey Davy England
1755
Magnesium was first isolated by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1808, in London, England. Davy had built a large battery and used it to pass electricity through salts. In doing so, he discovered or isolated for the first time several alkali and alkali earth metals.
Importance/Uses:
computers for radio-frequency shielding
alloys used for aircraft, car engine casings. -
Hydrogen
Symbol: H
Atomic Number: 1
Classification: Other Non-Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Henry Cavendish
London, England
1766
Hydrogen was first recognized as a distinct element in 1766 by English scientist Henry Cavendish, when he prepared it by reacting hydrochloric acid with zinc.
Importance/Uses:
Rocket Fuel
Welding -
Nitrogen
Symbol: N
Atomic Number: 7
Classification: Other Non-Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Daniel Rutherford
Scotland
1772
In a series of steps thoroughly removed oxygen and carbon dioxide from air. He showed that, like carbon dioxide, the residual gas could not support combustion or living organisms. Unlike carbon dioxide, however, nitrogen was insoluble in water and alkali solutions.
Importance/Uses:
electronics industry, which uses the gas as a blanketing
intert atmosphere in tanks -
Carbon
Symbol: C
Atomic Number: 6
Classification: Other Non-Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Carbon has been known since ancient times in the form of soot, charcoal, graphite and diamonds. Ancient cultures did not realize, of course, that these substances were different forms of the same element
Importance/Uses:
pigment in black printing ink and India ink. -
Oxygen
Symbol: O
Atomic Number: 8
Classification: Other Non-Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Joseph Priestley, Carl Scheele
England, Sweden
1774
Scheele heated several compounds including potassium nitrate, manganese oxide, and mercury oxide and found they released a gas which enhanced combustion. After a series of experimenting, oxygen was then discovered.
Importance/Uses:
breathing
rocket fuel oxidant -
Manganese
Symbol: Mn
Atomic Number: 25
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Johann Gahn
Sweden
1774
The first recognition of manganese’s existence as a distinct element was in 1740, when the German chemist, Johann Heinrich Pott, stated that pyrolusite (manganese dioxide) contained a new earth metal.
Importance/Uses:
improves the rolling and forging qualities, strength, toughness in steel.
quantitative analysis -
Molybdenum
Who discoverd it: Carl W. Scheele
How was it Discovered: They were noticed it had different componets than graphite.
Atomic Number: 42
Classification: Transition Metal
Sources: It comes from different things like molydnite and wulfenite -
Tellurium
Who discovered it:Baron Franz Muller von Reichenstein
How was it discovered:It perplexed scientists for many years until it was confused with antimony in gold ore.
Atomic Number: 52
Classification: Metalloid
Sources: Sometimes this element is found free in nature, but it is more commonly found in different metals -
Zirconium
Who discovered it: Martin Heinrich Klaproth
How it was discoverd:He was studying zircron from Sri Lanka, he then found that there was a new oxide which he called zirconium.
Atomic Number: 40
Classification: Transition Metal
Sources:Comes from Kroll process, and zircon -
Strontium
Symbol: Sr
Atomic Number: 38
Classification: Alkali Earth Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Adair Crawford
Scotland
1790
Adair Crawford analyzed a mineral sample from a lead mine near Strontian, Scotland. Until then scientists had thought strontium and barium were the same element, and only barium’s existence had been recognized.
Importance/Uses:
fireworks (red flame), flares
optical materials -
Titanium
Symbol: Ti
Atomic Number: 22
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
William Gregor
England
1791
Gregor found a black, magnetic sand that looked like gunpowder in a stream in the parish of Mannacan in Cornwall, England. (We now call this sand ilmenite; it is a mixture consisting mainly of the oxides of iron and titanium.)
Importance/Uses:
dental implants
joint replacement parts, including hip ball and sockets. -
Yttrium
Symbol: Y
Atomic Number: 39
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Johann Godolin
Finland
1794
Carl Arrhenius found a coal-like mineral in a feldspar/quartz mine near Ytterby, Sweden. The mine had been developed in the early 18th century as a result of the mineral requirements of the local pottery industry.
Arrhenius called the black mineral ytterbite after Ytterby.
Importance/Uses:
used in laser systems
yttrium aluminium garnet is a gemstone (simulated diamond) -
Beryllium
Symbol: Be
Atomic Number: 4
Classification: Alkali Earth Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Nicholas Louis Vauquelin
France
1797
France, René Haüy saw similarities in the crystal structures and properties of beryl and emerald.Haüy wondered if, despite their different colors, beryl and emerald could be made of the same elements.Vauquelin discovered a new, sweet-tasting substance in both emerald and beryl.
Importance/Uses:
the oxide is used in the nuclear industry
ceramics -
Chromium
Symbol: Cr
Atomic Number: 24
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin
France
1797
French chemist Nicolas Louis Vauquelin in Paris. He discovered the element in a mineral sample of ‘Siberian red lead’- now known as crocoite (lead chromate). He boiled the crushed mineral with potassium carbonate to produce lead carbonate and a yellow potassium salt solution of chromic acid.
Importance/Uses:
wide use as a catalyst
aircraft and other industries -
Niobium
Who Discovered it: Charles Hatchett
How was it: Discovered: Discovered in ore brought over from England
Atomic Number: 41
Classification: Transition Metal
Sources: It is found in things like columbite and tantalite. -
Vanadium
Symbol: V
Atomic Number: 23
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Andres Manuel del Rio, Nis Sefström
Mexico, Sweden
1801
Wen Nils Gabriel Sefström in Stockholm, Sweden, found a new metal in a Swedish iron ore.
He called this new element vanadium after ‘Vanadis’ the Scandinavian goddess of beauty because of the beautiful multicolored compounds formed by the metal.
Importance/Uses:
nuclear applications
producing rust-resistant springs and steels -
Rhodium
Who Discovered it: William H. Wollaston
How did they discover it: Wollaston was looking at some platinum ore from Peru.
Atomic Number: 45
Classification: Transition Metal
Sources: It is present in small quanities of certain metals including, platinum, nickel, silver, and gold. -
Cerium
Who Discovered it: Jöns J. Berzelius and Wilhelm von Hisinger
How was it discovered: First found in cerite
Atomic Number: 58
Classification: Lanthanide and rare earth metal
Sources: Found and taken from a multitdue of different minerals like, allanite and monazite -
Sodium
Symbol: Na
Atomic Number: 11
Classification: Alkali Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Sir Humphrey Davy England
1807
Chemical bonding was electrical in nature and that he could use electricity to split substances into their basic building blocks – the chemical elements.
Importance/Uses:
preparation of organic compounds
table salt - don't use too much! -
Potassium
Symbol: K
Atomic Number: 19
Classification: Alkali Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Sir Humphrey Davy England
1807
In 1807 he isolated potassium for the first time at the Royal Institution, London. He electrolyzed dried potassium hydroxide (potash) which he had very slightly moistened by exposing it to the moist air in his laboratory. The electrolysis was powered by the combined output of three large batteries he had built.
Importance/Uses:
liquid detergents
fertilizers -
Calcium
Symbol: Ca
Atomic Number: 20
Classification: Alkali Earth Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Sir Humphrey Davy
England
1808
Limestone [calcium carbonate] was called calx by the Romans. The Romans heated calx, driving off carbon dioxide to leave calcium oxide. To make cement, all you have to do is mix calcium oxide with water.
Importance/Uses:
deoxidiser, desulphurizer, or decarbonizer for various alloys
calcium from limestone is a component of Portland cement -
Boron
Symbol: B
Atomic Number: 5
Classification: Mettaloid
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Sir Humphrey Davey, Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac
England, France
1808
Importance/Uses:
manufacture of enamels and borosilicate glasses
dvanced aerospace structures. -
Iodine
Who discovered it: Bernard Courtois
How was it discovered: He was attempting to take out potassium chloride from a sample of seaweed. Then added some other chemicals to create Iodine.
Atomic Number: 53
Classification: Nonmetal
Sources: It is mostly found in seaweed and in some minerals and soil. -
Selenium
Symbol: Se
Atomic Number: 34
Classification: Other Non-Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Jöns Berzelius
Sweden
1817
In 1817 the eminent Swedish chemist Jöns J. Berzelius had his attention drawn to a red deposit left behind after sulfur had been burned in a sulfuric acid factory. Then Selenium was discovered.
Importance/Uses:
photographic toner
additive for stainless steel -
Cadmium
Who discovered it: Friedrich Stromeyer
How was it discovered: He was inspecting pharmacies in Germany and found that the carbonate was not the zinc normal used.
Atomic Number: 48
Classification: Transition Metal
Sources: It comes in small sources of this element can be found in zinc ores. -
Lithium
Symbol: Li
Atomic Number: 3
Classification: Alkali Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Johan August Arfvedson
Stockholm, Sweden
1817
He found the petalite contained “silica, alumina and an alkali.”The new alkali metal in the petalite had unique properties.It required more acid to neutralize it than sodium and its carbonate was only sparingly soluble in water – unlike sodium carbonate.
Importance/Uses:
all-purpose and high-temperature lubricants
sometimes used as battery anode material -
Sulfur
Symbol: S
Atomic Number: 16
Classification: Other Non-Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Known since ancient times (In Genesis; referred to as brimstone)
It can be found in its elemental state around volcano vents.
Importance/Uses:
bleaching of dried fruits and for paper products.
sulphuric acid -
Silicon
Symbol: Si
Atomic Number: 14
Classification: Mettaloid
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Jöns Jacob Berzelius
Sweden
1824
In 1789, the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier proposed that a new chemical element could be found in quartz. This new element, he said, must be very abundant.He was right, of course. Silicon accounts for 28% of the weight of Earth’s crust.
Importance/Uses:
used in medicine for silicone implants
computer chips -
Aluminum
Symbol: Al
Atomic Number: 13
Classification: Other Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Hans Christian Oersted Denmark
1825
In the 1750s German chemist Andreas Marggraf found he could use an alkali solution to precipitate a new substance from alum. Marggraf had previously been the first person to isolate zinc in 1746.
Importance/Uses:
kitchen utensils
cans and foils -
Bromine
Symbol: Br
Atomic Number: 35
Classification: Halogen
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Antoine J Balard
France
1826
Bromine compounds have been used since ancient times.
Importance/Uses:
medicines
flameproofing agents -
Ruthenium
Who discovered it: Jons Jacob Berzelius, Gottfried W. Osann , then again by Karl K. Klaus
How was it discovered: First thought to be in the tha residue from disolved platinum ores.
Atomic Number: 44
Classification: Transition Metal
Sources: It comes from things like nuclear fuel and pentlandite. -
Thorium
Symbol- Th
Atomic Number- 91
Discovered by- Thrane Esmark -
Lanthanum
Who discovered it: Carl G. Mosander
How was it discovered: He suspected something more than Ceria.
Atomic Number: 57
Classification: Lanthanide and Rare Earth Metal
Sources: It is mostly found in minerals including: monazite and bashnaesite -
Cesium
Who discovered it: Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff
How was it discovered: They were analyzing spectrum of mineral water samples
Atomic Number: 55
Classification: Alkali Metal
Sources: It can be found in minerals like pollucite and Iepidolite. -
Rubidium
Symbol: Rb
Atomic Number: 37
Classification: Alkali Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Robert Bunsen, Gustav Kirchhoff
Germany
1861
Rubidium was discovered in 1861, in Heidelberg, Germany, by Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff using spectroscopy, the method the pair had invented and developed in the previous two years.
Importance/Uses:
photocell component
rubidium is easily ionized, and so has possible use in "ion engines" for space vehicles (but caesium is somewhat more efficient) -
Indium
Who discovered it: Ferdinand Reich
How was it discovered: He was studying zinc sulfide ore to see if it contained thallium.
Atomic Number: 49
Classification: Other Metal
Sources: It can estracted from iron, copper, and lead. -
Astatine
Symbol- At
Atomic Number- 85
Discovered by- Dale R. Corson -
Gallium
Symbol: Ga
Atomic Number: 31
Classification: Other Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Paul-Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
France
1875
De Boisbaudran extracted gallium in the first instance from a zinc blende ore from the Pyrenees and obtained initially only 0.65 grams from 430 kilograms of ore. He isolated gallium by electrolysis of its hydroxide in potassium hydroxide solution.
Importance/Uses:
converts electricity into coherent light
forms a brilliant mirror when it is painted on glass -
Scandium
Symbol: Sc
Atomic Number: 21
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Lars Fredrik Nilson
Sweden
1879
Nilson was studying the rare earth elements, attempting to isolate ytterbium from the minerals euxenite and gadolinite.
Importance/Uses:
isotope tracing in crude oil analysis
metallic baseball bats -
Praseodymium
Who discovered it: Carl Auer von Welsbach
How was it discovered: It was discovered in the misconcieved didymium.
Atomic Number: 59
Classification: Lanthanide and Rare Earth Metal
Sources: Found in different things like monazaite and bastnaesite. -
Flourine
Symbol: F
Atomic Number: 9
Classification: Halogen
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Henri Moissan
France
1886
In 1530, German mineralogist Georgius Agricola described the use of the mineral fluorspar in metal refining. Fluorspar was very useful because it combined with the unwanted parts of metal ores, allowing the pure metal to flow and be collected.
Importance/Uses:
producing isotopically fractionated uranium
used extensively in air conditioning and refridgeration -
Germanium
Symbol: Ge
Atomic Number: 32
Classification: Mettaloid
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Clemens Winkler
Germany
1886
Germanium was discovered by Clemens A. Winkler in 1886, in Germany, in a mineral sample from a silver mine.
Importance/Uses:
a catalyst
alloying agent -
Argon
Symbol: Ar
Atomic Number: 18
Classification: Noble Gas
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Sir William Ramsey, Lord Rayleigh
Scotland
1894
The first hint of its existence came from English scientist Sir Henry Cavendish as far back as 1785.He was unhappy about the lack of information about the fraction of air which was not oxygen.
Importance/Uses:
electric light bulbs and in fluorescent tubes
inert gas shield for arc welding and cutting -
Helium
Symbol: He
Atomic Number: 2
Classification: Noble Gas
Discovery (Who,When,Where,and How):
Sir William Ramsey
London, England and Uppsala, Sweden
1895
The story of helium’s discovery is interwoven with the discovery of the nature of stars. At one time people believed we would never know what stars are made of.
Importance/Uses:
filling balloons (blimps)
gas for supersonic wind tunnels -
Neon
Symbol: Ne
Atomic Number: 10
Classification: Noble Gas
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Sir William Ramsey, Morris W Travers
London, England
1898
Ramsay and Travers froze a sample of argon using liquid air. They then slowly evaporated the argon under reduced pressure and collected the first gas that came off.
Importance/Uses:
advertising signs
high-voltage indicators, lightning arrestors, wave meter tubes, and TV tubes -
Krypton
Symbol: Kr
Atomic Number: 36
Classification: Noble Gas
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How): Sir William Ramsey, Morris W Travers
Great Britain
1898
Ramsay and Travers considered the gap in the periodic table between helium and argon. They reasoned that a new element (it’s now called neon) must exist to fill this gap; they were determined to find it.
Importance/Uses:
used with argon as a low-pressure filling gas for fluorescent lights
photographic flash lamps for high-speed photography -
Radium
Symbol- Ra
Atomic Number- 88
Discovered by- Marie Curie -
Polonium
Symbol- Po
Atomic Number- 84
Discovered by- Marie Curie -
Actinium
Symbol- Ac
Atomic Number- 89
Discovered by- Andre-Louis Debierne -
Uranium
Francis Perrin discovered it.
Atomic Number- 92
Symbol- U -
Proactinium
Symbol- Pa
Atomic Number- 92
Discovered by- Kasmir Fajians -
Technetium
Who discovered it: Dmitri Mendeleev
How was it discovered: He noticed a gap between two elements
Atomic Number: 43
Classification: Transition Metal
Sources: It comes mostly from a uranium source. -
Neptunium
Atomic Number- 93
Symbol- Np
Synthesized by Edwin McMillan -
Plutonium
Atomic Number- 94
Symbol- Pu
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg -
Americium
Atomic Number- 95
Symbol- Am
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg -
Curium
Atomic Number- 96
Symbol- Cu
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso -
Berklium
Atomic Number- Bk
Symbol- 97
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso -
Californium
Atomic Number- 98
Symbol- Cf
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso -
Einstienium
Atomic Number- 99
Symbol- Es
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso -
Fermium
Atomic Number- 100
Symbol- Fm
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso -
Mendelevium
Atomic Number- 101
Symbol- Md
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg -
Nobelium
Atomic Number- 102
Symbol- No
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso -
Lawrencium
Atomic Number- 103
Symbol- Lr
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso -
Ruthfordium
Atomic Number- 104
Symbol- Rf
Synthesized by Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR) -
Dubnium
Atomic Number- 105
Symbol- Db
Synthesized by Albert Ghiorso/JINR -
Seaborgium
Atomic Number- 106
Symbol- Sg
Synthesized by Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso -
Bohrium
Atomic Number- Bh
Symbol- 107
Synthesized by Institute of Heavy Ion Research -
Meitnurium
Atomic Number- 109
Symbol- Mt
Synthesized by Institute of Heavy Ion Research -
Darmstadtium
Atomic Number- 110
Symbol- Dm
Synthesized by Institute of Heavy Ion Research -
Hassium
Atomic Number- 108
Symbol- Hs
Synthesized by Institute of Heavy Ion Research -
Roentgium
Atomic Number- 111
Symbol- Rg
Synthesized by Institute of Heavy Ion Research -
Copernecium
Atomic Number- 112
Symbol- Cn
Synthesized by Institute of Heavy Ion Research -
Flerovium
Symbol- Fv
Atomic Number- 114
Synthesized by JINR -
Livermorium
Symbol- Lv
Atomic Number 116
Synthesized by JINR -
Ununtrium
Symbol- Uut
Atomic Number 113
Synthesized by JINR -
Ununpentium
Symbol- Uup
Atomic Number- 115
Synthesized by JINR -
Ununseptium
Symbol- Uus
Atomic Number 117
Synthesized by JINR -
Ununoctium
Symbol- Uuo
Atomic Number- 118
Synthesized by JINR -
Iron
Symbol: Fe
Atomic Number: 26
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Known since ancient times
Importance/Uses:
Alloy
cheapest and most abundant, useful, and important of all metals -
Copper
Symbol: Cu
Atomic Number: 29
Classification: Transition Metal
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Known since ancient times
Copper has been used by humans for as many as ten thousand years. Beads made from native copper dating from the eighth millennium BC have been found in Turkey.
Importance/Uses:
Wire
electrical industry -
Arsenic
Symbol: As
Atomic Number: 33
Classification: Mettaloid
Discovery(Who,When,Where,and How):
Known since ancient times
Importance/Uses:
bronzing
pyrotechnics -
Xenon
Who discovered it: William Ramsay and Morris Travers.
How was it discovered: It was found in the remains f fractionally distilled air.
Atomic Number: 54
Classification: Nonmetal
Sources: -
Francium
Symbol- Fr
Atomic Number- 87
Discovered by- Marguerite Perey -
Radon
Symbol- Ra
Atomic Number- 86
Discovered by- Freidrich Dorn -
Lead
Symbol- Pb
Atomic Number- 82
Discovered by- No known discoverer
