Scandium [Sc] (CAS-ID: 7440-20-2) locate me
An: 21 N: 24 Am: 44.955910
Group No: 3  Group Name: (none)
Block: d-block  Period: 4
State: solid at 298 K
Colour: silvery white, develops a yellowish or pinkish cast when exposed to air. Classification: Metallic
Boiling Point: 3109K (2836)
Melting Point: 1814K (1541'C)
Density: 2.985g/cm3
Shell Structure diagram | Atomic Radius diagram
Isotopes | More Info
Discovery Information
Who: Lars Nilson
When: 1879
Where: Sweden
Name Origin
From Scandinavia
Sources
Occurs mainly in the minerals thortveitile, thortvetite, gadolinte and euxenite, located in Scandinavia and Madagascar. Trace amounts can be found in over 800 minerals. Also in some tin and tungsten ores.
Uses
The main application by volume is in aluminium-scandium alloys for the aerospace industry and for sports equipment (bikes, baseball bats, firearms, etc.) which rely on high performance materials.
It is also used in high-intensity lights (scandium iodide added to mercury-vapour lamps produces a highly efficient artificial light source that resembles sunlight and allows good color reproduction with TV cameras), lightbulbs, leak detectors and seed germinating agents.
The original use of scandium-aluminium alloys were in the nose cones of Soviet Union submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The strength of the resulting nose cone was enough to enable it to pierce the ice cap without damage, so enabling a missile launch while still submerged under the Arctic ice cap.
Notes
Scandium metal power is combustible and presents a fire hazard.
Scandium is not attacked 1:1 mixture of nitric acid(HNO3) and 48% HF.
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