Titanium
. Titanium, symbol Ti, silver-white metallic element used principally to make light, strong alloys . Titanium is one of the transition elements of the periodic table . The atomic number of titanium is 22. Titanium was discovered in 1791 in the mineral menachanite by the British clergyman William Gregor, who named the new element menachite. Four years later, the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth rediscovered the element in the mineral rutile and named it titanium in allusion to the strength of the mythological Greek Titans. The metal was isolated in 1910. PROPERTIES AND OCCURRENCE Pure titanium is soluble in concentrated acids, such as sulfuric and hydrofluoric acids, and insoluble in water. The metal is extremely brittle when cold, but is readily malleable and ductile at a low red heat. Titanium melts at about 1660° C (about 3020° F), boils at about 3287° C (about 5949° F), and has a specific gravity of 4.5. The atomic weight of titanium is 47.88. Titanium burns in oxygen at 610