What is Chromite

Chromite is an oxide mineral. The main composition of Chromite is chromium along with iron and oxygen. It is the only ore of Chromium. The color of chromite varies from grey to black  and has a sub-metallic lustre with a high specific gravity. Chromite is relatively hard and metallic. It is found in basic and ultra-basic igneous rocks or metamorphic rocks and even sedimentary rocks. Their occurrence is a result of altering of these rocks by heat or weathering.

Being the only ore of chromium, chromite is highly used in the production of stainless steel, nichrome and chrome plating. Given it's high heat stability, it is also used as a refractory material. 

What is Curium?

One of the rare metals, curium is radioactive in nature. It is hard, brittle and silvery. It's occurrence is not in nature and hence is a synthetic element. It has to be made in a nuclear reactor. The process of making curium in a nuclear reactor is by neutron capture reactions from plutonium and americium isotopes.

Curium glowing in the dark

Curium was discovered by American Chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James and Albert Ghiorso in 1944 in USA. The metal was named after chemist and physicist Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie, who are known to be the pioneers of radioactivity.

One of the property of Curium is that, it tarnishes slowly in dry air at room temperature. Most of it's compounds are faintly yellow. Curium is highly radioactive and glows red in dark. Curium is considered to be dangerous. If curium enters the body it gets accumulated in the bone marrow and with it's radiation starts destroying the marrow and further stops red blood cell formation.

What is Curium used for?

Presently curium is used only for basic scientific research. Curium 244 is a power source in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). It is also used in the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (AXPS) which is used in measuring the abundance of chemical elements and soils on Mars.

What is Thallium

Named after the Greek word 'Thallos', Thallium is a soft, grey metal. It is a poor and malleable metal, soft enough to be cut with a knife at room temperature. Thallos means a green twig and thallium was named so for it's green spectral line. Thallium is highly toxic in nature and hence needs to handled with care. Thallium is very shiny though it dulls quickly in presence of oxygen. With the process of oxidation, thallium turns bluish grey and resembles lea. I order to prevent the oxidation of thallium which ends discoloring it, thallium has to be stored in mineral oils. Thallium is a toxic metal and should never come in contact with skin.

Uses of Thallium

Thallium is mainly used in electronic industry. Out of 70% of it's annual global production is used up in electronic industry. Rest of it is used in pharmaceutical industry for the production of nuclear medicine and also by the glass industry. Thallium is also used for the treatment of ringworm and other skin infections despite of it's toxic nature. Thallium sulfate is effectively used as a rodent killer and an ant killer as it is odorless and tasteless. 

What is Promethium

Silvery white in colour, Promethium is considered an harmful element due to its radioactivity. It was discovered by American chemists J. A. Marinsky, L. E. Glendenin and Charles Coryell in the year 1947. When discovered it was noted that Promethium would be only rare radioactive metal on earth. Though silvery white in colour, the salts of Promethium have red or pink colour which turn luminescence with a pale blue or green glow. Promethium derived its name from Prometheus, a Greek mythological figure.

Uses of Promethium

1. It is used to measure the thickness of materials like metal sheets.

2. It is used in atomic batteries, space craft and guided missiles.

3. It is also used as a portable x-ray source and a heat source which offers auxiliary power for space probes and satellites. 

What is Borax

Sources: Google images

A natural white powder mineral formed from a colourless crystal, Borax was discovered in the dry lake beds of Tibet. Borax is known to easily dissolve in water. It has a high alkaline structure and has a pH level of 9.3. The chemical formula of Borax is a combination of sodium, boron, oxygen and water. Though considered safe to the planet, yet large amounts of Borax can pose a threat to the plants and animal species.

Borax is used on  large scale for manufacturing soaps and detergents. Due to it's alkaline properties and water solubility, borax is known to remove tough stain. Other than that, Borax is also used in manufacture of dyes, fungicides, pesticides, enamels, glazes and fire-proofing compounds. A large amount of borax is also known to be used in tanning industry. 

What is Indium

Sources: Google images

Indium is one of the softest metal that looks silvery white and has a bright lustre. It was discovered in 1863 by two German Chemists, Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Theodor Richter. The metal got it's name because of the indigo blue colour in its atomic spectrum. There is enough abundance of Indium just as much as sliver but it's accessibility is much easier than silver. It is easily found along with zinc, iron, lead and copper ores. One of the most interesting properties of Indium is that it doesn't react with water. It has a very low melting point and low boiling point. And just because of this property Indium is ideal for soldering. It offers easy working conditions at low temperature. Indium has one more unique property, it makes a sound or a 'tin cry', when it is bent which resembles a low scream.

Uses of Indium

As Indium is known to access even distribution of lubricating oil, it is used to coat the bearings of high speed motors. Indium is used to make various electrical items such as rectifiers and photo conductors. Being as reflective as silver, Indium can be used to make mirrors. Because of it's use in production of LCD monitors, televisions and display screens, there has been a great demand for Indium in the recent times. 

What is Palladium?

Sources: Google images

A steel white in colour and ductile in nature, palladium is a tarnish-resistant metal which has a melting point of 1554 degrees C. It was discovered by William Hyde Wollastan in the year 1803 in England. The metal was named after the asteroid 'Pallas' which had been discovered at the same time as the metal. Also it gets it's name from the Greek god 'Pallas' which means Goddess of Wisdom. Palladium is denoted with the symbol Pd and has the atomic number 46. Though Palladium highly resembles Platinum, it is least dense an has the lowest melting point. 

What is Palladium Used For

Palladium is largely used in the jewelry industry for making jewelry. It is also used in dentistry in small amounts for making of dental amalgams which help decrease corrosion. Palladium also is used in making surgical instruments, electrical contacts, blood sugar strips, spark plugs of aircraft, watches and in automobile catalytic converters. The soft metal Palladium also plays a key role in the technology used for fuel cells which is used to combine hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, heat and water. Palladium costs USD907.80 Per Troy Ounce (approximately 31 gm).