Alexis Rosenfeld/SPL
The discovery of vanadium (chemical symbol V) shows the criticisms chemists face when they experiment with the unknown. Vanadium is a transition element on the first row of the d-block elements in the periodic table. It is on the same row as other, perhaps more familiar, metals such as titanium, chromium, iron and copper.
The word vanadium was coined in 1831 by N.G. Selfström and is derived from the name of Vanadis (also known as Freyja or Freya), the Norse goddess of beauty and fertility. Selfström chose this name due to vanadium’s many brightly coloured compounds as well as its shiny, silvery appearance.
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