Scandium Tech Report
Overview
The existence of scandium was predicted nearly ten years before it was actually discovered. The prediction was made by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907). Mendeleev developed the periodic table based on his periodic law. The periodic table is a chart that shows how chemical elements are related to one another. The table originally had a number of empty boxes for elements that had not been discovered. Chemists were able to search for these elements based on the properties of the elements around the empty boxes. Scandium was found in 1879 by Swedish chemist Lars Nilson (1840-99). It is a transition metal, appearing in Group 3 (IIIB).

Scandium is a moderately abundant element. However, it tends to be spread out throughout the earth rather than concentrated in a few places. This makes it difficult to isolate. In fact, scandium is classified as a rare earth element. Rare earth elements are not really "rare." However, they are difficult to extract from the earth. They are also difficult to separate from each other.

SYMBOL
Sc

ATOMIC NUMBER
21

ATOMIC MASS
44.9559

FAMILY
Group 3 (IIIB)
Transition metal

Scandium has few commercial uses. It is sometimes combined with other metals to make alloys. An alloy is made by melting and mixing two or more metals. The mixture has properties different from those of the individual metals. Scandium alloys are being used more in various kinds of sporting equipment and in other applications.