Chemical Element: strontium
(Modern Latin: named for Strontian, "a village in Scotland"; metal)
Chemical-Element Information
Symbol: SrAtomic number: 38
Year discovered: First in 1790, by Adair Crawford of Scotland; then again in 1808, by Sir Humphry Davy, an English chemist.
Discovered by: Adair Crawford, of Scotland, in 1790 and Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), an English chemist, in 1808.
- Adair Crawford in 1790 recognized a new mineral (strontianite) in samples of witherite (a mineral consisting of barium carbonate) at Strontian in Argyll, Scotland.
- It was some time before it was recognized that strontianite contained a new element.
- Strontianite is now known to consist of strontium carbonate.
- The element itself was not isolated for a number of years after this when strontium metal was isolated by Davy by electrolysis of a mixture containing strontium chloride and mercuric oxide in 1808.
- It is distributed in small quantities in many different rocks and soils.
- Some is present in bones, in which it replaces small amounts of calcium.
- Compounds of strontium are not as extensively used as those of calcium or barium.
Name in other languages:
French: strontium
German: Strontium
Italian: stronzio
Spanish: estroncio
Information about other elements may be seen at this Chemical Elements List.
A special unit about words that include chemo-, chem- may be seen here.