Atomic Number: 31
Symbol: Ga
Average Atomic Mass: 69.723
Gallium comes from the Latin word for France, Gallia. It is a solid at room temperature, and a liquid not so far off (liquid at 85.57°F or 29.76°C). It belongs to the elemental group: Metal.
Gallium was discovered with use of a spectroscope by the French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875.
Trace amounts of gallium are found in diaspore, sphalerite, germanite, bauxite, and the byproducts of burning coal. Gallium is a byproduct of the smelting of other metals (aluminum and zinc) and is rarer than gold!
Gallium has been used to create low melting alloys due to its low melting point, and is also used as a doping material for semiconductors. It produces transistors and light emitting diodes (namely LED's). Gallium arsenide (GaAs) can produce laser light directly from electricity. It is also used to create some ultra-high radio frequencies and in fast electronic switching applications. Gallium trichloride (GaCl3) have been gathered to build the Gallium Neutrino Observatory in Italy.
Sources:
http://www.logitech.uk.com/gallium_arsenide.asp
http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele031.html
