Name: Anonymous 2010-03-23 2:12
#31: Gallium, Ga. The name derives from Gallia, which is Latin for Gaul, the region of Roman times that partly became France. (Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran of France discovered the element and gave it its name.)
Gallium has the rare peculiarity of being less dense in sold form than as a liquid (as is water).
For a metal, it has an unusually low melting point (about 30 °C). The alloy galinstan is mostly gallium (and indium and tin) and has a melting point of about -19 °C, making it useful as a much less toxic replacement for mercury in thermometers. Most gallium, however, is used in the semiconductor compounds gallium arsenide and gallium nitride for electronic components such as LEDs (light-emitting diodes).
Gallium has the rare peculiarity of being less dense in sold form than as a liquid (as is water).
For a metal, it has an unusually low melting point (about 30 °C). The alloy galinstan is mostly gallium (and indium and tin) and has a melting point of about -19 °C, making it useful as a much less toxic replacement for mercury in thermometers. Most gallium, however, is used in the semiconductor compounds gallium arsenide and gallium nitride for electronic components such as LEDs (light-emitting diodes).