1808: Boron - The book of science

Boron
Atomic number 5
Flubber
Commentary

London, Paris—Humphry Davy, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, Louis Jacques Thénard elements

Boron

Humphry Davy used electrolysis
on a solution of borates,
detecting a brown precipitate
that would have been pure boron,
but found that chemistry alone,
using potassium and heat to reduce boric acid,
made faster work, upon which
he declared the metal boracium.
*
Meanwhile, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
and Louis Jacques Thénard
used iron and high temperatures
to reduce boric acid to boron
and then showed that the boron
could be recomposed into boric acid
by exposure to air, upon which
they declared the metal bore.

Atomic number 5

Sodium borates
known as borax
are water soluble
so have collected
in seasonally dry lakes.
Boric acid is
an antiseptic
insecticide
anti-fungal
fertilizing
flame retardant
etcetera etcetera.
Some Chinese glazes
from 300 CE
included borax
introduced
to Italy
by Marco Polo.
Used in laundry
and hand soaps
borax became
a household name
after 1883
due to William
Tell Coleman”s
20 Mule Team Borax
mined in Death Valley
and later the sponsor
of Death Valley Days.

Flubber

Modern miracles
through chemistry
include table-top
polymerization
of Elmer’s glue
and borax
a non-Newtonian fluid
and Maxwell solid
also signifies
bungling.

Boron is a key element in high-temperature superconductors, thermal-shock-resistant glass for baking dishes and measuring cups, and an essential nutrient for plants and animals.