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History of Molybdenum:
Molybdenum was
first discovered in 1778 by a Swedish chemist named Carl William
Scheele who thought that he was observing lead while studying a
sample of molybdenite. Named from the Greek word
"molybdos, which actually means lead, Scheele notice an apparent
visual similarity, which upon further analysis, proved to be
incorrect. His studies led him to conclude that the ore sample
did not contain lead, but a new element, which he named
molybdenum after the mineral molybdenite.
Though Scheele
is credited with the discovery of molybdenum in its elemental
(oxide) form, it was Peter Hjelm who in 1782 first reduced the
oxide with carbon to produced the gray metallic powder which he
also named molybdenum.
After the
initial isolation of molybdenum in 1782, a commercial
application for molybdenum was not identified until the early
1900's. Industrial and Military applications required stronger
steels with greater resistance to corrosion and damage. The
First World War saw the demand for molybdenum rise dramatically
as alloyed steels used for transportation and armor plating
increased with the war effort. It was found that molybdenum
could impart an impact resistance similar to tungsten when
alloyed with steel, with less weight. Demand for molybdenum
initiated an intensive search for new sources to insure a
reliable supply. This led to the discovery of the enormous
Climax deposit in Colorado, which began production in 1918. In
addition to primary molybdenum mines, molybdenum is also
recovered as a byproduct of copper and tungsten mining
operations. The metal is produced from purified ammonium
molybdate or molybdic trioxide powder through hydrogen reduction
at high temperatures.
In its
elemental form, Molybdenum is a silvery-white metallic element.
Its symbol in the periodic table is Mo and its atomic number is
42. Though molybdenum is chemically stable, it will react with
acids.
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Molybdenum Ore |
Molybdenite Sample |
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