Tellurium (Te)
"The Garlic-Breath, a rare hero from the Earth who leaves a lingering, garlicky impression."
A memorable persona to anchor Te in your mind.
6.24
Grams per cm³
449.51
Celsius (°C)
206
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Tellurium is found as a component in some solar cells.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1782
Discovered By
Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein
Origin of Name
"The name is derived from the Latin ''tellus'', meaning Earth."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
127.6 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
988°C
Electron Configuration
[Kr] 4d105s25p4
1st Ionization Energy
9.01 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"Tellurium is a brittle, silvery-white metalloid."
Did You Know?
It was named after 'Tellus', the Latin word for Earth.
Humans exposed to even tiny amounts of tellurium (as little as 0.01 mg/m³) develop a condition called 'tellurium breath', which gives their breath a strong, persistent garlic-like odor.
When added to steel and copper, it makes the metals easier to machine.
Tellurium is one of the rarest stable solid elements in the Earth's crust, rarer even than platinum.