What is coronium? Discover the history of the chemical element that never existed

In 1869, North American astronomers anxiously awaited the occurrence of a total solar eclipse that would pass through parts of the United States. At that time, two scientists managed to identify an emission line in the spectrum of the solar corona that was not within the parameters of any substance defined by science. Therefore, they stated that there is a new element called coronium (coronium)..

Moreover known as NewtonThe element was discovered by astronomers Charles Augustinus Young and William Harkness while making measurements of the Sun’s spectrum during a total eclipse. In different experiments, they found evidence of a possible new element that could revolutionize the orbit of science.

The same experiments were considered accurate because in 1868 many astronomers used the same methods to confirm that helium (He) was a chemical element. After He was proven, astronomer Joseph Norman Lockyer began advocating expeditions to observe other eclipses, possibly aimed at discovering new elements.

“Coronium was the name of a chemical element proposed in the 19th century. It takes its name from the solar corona. In the 1860s, emission lines (specifically a green line) that did not correspond to any known spectral line were observed in the coronal spectrum during solar eclipses. These have been tentatively suggested to be caused by an unknown element called corium,” a post on the website explains: ChemEurope.

Non-element Coronium

With the discovery of helium, scientists began to believe that observing eclipses could result in even more discoveries. So Young and Harkness proposed the new idea while watching the solar eclipse of 1869; When placing telescopes, researchers notice a new bright green line in the spectrum of the solar corona.

Many scientists tried to understand the element for decades, until Dmitry Mendeleev renamed it newtonium in 1902 – Mendeleev became known as the father of the periodic table. Swedish astronomer Bengt Edlén managed to carry out experiments only in the mid-1930s. We were able to confirm that coronium is not a real element, but an error in perception.

In fact, Edlen found evidence of the former element. is a form of iron that forms only at very high temperaturesClose to 1 million degrees Celsius. To this day, scientists still do not fully understand the formation process of this iron.

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