Fun Facts 5

Sometimes it just seems like the fun will never end! But actually, we're not even half done talking about the elements!

• Most plants are green because they contain chlorophyll, which lets them turn light into energy. Chlorophyll is a large and complex molecule, but at its heart is a magnesium (Mg, #12) atom.
• Scandium (Sc, #21) is a lightweight metal that is sometimes combined with aluminum to make sports equipment, like bikes and baseball bats.
• Marguerite Perey, a student of the famous woman scientist Marie Curie, discovered francium (Fr, #87) in 1939. It was the last naturally occuring element to be discovered.
• The element californium (Cf, #98) has been detected in supernovas, which are exploding stars.
• Gold (Au, #79) is sometimes used to make false teeth. In fact, some skeletons from the Etruscans, who lived in Italy in 1000 - 400 BCE, had good teeth!
• Only about 100 atoms of the very radioactive element hassium (Hs, #108) have ever been made!
• Lithium (Li, #3) batteries are small, lightweight, and long-lasting. Some of them can supply power for over 10 years!
• Some who is famous is sometimes said to be "in the limelight". This phrase doesn't refer to green fruits at all, but rather, to calcium (Ca, #20) oxide, also called "lime". In the early 1800's (before electric lights), lime was burned with oxygen and hydrogen to produce a very bright white light. This light was usually used to illuminate stages in theaters and concert halls.
• The silvery metal gallium (Ga, #31) has a melting point near body temperature. This means that it will melt in your hand if you hold it!
• One element was so hard to discover that its name comes from the Greek word dysprositos, which means "hard to get at". That element is dysprosium (Dy, #66).