A Visual Encyclopedia of the Periodic Table

148

The Carbon Group

Forms Uses

This semi-metal is named after the

country Germany. It was discovered there

in 1886 by chemist Clemens A Winkler, nearly

20 years after Russian chemist Dmitri

Mendeleev predicted its existence and properties.

Germanite is a mineral rich in germanium,

but this element is mainly extracted from the

ores of silver, copper, and lead. One of its

compounds, germanium oxide, is used in wide-

angle camera lenses. It is also used in some

microchips and in a number of car sensors

that aid in navigation.

The germanium

oxide in the glass

of this lens bends

surrounding light

from a large area

into the camera.

This car contains a

germanium-based sensor

that measures its distance

from obstacles.

This microchip

is made of silicon

and germanium.

Car with

germanium sensor

The pure form Smartphone microchip

is shiny like a

metal, but brittle.

This sulfur

mineral is rich

in germanium.

Germanium

is found in the

atmosphere

of Jupiter.

State: Solid

Discovery: 1886

32 32 41

Ca

me

ra^ l

ens

Germanite

Ge

32

Germanium

refined^ in^ a^ laboratory

Disc^ of^

pure^ germanium

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