Nearly 150 years after gallium was first discovered and added to the periodic table, scientists at the University of Auckland have uncovered previously unknown details about the metal's atomic structure and behavior.
Gallium was discovered in 1875 by French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran. It is best known for its unusually low melting point, which allows a gallium spoon to melt in a cup of hot tea. The metal also plays an essential role in semiconductors and many modern electronic technologies.
The newly reported findings focus on how gallium behaves at the atomic level, revealing properties that challenge decades of scientific understanding.
A Strange Metal With Even Stranger Atomic Behavior
Gallium already stands out from most metals in several ways. Its atoms naturally pair up into `dimers,' meaning they exist as bonded pairs. It is also one of the few substances that is less dense as a solid than as a liquid, much like ice floating on water.
