Chemical Element: tellurium
(Modern Latin: tellus, the "earth"; metal)
Chemical-Element Information
Symbol: TeAtomic number: 52
Year discovered: 1782
Discovered by: Franz Joseph Müller von Reichstein (1740-1825), an Austrian mineralogist.
- Tellurium was discovered in gold ores by Franz Joseph Müller von Reichenstein, the chief inspector of mines in Trannsylvania, in 1782.
- While examining the Transylvanian gold minerals, Müller suspected the presence of a new element and called it “metallum problematicum” or “aurum paradoxum”.
- Feeling inadequate to the task of settling the matter, he sent the substance to a German chemist, Martin Heinrich Klaproth, for further research.
- In 1784, Klaproth confirmed that the material was a new element, named it tellurium (from a Latin word for "earth"), and was careful to give full credit for the discovery to Müller.
- In 1798, Klaproth extracted tellurium from white gold ore, and named it, and established its identity as differing from antimony, with which it had been confused.
- Although comparatively large supplies of tellurium are available, there are not any significant uses that create a big demand for it.
Name in other languages:
French: atellure
German: Tellur
Italian: tellurio
Spanish: teluro
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.