CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY
strontium → stroncij
Strontium was discovered by Sir Humphry Davy (England) in 1808. Named after the village of Strontian in Scotland. It is soft, malleable, silvery-yellow metal. Combustible in air, will react with water. Exposed surfaces form protective oxide film. Metal ignites and burns readily. Strontium is found in minerals celestite and strontianite. Used in flares and fireworks for crimson colour. Strontium-90 is a long lived highly radioactive fallout product of atomic-bomb explosions.
tantalum → tantal
Tantalum was discovered by Anders Ekeberg (Sweden) in 1802. The origin of the name comes from the Greek word Tantalos meaning father of Niobe in Greek mythology, (tantalum is closely related to niobium in the periodic table). It is rare, grey, heavy, hard but ductile, metal with a high melting point. Exposed surfaces form corrosion resistant oxide film. Attacked by HF and fused alkalis. Metal ignites in air. Tantalum always found with niobium. Chiefly occurs in the mineral tantalite. Often used as an economical substitute for platinum. Tantalum pentoxide is used in capacitors and in camera lenses to increase refracting power. It and its alloys are corrosion and wear resistant so it is used to make surgical and dental tools.
technetium → tehnecij
Technetium was discovered by Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segre (Italy) in 1937. The origin of the name comes from the Greek word technikos meaning artificial. It is silvery-grey metal. Resists oxidation but tarnishes in moist air and burns in high oxygen environment. First synthetically produced element. Radioactive. Technetium is made first by bombarding molybdenum with deuterons (heavy hydrogen) in a cyclotron. Added to iron in quantities as low as 55 part-per-million transforms the iron into a corrosion-resistant alloy.
tellurium → telurij
Tellurium was discovered by Franz Joseph Muller von Reichstein (Romania) in 1782. The origin of the name comes from the Latin word tellus meaning earth. It is silvery-white, brittle semi-metal. Unreactive with water or HCl; dissolves in HNO3; burns in air or oxygen. Tellurium is obtained as a by-product of copper and lead refining. Used to improve the machining quality of copper and stainless steel products and to colour glass and ceramics. Also in thermoelectric devices. Some is used in the rubber industry and it is a basic ingredient in manufacturing blasting caps.
terbium → terbij
Terbium was discovered by Carl Gustaf Mosander (Sweden) in 1843. Named after Ytterby, a village in Sweden. It is soft, ductile, silvery-grey, rare earth metal. Oxidizes slowly in air. Reacts with cold water. Terbium is found with other rare earths in monazite sand. Other sources are xenotime and euxenite, both of which are oxide mixtures that can contain up to 1 % terbium. It is used in modest amounts in special lasers and solid-state devices.
thallium → talij
Thallium was discovered by Sir William Crookes (England) in 1861. The origin of the name comes from the Greek word thallos meaning green twig or green shoot. It is soft grey metal that looks like lead. Tarnishes in moist air. Reacts in heated moist air and in acids. Compounds highly toxic by inhalation or ingestion. Cumulative effects. Thallium is found in iron pyrites. Also in crookesite, hutchinsonite and lorandite. Most is recovered from the by-products of lead and zinc refining. Its compounds are used in rat and ant poisons. Also for detecting infrared radiation.
thorium → torij
Thorium was discovered by Jöns Jakob Berzelius (Sweden) in 1828. Named after Thor, the mythological Scandinavian god of war. It is heavy, grey, soft, malleable, ductile, radioactive metal. Tarnishes in air; reacts with water. Reacts violently with oxidants. Thorium is found in various minerals like monazite and thorite. Used in making strong alloys. Also in ultraviolet photoelectric cells. It is a common ingredient in high-quality lenses. Bombarded with neutrons make uranium-233, a nuclear fuel.
thulium → tulij
Thulium was discovered by Per Theodore Cleve (Sweden) in 1879. Named after Thule, an ancient name for Scandinavia. It is soft, malleable, ductile, silvery metal. Tarnishes in air. Reacts with water. Flammable dust. Thulium is found with other rare earths in the minerals gadolinite, euxenite, xenotime and monazite. Radioactive thulium is used to power portable X-ray machines, eliminating the need for electrical equipment.
tin → kositar
Tin has been known since ancient times. The origin of the name comes from the Latin word stannum meaning tin. It is silvery-white, soft, malleable and ductile metal. Exposed surfaces form oxide film. Resists oxygen and water. Dissolves in acids and bases. Organic tin compounds may be highly toxic. Tin is principally found in the ore cassiterite (SnO2) and stannine (Cu2FeSnS4). Used as a coating for steel cans since it is non-toxic and non-corrosive. Also in solder (33 %Sn:67 %Pb), bronze (20 %Sn:80 %Cu) and pewter. Stannous fluoride (SnF2), a compound of tin and fluorine is used in some toothpaste.
titanium → titanij
Titanium was discovered by William Gregor (England) in 1791. Named after the Titans, the sons of the Earth goddess in Greek mythology. It is shiny, dark-grey metal. Powdered form burns in air. Exposed surfaces form oxide coating. It can be highly polished and is relatively immune to tarnishing. Unreactive with alkali and most acids. Titanium usually occurs in the minerals ilmenite (FeTiO3), rutile (TiO2) and iron ores. Pure metal produced by heating TiO2 with C and Cl2 to produce TiCl4 then heated with Mg gas in Ar atmosphere. Since it is strong and resists acids it is used in many alloys. Titanium dioxide (TiO2), a white pigment that covers surfaces very well, is used in paint, rubber, paper and many others.
Citing this page:
Generalic, Eni. "Koloidno srebro." Croatian-English Chemistry Dictionary & Glossary. 29 June 2022. KTF-Split. {Date of access}. <https://glossary.periodni.com>.
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