The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1915-08-14
|GIS'1|

H4IWN1N0v City OF Mexico. The honor
ulAHY0ySkS2lN would be wholly his had he
kESA02Zy not himself repudiated his own
discovery.
Del Rio was born in Madrid, November 10. 1854
and graduated from the University OF Alcala de
Henares in 1880. On account OF his extraordinary
aptitude in the natural sciences, and particularly
in chemistry he pensioned and sent by the
government to study In Germany, France, and Eng
land. He spent about twelve years In those coun
tries principally in the study OF mineralogy and
mining, and associated with the leading scien
lists among others Lavosier, After his return to
Spain he named in 1894. by royal order
of the group of professors to establish the
Royal School OF Mines in Mexico City. The royal
order named Del Rio professor of chemistry
but on his request this was changed to mneralogy.
The school opened in April 1895. In 1920 Del
Rio was sent deputy to the Spanish Cortes
where he championed the cause of Mexican indie
pendence He returned to Mexico in 1924, but In
1929 on the expulsion Of the Spaniards he went to
the United States. He afterwards returned. and
died in the City OF Mexico May 23. 1S49 The
district OF Andres Del Rio In the state OF Chihua-
hua, where the city OF Batopilas and the mines OF
the located Is called after the dis
tinguished scientist.
In 1901 Prof Del Rio in examining some brown
lead ores from the mines OF Zimapan, In what Is
the state of Hidago, believed that he had dis
covered new element different from chromium
and uranium and this he named erithronium. 1t
in reality what know vanadium.
The discovery genuine one. and had the
matter rested there the name that Del Rio gave
the new clement would have been it's name now
and he would have been the undsbuted discoveref
thereof But unfortunately the Mexican professor
a little too much under the glamour OF the
French school, and SO when Collet Descostils pub
lished article in which he stated that Del Rios
erithronium nothing more than impure chro-
MUM Del Rio accepted the French professors
Judgment and in the Anales de Ciencias Naturales
OF Madrid in 1904 disavowed his former claim of
discovery and stated that the substance was
lead chromate. Del Rio had been right and the
French school wrong, for the element does not
even belong in the chromium group. So the mat.
rested until in 1890 the Swedish scientist. N.
G. Sefstroem. rediscovered the element among
the slags of the Taberg iron ores and named 1t
vanadium which name it stl bears, 1t is some
times stated that the name chosen BY Sefstroem
was in honor OF the Scandinavian goddess Vana-
dis. This is not strictly correct. In the Morse
mythology the gods divided into two
stocks Aesir and vanir or Asa and Vana Njoerd,
Frey and Freyja OF the stock Vanir hence
Vanads The word may be taken the sur
name of a number of gods and goddesses. al
though perhaps most often used in connection
with Freyja the Morse Venus.
Neither Del Rio nor Sefstroem, nor later Der
zelius obtained the pure element. although Ber-
zelius published what he thought to be Its atomic
weight. 1877 and the formlae for its oxides. The
English chemist. Sir Henry f. Roscoe in 1858
demonstrated that Berzelius was incorrect; that
he and other prior investigators had dealt with
nitrdes or oxides OF the element: and that In
stead of belonging to the chromium group OF
elements vanadium should be placed In the group
with arsenic and phosphorus.
Vanadium is a silver-whte metal and readily
oxidized 1t has an atomic weight OF 5l.2 Is
nonmagnetic has very high electrical resis
tivity, and melts at about $50 degrees C. 1t
is one OF the most difficulty reduced and hardest
OF the metallic elements. Fortunately for its use
in the arts. 1t is not necessary to reduce the
metal to its pure state. Such a reduction would
be too costly 1t be reduced, however, quite
easily alloy. particularly alloy OF
iron. ferrovanadium. containing approximately
one part OF vanadium and two parts of iron
Again. fortunately. this alloy has melting point
1900 degree c. to 1910 degrees c., sufficiently low
to further alloy with molten steel which would
be difficult In the pure vanadium having a melt
ing point 200 degrees C. higher.
Vanadum is one Of the most widely dissent
mated of all the elements, although commercially
available deposits comparatively II
is found in most OF the rocks. in clays and shales
and in the ashes OF plants In addition Mex
leo, where It first discovered. vanadium has
been found in Colorado. Utah Oklahoma Ne
vada. New Mexico. and other parts Of the United
States: in Peru, Sweden. Australia, Spain, Eng
land. Turkestan, Chill and Argentina
The chief from which vanadium is or
may be derived patronite carnotite roscoe
lite vanadinte and asphaltite, Coal is source
of vanadium Ash from the Rockville Colorado
coal gave 81 per cent vanadium oxide Coal
from the Mendoza district in Argentina contains
about Eve pounds OF vanadic acid per ton It is