Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1915-09-03

discovery
Del Rio was born In Madrid, November TO- 1854.
and graduated from the University of Alcala de
Henares In 1850. On account OF his extraordinary
aptitude in the natural sciences. and particularly
In chemistry he was 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-
tists among others Lavoiser After his return to
Spain he, was named. In 1874. by royal order as
one Of the group Of professors to establish the
Royal School of Mines In Mexico City. The royal
order named Del Rio as professor of chemistry.
but on his request this was changed to mineralogy.
The school was opened In April. 1875. In 1920 Del
Rio was sent as deputy to the Spanish Cortes.
where he champoned the cause Of Mexican inde-
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 on May 23 1S49. The
district VI Andres Del Rio. in the state Of Chhua-
hua. where the city Of Batopilas and the mines of
the same name are located, Is called after the dis
tinguished scientist
In 1901 Prof Del Rio in examining some brown
lead ores from the mines Of Zmapan. in what is
now the state Of Hdalgo believed that he had dis
covered Q new element different from chromium
and uranium and this he named erithronum. 1t
was in reality what we now know as vanadium.
The discovery was q genuine one. and had the
matter rested there the name that Del Rio gave
the new element would have been its name now.
and he would have been the undisputed discoverer
thereof But unfortunately the Mexican professor
was . little too much under the glamour of the
French school. and so when Collet Descosts pub
lished article in which he stated that Del Rios
erithroniam was nothing more than impure chro-
MUM Del Rio accepted the French professors
judgmen mt and In the Anales de Ciencias Naturaes
Of Madrid In 1904 disavowed his former claim Of
discovery and stated that the substance was q
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
ter rested until in 1880 the Swedish scientist. N.
@. Sefstroem rediseovered the element among
the slags Of the Taberg iron ores and named 1t
vanadium, which name 1t still bears. II is some
times stated that the name chosen by Sefstroem
was In honor Of the Scandinavian goddess vana-
dis. This IL not strictly correct In the Morse
mythology the gods were divided into two
stocks. Aesir and vanir. or Asa and Vana Ntoerd.
Frey and Freyja were of the stock vanir. hence
Vanadis. The word may be taken as the sur
name Of q number Of gods and goddesses. al
though perhaps most often used in connection
with Freyta. the Morse Venus
Neither Del Rio nor Sefstroem. nor later Ber.
xelius. obtained the pure element although Ber
selius published what he thought to be its atomic
weight. 1877 and the formlae for its oxides The
demonstrated that Berzelius was Incorrect: that
he and other prior investigators had dealt with
nitrides 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.
vanadum Is a silver-whhe metal and readily
oxidized. II has an atomic weight OF 512. is
nonmagnetic, has very high electrical resis
tivity, and melts at about 1880 degrees C. II
II one of the most dificultly reduced and hardest
Of the metallic elements. Fortunately for its use
in the arts. II is not necessary to reduce the
metal to its pure state. Such reduction would
be too costly II can be reduced. however. quite
easily as an alloy. particularly as an alloy OF
iron ferrovanadium. containing approximately
one part of vanadium and two parts of iron
Again. fortunately. this alloy has a melting point
1900 degree c. to 1.340 degrees c., sufficiently low
to further alloy with molten steel. which would
be din1cult in the pure vanadium having q melt
ing point over 800 degrees C. higher
Vanadium Is one of the most widely dissent
mated of all the elements. although commercially
available deposits are comparatively rare. Il
u found In most of the rocks in clays and shales
and In the ashes of plants In addition to Mex
leo. where It was first discovered. vanadium has
been found in Colorado. Utah. Oklahoma, Ne
vada, New Mexico and other paris Of the United
States; in Peru. Sweden. Australia. Spain. Eng
land. Turkestan. Chill and Argentina
The chief ores from which vanadium is or
may be derived are patronite. carnotite. roscoe
lite, vanadinte and asphaltite Coal is a source
OF vanadium. Ash from the Rockvale Colorado
coal gave "a per cent vanadum oxide. Coal
from the Mendoza district in Argentina contains
about I'VE pounds Of vanadic acid per ton. II II