TELLURIUM

(Lat. tell us, the earth.) This rare metal has only been found in small quantities in the gold mines of Transylvania: it occurs in the metallic state, combined with gold or silver. It is white, brilliant, brittle, and easily fusible. Its specific gravity is about C'25. It is combustible,and often exhales a peculiar odour, like horseradish, which Berzelius ascribes to the presence of minute portions of selenium. It forms a protoxide and a peroxide, often called tellarous and telluric acid3. Its equivalent is either 32 or 64. In the former case, the protoxide consists of 1 atom of tellurium and 1 of oxygen (32 + 8), and the peroxide of 1 atom of tellurium and 1£ of oxygen (32+ 12); in the latter the numbers are doubled. Tellurium forms a gaseous compound with hydrogen, which has been called hydro telluric acid. [s. 1244]