Tellurium (Te)
Tellurium is a rare metalloid used in solar panels and thermoelectric devices.
Properties of Tellurium
- Atomic number
- 52
- Category
- Metalloid
- Atomic mass
- 127.6 u
- Electron configuration
- [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s² 5p⁴
- Melting point
- 722.66 K (449.51 °C)
- Boiling point
- 1261 K (987.85 °C)
- Density
- 6.232 g/cm³
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 2.1
- Appearance
- Silvery-white crystalloid
- Discovered by
- Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein (1783)
Facts about Tellurium
- Tellurium is named after the Latin word for Earth — "tellus"!
- If you accidentally ingest tellurium, your breath smells like garlic for weeks!
- Tellurium is rarer than gold in Earth's crust!
- Tellurium is used in some of the most efficient solar panels!