Elements of the Periodic TableOften, Gods are described as 'Omnipresent' which means that they are in everything. Now-a-days, scientists often say the same thing about the Elements of the Periodic Table. But, did you know that many of the Elements of the Periodic table have names stemming from Mythology?
|
Cadmium |
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
|
Cerium |
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
|
Europium |
Named for Europe, where it was discovered. Europe was named after the fictional Phoenician princess Europa.
|
Helium |
Named after the Greek ἥλιος (helios), which means "the sun" or the mythological sun-god. It was first identified by its characteristic emission lines in the sun's spectrum.
|
Iridium |
Named after the Latin noun iris, which means "rainbow, iris plant, iris of the eye", because many of salts are strongly coloured; "Iris" was originally the name of the goddess of rainbows and a messenger in Greek mythology.
|
Mercury |
Named after Mercury, the god of speed and messenger of the Gods, as was the "planet Mercury" named after the god. The symbol Hg is from Greek name, ὕδωρ and ἀργυρός (hydor andargyros), which became Latin, Hydrargyrum; both mean "water-silver", because it is a liquid like water (at room temperature), and has silvery metallic sheen
|
Neptunium |
Named for "Neptune", the planet. (The planet was named after "Neptune", the god of oceans in mythology.)
|
Niobium |
Named after Niobe, daughter of Tantalus in Classical mythology. The alternate name columbium comes from Columbia, personification of America
|
Palladium |
Named after Pallas, the asteroid discovered two years earlier. (The asteroid was named after Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and victory.) The word Palladium is derived from Greek Παλλάδιον and is the neutral version of Παλλάδιος meaning "of Pallas."
|
Phosphorus |
Phosphorus From Greek φῶς + -φόρος (phos + -phoros), which means "light bearer", because "white phosphorus" emits a faint glow upon exposure to oxygen. Phosphorus was the ancient name for Venus, or Hesperus, the (Morning Star).
|
Plutonium |
Named after Pluto, the dwarf planet, because it was discovered directly after Neptunium and is higher than Uranium on periodic table, so by analogy with the ordering of the planets. (The planet Pluto was named after "Pluto", a Greek god of the dead) Πλούτων (Ploutōn) is related to the Greek word πλοῦτος (ploutos) meaning "wealth."
|
Promethium |
Named after Prometheus, who stole the fire of heaven and gave it to mankind (in Classical mythology).
|
Selenium |
From Greek σελήνη (selene), this means “Moon”, and also moon-goddess Selene.
|
Tantalum |
Named after the Greek Τάνταλος ("Tantalus"), who was punished after death by being condemned to stand knee-deep in water, if he bent to drink the water, it drained below the level he could reach (on Greek mythology). This was considered similar to tantalum's general non-reactivity because of its inertness (it sits among reagents and is unaffected by them).
|
Tellurium |
From Latin "Tellus", which means "Earth" and also "Terra Mater", the goddess personifying the Mother Earth in Roman mythology
|
Thorium |
Named after Thor, the god of thunder on Norse mythology. The former name Ionium (Io) was given early in the study of radioactive elements to Th-230isotope
|
Titanium |
From Greek τιτάν (titan), this means “Earth”, and also “Titans”, the first sons of Gaia in Greek mythology
|
Uranium |
Named after the planet Uranus, which had been discovered eight years earlier in 1781. The planet was named after "Uranus", the god of sky and heaven on Greek mythology.
|
Vanadium |
From Vanadís, one of the names of the Vanr goddess Freyja (of beauty) in Norse mythology, because of multicolored chemical compounds deemed beautiful.
|