Scandium is a silvery-white metallic d-block element, historically classified as a rare-earth element.
Core Principles & Analysis
Lars Fredrik Nilson discovered scandium in 1879 in the minerals euxenite and gadolinite, matching the 'ekaboron' Mendeleev had predicted eight years earlier.
It is a soft, lightweight transition metal that is more abundant in Earth's crust than lead but so thinly dispersed that it is rarely concentrated in mineable ores.
Small scandium additions dramatically strengthen aluminium alloys used in aerospace parts and high-end bicycle frames, and scandium iodide whitens the light of metal-halide stadium lamps.