THE 



PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE 



AND 



ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY. 



[NEW SERIES.] 



^NOVEMBER 1831. 



XLI. On Vanadium. By M. Berzelius*. 

 "ITANADIUM was discovered in the year 1830 by Sef- 

 * Strom, in a Swedish iron, remarkable for its ductiUty, 

 obtained from the ii'on mine of Jaberg, not far from Jon- 

 kiiping in Sweden. The name of this metal is derived from 

 that of Vanadis, a Scandinavian divinity. It is not yet known 

 under what form, or in what state of combination, vanadium 

 occurs in the ore of Jaberg. It is also found in Mexico, in a 

 lead mine at Zimapan. Del Rio, who analysed this mineral 

 in 1801, announced the discovery of a new metal in it, which 

 he called Erythronium ; but the same mineral having soon af- 

 terwards been analysed by Collet Descotils, he asserted that 

 erythronium was merely impure chromium. Del Rio himself 

 adopted the opinion of the French chemist, and considered 

 the mineral as a subchromate of lead; thus the metal, so near 

 being discovered, remained thirty years imknown to chemists. 

 Since the discovery of vanadium by Sefstrom, Wohler has as- 

 certained that the mineral of Zimapan contains vanadic and 

 not chromic acid. 



I have had an opportunity of studying the properties of this 

 metal, and those of its combinations, by means of specimens 

 presented to me by M. Sefstrom for that purpose. 



M. Sefstrom having ascertained that the finery cinder of the 

 cast-iron of Jaberg contained more vanadium than the iron 

 itself, made use of it to obtain the metal, which occurs in it in 

 the state of vanadic acid. For this purpose he uses the fol- 

 lowing process : the finery cinder is powdered and mixed with 



• Trailc ilc C/iimic, torn. iv. p. Gi2. ?ce a!so the present volume of Phil. 

 Mag. and Annals, p. 151, 157, and 20!) ; and the MisccUaneuns Arlirks in 

 the |iresent Number. 



N. S. Vol. 10. No, ."59. Nov. 1B31. 2 '1' nitre 



