Scandium (Sc)
Scandium was discovered in 1878 in the minerals euxenite and gadolinite. Minute amounts occur in over 800 minerals, and scandium is much more abundant in the sun and certain stars than on Earth.
Scandium is a silver-white alkaline earth metal that develops a yellow or pink cast when exposed to air. It is relatively soft and lightweight, reacts with water, and burns with a yellow-red flame.
High-intensity lights use scandium, and its radioactive isotope is used as a tracing agent in refinery crackers for crude oil. Scandium iodide added to mercury vapor lamps produces a highly efficient light source resembling sunlight, important for indoor or nighttime color TV.
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