Molybdenum

Rare card · No. 39361

Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is derived from Ancient Greek μόλυβδος mólybdos, meaning lead, since its ores were sometimes confused with those of lead. Molybdenum minerals have been known throughout history, but the element was discovered (in the sense of differentiating it as a new entity from the mineral salts of other metals) in 1778 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. The metal was first isolated in 1781 by Peter Jacob Hjelm. Molybdenum does not occur naturally as a free metal on Earth; in its minerals, it is found only in oxidized states. The free element, a silvery metal with a grey cast, has the sixth-highest melting point of any element. It readily forms hard, stable carbides in alloys, and for this reason most of the world production of the element (about 80%) is used in steel alloys, including high-strength alloys and superalloys. Most molybdenum compounds have low solubility in water. Heating molybdenum-bearing minerals under oxygen and...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Alchemist-hp (talk) (www.pse-mendelejew.de), FAL