Term: selenium (Se)
Literally
meaning: “pertaining
to moon”
Origin: Anc Greek
σελήνη/selene(=moon)
Coined/History
Selenium was
named by Swedish chemist Jons Jacob Berzelius in
1817 ((1779-1848) when he noticed
that selenium is associated with tellurium (named for the Earth). It was
discovered as a byproduct of sulphuric acid production resulting from sulfide
ores in mines of Falun (Sweden). Berzelius noticed that this element was
contributing workers illness in the acid production.
In 1937 A. L Moxon he identified that
selenium is the toxic element in some livestock-poisoning plants mistakenly
called “alkali disease”. Twenty years later the German Klaus Schwarz
studied problems of liver necrosis in rats and he proved that selenium is
an essential trace mineral nutrient.
Definition
Selenium is a chemical element with atomic number 34
and atomic mass of 78.96, that is found mainly in sulfide ores. It is necessary, in
trace amounts, for some enzyme biosynthesis and function in many organisms, known as selenoproteins.
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