Where is the element tellurium found

Data for this section been provided by the British Geological Survey. An integrated supply risk index from 1 very low risk to 10 very high risk.

This is calculated by combining the scores for crustal abundance, reserve distribution, production concentration, substitutability, recycling rate and political stability scores.

The percentage of a commodity which is recycled. A higher recycling rate may reduce risk to supply. The availability of suitable substitutes for a given commodity. The percentage of an element produced in the top producing country. The higher the value, the larger risk there is to supply. The percentage of the world reserves located in the country with the largest reserves.

A percentile rank for the political stability of the top producing country, derived from World Bank governance indicators. A percentile rank for the political stability of the country with the largest reserves, derived from World Bank governance indicators. Specific heat capacity is the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of a kilogram of a substance by 1 K. A measure of the stiffness of a substance. It provides a measure of how difficult it is to extend a material, with a value given by the ratio of tensile strength to tensile strain.

A measure of how difficult it is to deform a material. It is given by the ratio of the shear stress to the shear strain. A measure of how difficult it is to compress a substance. It is given by the ratio of the pressure on a body to the fractional decrease in volume. A measure of the propensity of a substance to evaporate. It is defined as the equilibrium pressure exerted by the gas produced above a substance in a closed system. This Site has been carefully prepared for your visit, and we ask you to honour and agree to the following terms and conditions when using this Site.

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Jump to main content. Periodic Table. Glossary Allotropes Some elements exist in several different structural forms, called allotropes. Glossary Group A vertical column in the periodic table. Fact box. Group 16 Melting point Glossary Image explanation Murray Robertson is the artist behind the images which make up Visual Elements. Appearance The description of the element in its natural form. Biological role The role of the element in humans, animals and plants.

Natural abundance Where the element is most commonly found in nature, and how it is sourced commercially. Uses and properties. Image explanation. A semi-metal usually obtained as a grey powder. Tellurium is used in alloys, mostly with copper and stainless steel, to improve their machinability. When added to lead it makes it more resistant to acids and improves its strength and hardness. Tellurium has been used to vulcanise rubber, to tint glass and ceramics, in solar cells, in rewritable CDs and DVDs and as a catalyst in oil refining.

It can be doped with silver, gold, copper or tin in semiconductor applications. Biological role. Tellurium has no known biological role. It is very toxic and teratogenic disturbs the development of an embryo or foetus. Natural abundance. Tellurium minerals include calaverite, sylvanite and tellurite. It is also found uncombined in nature, but only very rarely.

It is obtained commercially from the anode muds produced during the electrolytic refining of copper. Help text not available for this section currently. Elements and Periodic Table History. He became intrigued by ore from a mine near Zalatna which had a metallic sheen and which he suspected was native antimony or bismuth. It was actually gold telluride, AuTe 2. Preliminary investigation showed neither antimony nor bismuth to be present.

He published his findings in an obscure journal and it went largely unnoticed. In , he sent a sample to Martin Klaproth in Berlin who confirmed him findings. Klaproth produced a pure sample and decided to call it tellurium. Rather strangely, this was not the first sample of tellurium to pass through his hands. In , he had been sent some by a Hungarian scientist, Paul Kitaibel who had independently discovered it. Atomic data.

Glossary Common oxidation states The oxidation state of an atom is a measure of the degree of oxidation of an atom. Oxidation states and isotopes. Glossary Data for this section been provided by the British Geological Survey. Relative supply risk An integrated supply risk index from 1 very low risk to 10 very high risk. Recycling rate The percentage of a commodity which is recycled. Substitutability The availability of suitable substitutes for a given commodity.

Reserve distribution The percentage of the world reserves located in the country with the largest reserves. Political stability of top producer A percentile rank for the political stability of the top producing country, derived from World Bank governance indicators.

Political stability of top reserve holder A percentile rank for the political stability of the country with the largest reserves, derived from World Bank governance indicators. Supply risk. Relative supply risk Unknown Crustal abundance ppm 0. Young's modulus A measure of the stiffness of a substance. Fortunately, tellurium compounds are encountered rarely by most people. They are teratogenic and should only be handled by competent chemists since ingestion in even small amounts causes dreadful smelling breath and appalling body odour.

Routes of exposure: The substance can be absorbed into the body by inhalation of its aerosol. Effects of inhalation: Drowsiness.

Dry mouth. Metal taste. Garlic odour. Effects of short-term exposure: The aerosol of this substance irritates the eyes and the respiratory tract.

The substance may cause effects on the liver and central nervous system. Exposure may result in garlic-like breath. Medical observation is indicated. Ingestion: Abdominal pain. Chemical dangers: Upon heating, toxic fumes are formed.

Reacts vigorously with halogens or interhalogens causing fire hazard. Reacts with zinc with incandescence. Word origin: Tellurium comes from the Latin word tellus , which means earth. Discovery: The element was discovered by Muller von Reichenstein in It was named by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth in Tellurium is a silvery-white metalloid ; its pure version has a metallic luster.

Crystalline tellurium is easily pulverized. In its molten state, tellurium is corrosive to copper, iron and stainless steel. There are thirty known isotopes of tellurium.