Thorium
Symbol: Th
Who Discovered Thorium?
Thorium was discovered as an element in 1928 by a Swedish chemist called Jakob Bervelius. He received an unidentified mineral from Jens Esmark, a mineralogist. Esmark's son, Morten Esmark, found it on Lovoya island, Norway.
Where Is Thorium Found?
Thorium is found in small amounts in rocks or soil. Soil usually has six parts of million of Thorium. It is also found in minerals such as Thorianite, Monazite and Thorite, these minerals are found in all continents and is as common as lead and molybdenum.
Uses of Thorium
Today, Thorium is used as a source of nuclear power. Thorium-cycle converter-reactor are in the process of constructing. Since there is so much thorium on earth means that there is probably more energy available from Thorium than from both uranium and Fossil fuels, but humans haven't invented the Thorium-cycle converter-reactor yet so that can wait a few more years into the future. Thorium is also used to coat the tungsten wire found in electronic equipment.