Titanium

dm2=γ | de2=0.07D, 0.08D | pn2= | ps2=- }}

History

Titanium (Latin Titans, Earth or the first sons of Gaia) was discovered in England by Reverend William Gregor in 1791. He recognized the presence of a new element in ilmenite, and named it menachite. At around the same time, Franz Joseph Muller also produced a similar substance, but could not identify it. The element was independently rediscovered several years later by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth in rutile ore. Klaproth confirmed it as a new element and in 1795 he named it for the Latin word for Earth (also the name for the Titans of Greek mythology).

Related Topics:
Latin - Titans - Earth - Gaia - Discovered - England - William Gregor - 1791 - Ilmenite - Franz Joseph Muller - German - Martin Heinrich Klaproth - Rutile - 1795 - Greek mythology

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The metal has always been difficult to extract from its various ores. Pure metallic titanium (99.9%) was first prepared in 1910 by Matthew A. Hunter by heating TiCl4 with sodium in a steel bomb at 700–800 °C in the Hunter process. Titanium metal was not used outside the laboratory until 1946 when William Justin Kroll proved that titanium could be commercially produced by reducing titanium tetrachloride with magnesium in the Kroll process which is the method still used today.

Related Topics:
1910 - Matthew A. Hunter - Cl - Sodium - Hunter process - 1946 - William Justin Kroll - Titanium tetrachloride - Magnesium - Kroll process

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In 1950–1960s the Soviet Union attempted to corner the world titanium market as a tactic in the Cold War to prevent the American military from utilizing it. In spite of these efforts, the U.S obtained large quantities of titanium when a European company set up a front for the U.S. foreign intelligence agencies to purchase it.

Related Topics:
1950 - 1960 - Soviet Union - Cold War

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