Molybdenum Atomic number 42 Light and strong Commentary

Uppsala—Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Peter Jacob Hjelm elements

Molybdenum

• The common ore of molybdenum, its disulfide,
• was known for centuries as molybdena,
• confused with lead ore,
• and used as though it were graphite.
• Bengt Andersson Qvist, however,
• distinguished it from lead ore in 1754.
• In 1778, Carl Wilhelm Scheele
• reduced the ore to its oxide and
• determined that it was a new element,
• which he named molybdenum.
• At Scheele’s suggestion, Peter Jacob Hjelm
• reduced Scheele’s oxide
• with carbon and linseed oil
• to produce molybdenum metal in 1781.

Atomic number 42

• Molybdenum (accent on the third syllable) is
• a silver-gray metal with a high melting point
• that makes strong alloys with steel.
• Molybdenum is an essential trace element,
• having a role in critical enzymes for animals
• and in enzymes that fix nitrogen for some bacteria.
• Molybdenum is used an industrial catalyst,
• as an additive in lubricating oils,
• and as molybdenum disulfide for solid lubricants.
• Molybdenum is used in corrosion-resistant pigments,
• smoke-resistant plastics for wire insulation,
• and as molybdenum disilicide in high-temperature ceramics.

Light and strong

• Almost half the weight of tungsten, molybdenum
• replaced tungsten in some steels in World War I.
• In 1923 Wills Sainte Claire was advertised
• as “The All Mo-lyb-den-um Car.”