Scandium+-+One+Of+the+Main+Materials+of+Lacrosse+Sticks

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Atomic Number: 21 Atomic Symbol: Sc Atomic Weight: 45 Melting Point:1541 C Boiling Point: 2836 C

History
In 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev predicted the existence of the element ekaboron, with an atomic mass between 40 and 48. 10 years later Lars Fredrik Nilson found a new element in rare-earth minerals euxenite and gadolinite from Scandinavia. He named the element scandium. He prepared 2 grams of highly pure scandium oxide by processing 10 kilograms of euxenite. Per Teodor Cleve of Sweden pointed out the similarity between scandium and ekaboron.

Appearance
Scandium is a hard silver-white metal. It developes a pinkish or yellowish cast when it is exposed to air. It is also very light.

Uses
Scandium is used in minor aerospace industry components. It is also used in some items of sports equipment, such as lacrosse sticks, baseball bats, and bicycle frames and components. It is even used in some guns. America uses about 20 kg a year to make high intensity discharge lamps.

Acknowledgements
@http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Electron_shell_021_scandium.png @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandium @http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/21.html @http://www.chemicool.com/elements/scandium.html @http://www.scandium.com/sites/scandium/default.asp @http://www.webelements.com/scandium/ @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrosse_stick @http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele021.html