What is Tellurium?

About Tellurium:

• Tellurium is a semi-metallic, lustrous, crystalline, brittle, silver-white element.
• Atomic Number: 52
• It has the properties of both metals and nonmetals.
• It forms many compounds corresponding to those of sulphurand selenium.
• When burned in the air, tellurium has a greenish-blue flame and forms tellurium dioxide as a result.
• Tellurium is a semiconductor material and is slightly photosensitive.
• It is one of the only elements that readily combine with gold (Au).
• Sources:
• Tellurium is sometimes found free in nature.
• More commonly, it is found combined with metals, such as in the minerals calaverite (gold telluride, AuTe2) and sylvanite (silver-gold telluride).
• Commercially, tellurium is obtained as a byproduct of electrolytic copper refining.
• Applications:
• Tellurium is alloyed with copper and stainless steel to make these metals more workable.
• It is added at very low levels to lead to decreases the corrosive action of sulfuric acid in batteries and to improve the lead’s strength and hardness.
• It is used as a colouring agent in ceramics.
• It is also used in the electronics industry, for example, with cadmium and mercury to form photosensitive semiconductors.
• It is used in vulcanizing rubber, and in catalysts for petroleum cracking, and in blasting caps for explosives.

What is a Neutron Star?

• A neutron star is an extremely dense and compact celestial object that forms after the core of a massive star collapses under its own gravity during a supernova explosion.