Titanium

Titanium was discovered in 1791 in Manaccan Cornwall, Great Britain, by William Gregor, a clergyman who spent his free time collecting and analyzing Cornwall’s minerals. While examining a sample of black sand that he’d found in a Manaccan valley, Gregor spotted a strange substance that he called “maccanite.” He thought it must be a new element, but other scientists paid little attention to his discovery.

Gregor was vindicated four years later, when German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth found an unknown element in a mineral sample that came from Hungary. Klaproth called the element “titanium,” after the Titans of Greek mythology, who were said to live beneath the earth. Not long after that, Klaproth heard about Gregor’s research and acquired a sample of maccanite, which he also found to contain titanium. Gregor was given credit for the element’s discovery, although Klaproth’s name for the element stuck.

Titanium is a shiny white metal. It isn't very dense, but it is strong, resistant to corrosion, and able to tolerate high temperatures.

Because titanium is as strong as steel but much less dense, it’s used in things that need to be both strong and lightweight, like bicycles, airplanes, and spacecraft. Titanium is also used in golf clubs, which need to be tough enough to survive being thrown by frustrated players.

Titanium resists corrosion, which makes it useful for propellors and other parts of ships that are exposed to saltwater. Titanium metal connects well with bone, so it’s often used surgically for things like hip replacements and tooth implants.

Almost all the titanium used is in the form of titanium oxide. This compound is used to make things bright white, from house paint to toothpaste, or even cake icing. Because titanium oxide is good at absorbing UV light, it’s also used in sunblock.

In nature, titanium is found in five stable (non-radioactive) isotopes (titanium-46, -47-, -48, -49, and -50). Approximately 74 percent of titanium is titanium-48.

Scientists have discovered 21 radioactive titanium isotopes. The half-lives of these isotopes range from 63 years to less than half a second.

Titanium can be found in minerals like anatase, brookite, ilmenite, perovskite, rutile, and titanite. You can also find it in many iron ores.

Although there is a lot of titanium in nature, titanium is more expensive than aluminum or iron because it’s difficult to process. Researchers didn't figure out how to make pure titanium metal until 1910! Large-scale titanium production only became possible in the 1940s, when Luxembourgish metallurgist William Kroll developed a new technique to produce the metal at commercial scales.