Why is gallium an important metal?

           Gallium is an interesting metal because it is hard and brittle in a cool atmosphere, soft in standard temperature and liquid in warm conditions. This metal is never found in its free form in nature.

            Dmitri Mendeleev, whom we have seen before as an illustrious scientist and the father of the periodic table, had predicted the existence of gallium before its discovery. He had named the missing element as ‘Eka-Aluminium’.

           The element was first discovered in 1875 by Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, a French chemist.

           You may have wondered how LED lights emit such glow. Gallium is used in the Light Emitting Diodes (LED). It is also used in electronic circuits and as semiconductors.

            The element has use in high-temperature thermometers, barometers, pharmaceuticals etc. However, the element has no known biological value.

            Gallium makes up about 0.0019 per cent of the earth’s crust by weight. The largest producers of gallium are Australia, Russia, France and Germany. It has an atomic number of 31, and the symbol is Ga.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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