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Crystals of 99.999% gallium.
Image: Aiyizo (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
Dmitri Mendeleev predicted the existence of Gallium -- which he referred to as "eka-aluminium" -- a few years before it was first discovered, and even correctly predicted several of its properties, all based on its position in his new discovery, the Periodic Table of the Elements.
When I first learned about Gallium, I thought its name was somehow connected with chickens because their scientific name is Gallus gallus. I later learned that I was wrong, and then even later than that, I learned I might have been correct all along. Well, maybe. In fact, Gallium comes from the Latin word, Gallia (gaul), which refers to France, the homeland of the man who discovered this element. But it wasn't long before its discoverer, Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, was accused of naming this element after himself, since his family name, "Le coq", is French for "rooster". Of course, Le coq always vigorously denied this association.
Oh, how like a rooster!
In this video, The Professor and his colleagues teach us a little about Gallium, and tell us about a breakthrough experiment done by one of their colleagues at the University of Nottingham:
I want to point out that, in addition to its name, there is another obvious similarity between Gallium and barnyard chickens that is difficult for this ornithologist to miss: similar to chickens, Gallium is not found in its pure form in nature. Instead (and unlike chickens), it is a relatively uncommon trace element found in some minerals and is produced as a by-product of zinc and aluminium production.
Gallium is not an essential trace element for living beings, although the human body does contain small amounts of it (according to the Science Gallery's "Elements" exhibit, my body contains roughly 7x1019 atoms of Gallium). Unfortunately, I don't know how many atoms of Gallium are found in the average domestic chicken's body.
Gallium has all sorts of commercial uses, including in semiconductors, as the reflective surface of mirrors, and as an additive to glide wax for skiis. But in my opinion, Gallium's most impressive everyday use is to make spoons that melt when an unsuspecting victim, erm ... person ... tries to use one to stir his or her coffee or tea:
I already can imagine the pranks and Christmas gifts that will include Gallium spoons in the coming months! (In fact, I've already got part of my Christmas list figured out!)
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Video journalist Brady Haran is the man with the camera and the University of Nottingham is the place with the chemists. You can follow Brady on twitter @periodicvideos and the University of Nottingham on twitter @UniNottingham
You've already met these elements:
Zinc: Zn, atomic number 30
Copper: Cu, atomic number 29
Nickel: Ni, atomic number 28
Cobalt: Co, atomic number 27
Iron: Fe, atomic number 26
Manganese: Mn, atomic number 25
Chromium: Cr, atomic number 24
Vanadium: V, atomic number 23
Titanium: Ti, atomic number 22
Scandium: Sc, atomic number 21
Calcium: Ca, atomic number 20
Potassium: K, atomic number 19
Argon: Ar, atomic number 18
Chlorine: Cl, atomic number 17
Sulfur: S, atomic number 16
Phosphorus: P, atomic number 15
Silicon: Si, atomic number 14
Aluminium: Al, atomic number 13
Magnesium: Mg, atomic number 12
Sodium: Na, atomic number 11
Neon: Ne, atomic number 10
Fluorine: F, atomic number 9
Oxygen: O, atomic number 8
Nitrogen: N, atomic number 7
Carbon: C, atomic number 6
Boron: B, atomic number 5
Beryllium: Be, atomic number 4
Lithium: Li, atomic number 3
Helium: He, atomic number 2
Hydrogen: H, atomic number 1
Here's a wonderful interactive Periodic Table of the Elements that is just really really fun to play with!
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