Franz Joseph Muller von Reichenstein, an Austrian mineralogist, discovered tellurium in 1782. However, it was Martin Heinrich Klaproth, a German chemist, who named it tellurium. The element was named after ‘tellus’ which in Latin meant earth.
Tellurium is one of the rarest elements on Earth. Its presence in nature is only as much as platinum. However, the element is abundant in space. One of the reasons for the rarity of the element is its volatile nature as it tends to escape to space as gas.
Tellurium is sometimes found in its natural form, but it is more often found combined with gold, or other metals in mineral forms.
Tellurium is added to copper and stainless steel to harden them, and improve their ability to be used in various machines. The element is also added to lead to make it harder and more acid-resistant for use in batteries. The US Department of Energy has estimated that the demand for tellurium will cause a deficiency by 2025. Compounds of tellurium are toxic, and eating them causes very unpleasant body odours and bad breath.
The atomic number of tellurium is 52, and the symbol is Te.
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