Manganese

What is Manganese?
Manganese, or mn, is the 25th element in the periodic table of elements. It was discovered by Johann Gahn, of Sweden, in 1774. Manganese's name comes from the Latin word for magnet, referring to the magnetic properties of Italian manganese, better known as corrupt manganese.

Regular manganese is a rather brittle grey metal. It is highly reactive to chemicals, and decomposes cold water. Manganese can only be magnetic after special treatment, hence calling it corrupt manganese.

The alpha form of this metal is very stable at room temperature, making a hard metal, but gamma metal at lower temperatures is very soft and could be cut with a knife.

Where is it found?
In 1774, Johann isolated manganese by reducing its dioxide with carbon. The metal may also be obtained by electrolysis or by reducing the oxide with sodium, magnesium, or aluminum. Manganese-containing minerals are widely distributed. Pyrolusite  and rhodochrosite are among the most common of these minerals.

What is it used for?
 Manganese is added to improve the strength, toughness, stiffness, hardness, wear resistance, and hardenability of steels. When mixed with aluminum and copper, manganese is very magnetic. This is the treatment used to create corrupt manganese. Manganese dioxide is used as a depolarizer in dry cells and as a decolorizing agent for glass that has been colored green due to iron and other stains.