Knowra Scandium Scandium Scandium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element with atomic number 21. It is a rare-earth element whose chemistry and uses are shaped by its low abundance and light weight.
Atomic number : The number of protons in an atom’s nucleus, which determines its chemical element. Scandium’s atomic number, 21, fixes its identity and place in the periodic table.
Oxidation state : A formal measure of an atom’s electron loss or gain in a compound. Scandium overwhelmingly adopts the +3 oxidation state in its compounds.
Aluminium–scandium alloy : An aluminium alloy strengthened by small additions of scandium, often with other alloying elements. Scandium additions can refine grain structure and improve strength, weldability, and heat resistance.
Lars Fredrik Nilson : A Swedish chemist who discovered scandium in 1879 while studying rare-earth minerals. Nilson isolated the element and named it after Scandinavia.
Yttrium : A metallic element with atomic number 39, commonly grouped with the rare-earth elements. Yttrium often occurs with scandium in minerals but is heavier and has different industrial uses.
Electron configuration : The arrangement of electrons among an atom’s orbitals. Scandium’s [Ar] 3d¹ 4s² configuration helps explain its common oxidation state.
Scandium oxide : Scandium(III) oxide, Sc₂O₃, is a white, high-melting inorganic solid. This stable oxide forms when scandium reacts with oxygen and is used in ceramics and materials research.
Scandium iodide : An inorganic scandium compound used in some high-intensity discharge lamps. Its emission helps produce light with a spectrum useful for color rendering.
Dmitri Mendeleev : A Russian chemist who formulated the periodic law and published a periodic table in 1869. Mendeleev predicted an element later identified as scandium, calling it eka-boron.
Lanthanum : A soft, silvery metallic element with atomic number 57 and the first element of the lanthanide series. Unlike lanthanum, scandium is not a lanthanide and has no occupied 4f subshell in its neutral atom.
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