Not much is known about thallium- it was discovered by Sir William Crookes of England in 1861. It was named for the lime green line in it's spectrum: the Greek word "thallos" meaning "green twig".On the outside, thallium is a very soft, bluish gray metal. It is often used in infrared detectors and photo multipliers. It is not found free in nature, it is obtained as a byproduct of Zn/Pb smelting. It is highly toxic- if as little as 10 mg is swallowed by a human it can be fatal... it, much like fluoride, has been used as rat poison in the past and also as insecticide.
No comments:
Post a Comment