Scandium

Chemical element symbol is (Se) and atomic number 21.

Scandium is a Rare Earth Metal ranked in the Intermediate Rare Earth Elements (ETRI).

Dmitri Mendeleev, creator of the periodic table, predicted the existence of a ekaboron element with an atomic mass of 40 to 48 in 1869. Lars Fredrik Nilson and his team detected this element in euxenite and gadolinite. Nilson prepared 2g Scandium oxide of high purity. He named the element Scandium, Scandia Latin meaning “Scandinavia”.

Scandium is a soft metal with a silvery appearance. It develops a slightly yellowish or pinkish cast when oxidized by the air. Itis sensitive to weather and dissolves slowly in most dilute acids. It does not react with a mixture of nitric acid and 48% hydrofluoric acid, may be the result of the formation of a passive layer impermeable.

Scandium having a melting point much higher than that of aluminium and almost as light (density 2.9) is studied for possible aerospace applications.

The USSR has greatly expanded the industrial production of Scandium and optimized aluminium alloy containing 2% Scandium, which greatly enhances the mechanical properties of aluminium. This alloy is commonly used in Russian military aircraft construction.