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magnesium

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magnesium

Lightweight, very ductile and malleable, silver-white, metallic element, atomic number 12, relative atomic mass 24.305. It is one of the alkaline-earth metals, and the lightest of the commonly used metals. Magnesium silicate, carbonate, and chloride are widely distributed in nature. The metal is used in alloys, flares, and flash bulbs. It is a necessary trace element in the human diet, and green plants cannot grow without it since it is an essential constituent of the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll (C55H72MgN4O5).

It was named after the ancient Greek city of Magnesia, near where it was first found. It was first recognized as an element by Scottish chemist Joseph Black in 1755 and discovered in its oxide by English chemist Humphry Davy 1808. Pure magnesium was isolated in 1828 by French chemist Antoine-Alexandre-Brutus Bussy.



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of chloride of sodium; then, in a smaller quantity, chlorides of magnesium and of potassium, bromide of magnesium, sulphate of magnesia, sulphate and carbonate of lime.
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Verne, Jules View in context
"We sent for you," he said, "because we are looking for two men who lit the magnesium light which directed the Zeppelin last night to this locality.
The Kingdom of the Blind by Oppenheim, E. Phillips View in context
It was simply a magnesium light, which had been fired by the mechanism within the box and carried up to the kite.
The Lair of the White Worm by Stoker, Bram View in context
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