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Zirconium History
Zirconium (Persian zargun : gold like) was first discovered by Martin Heinrich Klaproth in 1789 and then isolated by Jons Jakob Berzelius in 1824. Zircon, the primary gemstone of zirconium, is also known as jargon, hyacinth, jacinth, or ligure, which were all mentioned in biblical writings. Klaproth analyzed a jargon from Ceylon in the Indian Ocean, and found a new element, which Klaproth named as Zirkonertz (zirconia). The impure metal was first prepared by Berzelius in 1824 by heating a mixture of potassium and potassium zirconium fluoride in a small decomposition process conducted in an iron tube. Until approximately a century later pure zirconium was obtained.
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