 Discovery Information |
| Who:
Paul emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
|
| When: 1875 |
| Where: France |
|
| Name Origin |
| Paul named the element after his native land of France and, in a multilingual pun, after himself, as 'Lecoq' = the rooster, and Latin for rooster is "gallus". |
|
| Sources |
| Found throughout the crust in minerals like bauxite, germanite and coal, but does not exist in pure form in nature. |
|
| Uses |
| Used in semiconductor production, quartz thermometers, laser diodes, used to locate tumors and for creating mirrors. Gallium Gadolinium Garnet (Gd3Ga5O12) is a material with good optical properties, and is used in fabrication of various optical components and as substrate material for magneto-optical films. It has been suggested that a liquid gallium-tin alloy could be used to cool computer chips in place of water. As it conducts heat approximately 65 times better than water it makes a considerably better coolant. |
|
| Notes |
| Gallium, along with caesium and mercury, is one of the few metals that are liquid at (or near) room temperature. |
| Some sources suggest that it may cause dermatitis from prolonged exposure; other tests have not caused a positive reaction. It will however stain your skin if you hold it in your bare hands. |
