The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
El-bnt
Gallium
Paul Emile (Frangois) Lecoq de
Boisbaudran 1838-1912
James L. Marshall, Beta Eta 71, and
Virginia R. Marshall, Beta Eta '03
Department of Chemistry, University of
North Texas, Denton TX 76203-5070,
jimm@unt.edu; Computer Technology,
Denton ISD, Denton TX 76201
The Cognac Region in southwestern France
(Figure 1) has been historically blessed
with a rich, sweet soil well-suited for sup-
porting a wine culture. With a navigable river
allowing active commerce, Cognac for a thou-
sand years traded its famous wines, as well as
salt, to those who would sail up the River
Charente. Frequent visitors were the Dutch,
procuring wine for their ships engaged in world
explorations. Because of low-alcohol content,
wines deteriorated during long ocean voyages,
and because space was at a premium on the
cramped ships, the Dutch lent to the French the
U Paris
I*W kmii.7
Figure 1. Map of France, highlighting the history
of gallium: Cognac (where Boisbaudran conducted
his spectral investigations and first detected galli-
um), Pierrefitte-Nestalas (the source of the gallium
ore), and Paris (where Boisbaudran prepared
metallic gallium).
idea of concentrating their potables to a
"brandywine" ("brandwijn" or "burnt wine").
So, in the 1600s, the distilled spirits of the
7 7
10
Figure 2. The Martell distillery, at the time of Boisbaudran's researches in Cognac. His home would have
been located off this illustration, a few hundred meters to the upper right (northeast).
Figure 3. Home of Paul mile (Frangois) Lecoq de
Boisbaudran in Cognac with his parents (1, rue de
Lusignan, N 450 41.692, W 000 19.848).
The Boisbaudran family prospered with a wine
business in Cognac. This back view is of the
courtyard, showing the sumptuous carriage and
stable facilities.
region became known as"cognac" (Figure 2).
In the early 1800s, the family of Paul Lecoq
de Boisbaudran (1801-1870) and his wife Anne
Louise, of ancient Protestant nobility,
embarked on a wine business that eventually
prospered through perseverance of the whole
family (Figure 3)..One of the sons, Paul mile
(Franeois) Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912),
was particularly gifted; his mother taught him
history, the classics, and foreign languages.'
Paul mile did not attend a formal university,
but he followed the syllabi of classes taught at
cole polytechnique in Paris. His uncle, Scevola
Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1802-1878), who had
attended the cole polytechnique, encouraged
Fran ois and even funded a laboratory in the
home (Figure 4). In this laboratory, Frangois
conducted sophisticated experiments involving
solution chemistry and crystallization process-
es. His most famous work dealt with spec-
troscopy, resulting in the discovery of several
elements. Although Bunsen, Kirchhoff (who
discovered rubidium and cesium, 1860-1) and
THE HEXAGON
;: + ': . ...... ... ....:. .:..: ::. ".. ,:. ,.., . : .. .. . ,: ar . :;: y "uidrna vasuiku 4unn, v;_ v , .. ,. ._.-.m urmur Lmin';,x,; .d 'x .:.,., ,. ,.:.. ,. ", ..,:. :, .
78
