Boron

Boron is a chemical element with symbol B and atomic number 5. Its compounds are used in materials such as borosilicate glass and boron carbide.

Boron group: The periodic-table group containing boron, aluminum, gallium, indium, thallium, and nihonium. Boron heads this group but differs from its metallic members.
Borosilicate glass: A glass containing silica and boron trioxide, valued for thermal-shock resistance and chemical durability. Boron oxide helps make this glass resist rapid temperature changes.
Boron-10: A stable boron isotope with five protons and five neutrons that readily captures thermal neutrons. Its neutron-capture behavior underpins boron’s nuclear applications.
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac: A French chemist and physicist known for studies of gases and chemical elements. He and Thénard independently isolated impure boron in 1808.
Carbon: A nonmetallic element with atomic number 6 that forms the backbone of organic chemistry and many materials. Carbon neighbors boron yet forms a far larger variety of stable chains.
Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom’s nucleus, which determines its chemical element. Boron’s five protons define its place in the periodic table.
Boron carbide: A very hard ceramic compound of boron and carbon used in abrasives and protective armor. Its extreme hardness makes it a prominent boron-based engineering material.
Boron-11: The more abundant stable boron isotope, with five protons and six neutrons. It dominates natural boron and contrasts with neutron-capturing boron-10.
Louis Jacques Thénard: A French chemist whose work included the discovery of hydrogen peroxide and studies of boron. His 1808 experiments produced an early impure sample of boron.
Aluminum: A lightweight metallic element with atomic number 13, widely used in alloys and packaging. Aluminum follows boron in its periodic-table group but is a typical metal.

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