5
B
Boron
metalloid
Discovered : Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thenard, and independently Humphry Davy, all in 1808.
Found in : Tourmaline, ulexite, colemanite, borax, danburite, datolite, axinite.
Used for : Borosilicate glass (Pyrex), fiberglass insulation, detergents, ceramics, neutron shielding in nuclear reactors.
Remarkable : Ulexite is nicknamed "TV rock" because its parallel fibers carry an image from one face to the other like natural optical fiber. Boron is also one of the rarest light elements in the universe, formed not inside stars but when cosmic rays split heavier atoms.
Minerals containing Boron
