Scandium

Symbol: Sc

Atomic Number: 21

Atomic Weight: 44.956

Scandium (atomic number 21, symbol Sc) is a rare transition metal with a silvery white color. Other rare elements are lutetium, ytterbium, thulium, erbium, and holmium. It is considered a rare element because it occurs in the same ores as other rare earth elements and has the same properties. The metal was discovered by the Swedish chemist Lars Fredrik Nilson in 1879. He was the first to detect it in gadolinite and euxenite. Scandium oxide was discovered by Per Theodor Cleve. The name of the element comes from the Latin word scandia. The metal was isolated from a mixture of...Read More