[skan-dee-uh
m] 
| a rare, trivalent, metallic element obtained from thortveitite. Symbol: Sc; atomic weight: 44.956; atomic number: 21; specific gravity: 3.0. |
| scan·di·um (skān'dē-əm) n. Symbol Sc A silvery-white metallic element found in various rare minerals and separated as a byproduct in the processing of certain uranium ores. An artificially produced radioactive isotope is used as a tracer in studies of oil wells and pipelines. Atomic number 21; atomic weight 44.956; melting point 1,540°C; boiling point 2,850°C; specific gravity 2.99; valence 3. See Table at element. [From Latin Scandia, Scandinavia.] scan'dic (-dĭk) adj. |
scandium scan·di·um (skān'dē-əm)
n.
Symbol Sc
A highly reactive metallic element found in various rare minerals and separated as a byproduct in the processing of certain uranium ores. Atomic number 21; atomic weight 44.956; melting point 1,541°C; boiling point 2,830°C; specific gravity 2.99; valence 3.
scandium
((Sc), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table. Scandium is a silvery-white, rather soft metal. After Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev predicted (1871) its existence, tentatively calling it ekaboron, Lars Fredrik Nilson discovered (1879) its oxide, scandia, in the rare-earth minerals gadolinite and euxenite, and Per Teodor Cleve (later in 1879) identified scandium with the hypothetical ekaboron.
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