Vanadium
🔧 In Your World
Vanadium is the secret ingredient that makes steel exceptionally strong and tough. Adding just a small amount of vanadium to steel creates high-strength, shock-resistant alloys used to make armor plate, car axles, and high-quality tools like wrenches and screwdrivers. Its compounds also come in a variety of beautiful colors, and it's used as a catalyst in industrial processes.
📖 The Discovery Story
Vanadium has a story of being discovered twice. In 1801, Spanish-Mexican mineralogist Andrés Manuel del Río discovered it and named it "erythronium." However, he was later convinced by another chemist that it was just an impure form of chromium. In 1830, Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström rediscovered the element and named it "vanadium" after Vanadis, the Old Norse name for the Scandinavian goddess of beauty, because of its many beautifully colored compounds.
📊 Properties at a Glance
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Melting Point | 1910 °C / 3470 °F |
| Boiling Point | 3407 °C / 6165 °F |
| Electron Configuration | [Ar] 3d³4s² |
| Abundance in Earth's Crust | 0.019% |
⚠️ Safety & Handling
Vanadium metal and its alloys are not considered toxic. However, certain vanadium compounds, particularly vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅), can be toxic if inhaled as dust. This is primarily a concern in industrial settings where vanadium is processed.