This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Industrial Heating logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Industrial Heating logo
  • Home
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Digital Edition
    • Archives
  • News
  • Featured
    • IH Daily
    • IH MagEzine
    • Web Exclusives
    • IH Economic Indicators
    • The History of Industrial Heating
    • Heat Treatment Processes
    • Top 10 Heat-Treated Holiday Gifts
  • Topics
    • Additive Manufacturing / 3D Printing
    • Ceramics & Refractories / Insulation
    • Combustion & Burners
    • Heat Treating
    • Heat & Corrosion Resistant Materials / Composites
    • Induction Heat Treating
    • Industrial Gases & Atmospheres
    • Materials Characterization & Testing
    • Melting / Forming / Joining
    • Process Control & Instrumentation
    • Sintering / Powder Metallurgy
    • Vacuum / Surface Treatments
  • Columns
    • Editorial
    • The Heat Treat Doctor
    • Federal Triangle
    • MTI Profile
    • Academic Pulse
    • Heat Treat 5.0
    • International – Brazil
    • Next-Gen Leaders
  • Directories
    • Equipment Buyers Guide
    • Commercial Heat Treat Capabilities Directory
    • Aftermarket Parts & Services Directory
    • Materials Characterization & Testing Equipment Directory
    • Take a Tour
  • More
    • Classifieds
    • White Papers
    • Industrial Heating Bookstore
    • Organizations
    • Market Research
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FORGE Magazine
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Image Gallery
    • Mobile App
    • eBooks
  • Events
    • Meetings & Trade Shows
    • FNA
    • Heat Treat Show
  • Blog
    • Dan Herring - Heat Treatment
    • David Pye - Metallurgy
    • Dan Kay - Brazing
    • Debbie Aliya - Failure Analysis
    • Thomas Joseph - Intellectual Property
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
    • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
    • eNewsletter
    • Online Registration
    • Customer Service
Home » Blogs » Industrial Heating Experts Speak Blog » Facts about the Elements: Gallium
Dan-herring

Dan Herring is president of THE HERRING GROUP Inc., which specializes in consulting services (heat treatment and metallurgy) and technical services (industrial education/training and process/equipment assistance). He is also a research associate professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology/Thermal Processing Technology Center. tel: 630-834-3017; e-mail: dherring@heat-treat-doctor.com; web: www.heat-treat-doctor.com

 

Facts about the Elements: Gallium

091218-DanH-1

Figure 1. Gallium will melt in your hand due to its low melting temperature.[3]

091218-DanH-2

Figure 2.  Highly efficient gallium-arsenic solar panels are used on the Mars Exploration Rover.[4]

091218-DanH-1
091218-DanH-2
September 12, 2018
Daniel H. Herring
No Comments
KEYWORDS heat treatment / metallurgy
Reprints

We continue to review some of the most important materials in heat treatment and metallurgy.

Gallium (chemical symbol: Ga)

Gallium is a soft, silvery, glass-like metal used primarily in electronic circuits, semiconductors and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Although very hard and brittle as a solid, gallium melts near room temperature. It has one of the largest liquid ranges of any metal – with a melting point of 85.57°F (29.76°C) and a boiling point of 3999°F (2204°C). As a result, this unusual element is used in high-temperature thermometers. It is also commonly used in pharmaceuticals and nuclear medicine tests.

First postulated by pioneering Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleyev in 1871, he predicted gallium’s properties and its location below aluminum on the periodic table. He named the hypothetical element eka-aluminum.

Gallium was discovered spectroscopically in 1875 by the French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran. He had extracted several milligrams of gallium chloride from a sample of 52 kg of mineral ore. Identified by its characteristic spectrum (two violet lines), de Boisbaudran recognized it as a new element. He later produced pure gallium through the electrolysis of a solution of gallium hydroxide (Ga(OH)3) in potassium hydroxide (KOH). He was a pioneer in the field of spectroscopy, the study of the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation, and is also credited with the discovery of the elements samarium (1880), dysprosium (1886) and europium (1890), as well as being the first to isolate gadolinium (1886).

Gallium is an abundant element on earth and is found primarily in combination with zinc and aluminum ores. Most gallium is extracted from the crude aluminum-hydroxide solution of the Bayer process that produces alumina and aluminum. A moderately reactive element, gallium combines with most non-metals at high temperatures and easily alloys with many metals.

Gallium’s most common uses are in the electronics industry. About 95% of all gallium produced is used to make the compound gallium arsenide (GaAs), which is used in microwave and infrared circuits, semiconductors and blue and violet LEDs. Another use of gallium arsenide is to produce high-performance solar panels, such as the ones used on the Mars Exploration Rover (Fig. 2), because they offer higher efficiency and better low-light performance than their silicon counterparts. The compound gallium nitride (GaN) is used as a semiconductor in Blu-ray technology, mobile phones and pressure sensors for touch switches. Gallium is also used in small quantities as a plutonium crystal stabilizer in the plutonium cores of nuclear bombs.

Here are some interesting facts about gallium.[2]

  • Atomic number: 31
  • Atomic weight: 69.723
  • Melting point: 302.91 K (29.76°C or 85.57°F)
  • Boiling point: 2477 K (2204°C or 3999°F)
  • Density: 5.91 grams per cubic centimeter
  • Phase at room temperature: Solid
  • Element classification: Metal


References

  1. KnowledgeDoor (www.knowledgedoor.com)
  2. Jefferson Lab (https://education.jlab.org/)
  3. WTF Fun Facts (http://wtffunfact.com/)
  4. Space Today Online (http://spacetoday.org/)

Blog Topics

Dan Herring - Heat Treatment

David Pye - Metallurgy

Dan Kay - Brazing

Debbie Aliya - Failure Analysis

George Vander Voort - Metallography

Thomas Joseph - Intellectual Property

Recent Comments

business

Dew Point Meter

kindly share your expertise on deformation control....

relationship between retort size and volume of entire air and gas for produce endothermic gas

[No title]

Dan-herring

Dan Herring is president of THE HERRING GROUP Inc., which specializes in consulting services (heat treatment and metallurgy) and technical services (industrial education/training and process/equipment assistance). He is also a research associate professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology/Thermal Processing Technology Center. tel: 630-834-3017; e-mail: dherring@heat-treat-doctor.com; web: www.heat-treat-doctor.com

 

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Popular Stories

ih1119-ht-fig1-900

The Overlooked Efficiency Opportunity: Intelligent Process Cooling

110719-Sian

Most Powerful Car Ever Produced

ih1119-htdr-fig1-900

Vacuum Maintenance (part 1)

Editorial 2019: Reed Miller

Noel Nuggets

Industrial Heating Industry News

Novelis to Expand, Upgrade Georgia Facility

IH Ipsen 360x184customcontent

Events

December 11, 2019

Linear and Non-Linear Furnace Leak Rates: What’s the Difference?

Determining whether your furnace has a linear or non-linear leak can mean the difference between being back in production in two hours, or two days. It’s important to know the proper steps in determining your true leak rate to decrease unplanned down time as much as possible. 

January 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.
View All Submit An Event

Poll

Additive Manufacturing

Has additive manufacturing had any impact on your business?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

Vacuum Heat Treatment Volume I

Vacuum Heat Treatment Volume I

See More Products

The History of Industrial Heating 1000 BC - Present Day


Industrial Heating Employment Marketplace

Industrial Heating

1219IH-cover144x192

2019 December

Check out the December 2019 issue of Industrial Heating, featuring "Metal Additive Manufacturing without Melting", "Furnaces with Tungsten Heating Elements Make High Product Quality Possible", and much more.

View More Create Account
  • Resources
    • List Rental
    • eNewsletter
    • Manufacturing Group
    • News
    • Want More?
    • Featured
    • Product / Event
    • Industry Links
    • Connect
    • Privacy Policy
    • Survey And Sample

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing