History of fluorine

<p>Fluorine is a relatively new <a href="/facts/Chemical_element/0jducgWD">element</a> in human applications. In ancient times, only minor uses of fluorine-containing minerals existed. The industrial use of <a href="/facts/Fluorite/y2G7C8zk">fluorite</a>, fluorine's source mineral, was first described by early scientist <a href="/facts/Georgius_Agricola/FXprFXAK">Georgius Agricola</a> in the 16th century, in the context of <a href="/facts/Smelting/Ghdvhlga">smelting</a>. The name "fluorite" (and later "fluorine") derives from Agricola's <a href="/facts/Neo-Latin/mbBrTVEd">invented Latin terminology</a>. In the late 18th century, <a href="/facts/Hydrofluoric_acid/wdXqu4bE">hydrofluoric acid</a> was discovered. By the early 19th century, it was recognized that fluorine was a bound element within compounds, similar to <a href="/facts/Chlorine/y27UwYBM">chlorine</a>. Fluorite was determined to be <a href="/facts/Calcium_fluoride/fCKHAvp1">calcium fluoride</a>.
</p><p>Because of fluorine's tight bonding as well as the toxicity of <a href="/facts/Hydrogen_fluoride/XfQxlqR6">hydrogen fluoride</a>, the element resisted many attempts to isolate it. In 1886, French chemist <a href="/facts/Henri_Moissan/h4lE3nda">Henri Moissan</a>, later a Nobel Prize winner, succeeded in making elemental fluorine by <a href="/facts/Electrolysis/pU75nCDI">electrolyzing</a> a mixture of <a href="/facts/Potassium_fluoride/C4133zRy">potassium fluoride</a> and hydrogen fluoride. Large-scale production and use of fluorine began during World War 2 as part of the <a href="/facts/Manhattan_Project/gtg8yRK2">Manhattan Project</a>. Earlier in the century, the main fluorochemicals were commercialized by the <a href="/facts/DuPont/kCUfkJzE">DuPont</a> company:  refrigerant gases (<a href="/facts/Freon/JkfAjIb9">Freon</a>) and polytetrafluoroethylene plastic (<a href="/facts/Teflon/jesBNXKq">Teflon</a>).
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History of fluorine open-in-new

History of fluorine