Scientists overturn a 30-year theory, finally explaining why gallium melts in your hand

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 behaviour, details that overturn an assumption that has shaped the field for more than three decades. Gallium was identified in 1875 by French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, and it has long fascinated scientists for one particularly striking trait, its melting point sits so low that a gallium spoon can dissolve in a cup of hot tea.

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