Page 58 - The Periodic Table Book

23
V Vanadium

23 23 28 State: Solid
Discovery: 1801
Transition Metals Vanadinite contains high levels Carnotite Silvery
Forms
This mushroom
surface
of vanadium.
Fly agaric
mushroom

This powdery yellow
crust contains tiny
amounts of vanadium.
Laboratory sample of

These brittle pure vanadium crystals
crystals are the main
source of vanadium.

Uses This knife has been
strengthened by the
About addition of vanadium.
85% of

Spanners all vanadium
is used to
toughen steel. Damascus
Tools made with
alloys of vanadium Steel knife
and steel are durable.

Vanadium can be hammered and stretched amounts of vanadium compounds to make a
without breaking. This hard, strong metal is very tough substance called Damascus Steel.
easy to shape. Vanadium was first purified This was named after the capital city of Syria,
in 1869 by the British chemist Henry Roscoe. where ironworkers made the world’s sharpest
Today, it is commonly extracted from its ore swords. Vanadium is still used to toughen tools,
56 vanadinite. Ancient metalworkers used tiny such as spanners and knives.
56

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