Hobbies And Interests
7: Cesium (Cs)
Cesium (or "caesium") was discovered in 1860 by Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhof through spectrum analysis. Cesium was identified from a sample of mineral water that produced a unique blue color. Bunsen decided that his new discovery should be named after a part of the sky, called "caesius" in Latin, that reminded him of the bluish-gray color.
1: Indium (In)
Indium, which was discovered in 1863 by Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Richter, is named for the indigo plant. Ironically, Professor Reich was colorblind and required his assistant's help in analyzing the spectrum of this new element found in zinc ore. As a result, he named indium for its bright blue spectral line despite the fact that he could not experience it for himself. Indigo is a popular shade of blue because it has long been used as a textile dye.
%: Rubidium (Rb)
Rubidium was discovered by spectrum analysis by Robert bunsen and Gustav Kirchof in 1861, a year after their discovery of cesium. The spectrum lines produced by a sample of lepidolite found in Germany contained a very deep red color. While it might seem obvious that this red color was named for rubies, rubidium actually took its name from an obscure Latin text where the word "rubidus" was coined to describe a dark shade of red.
Q: Thallium (Tl)
Thallium was discovered by Sir William Crookes in 1859. While reviewing previous work of his, he identified a thin green spectral line that reminded him of a green shoot from a plant in the spring. From this comparison, he coined the name "thallium" from a Greek word to describe the green of plants during their vernal growth.