Strontium

It’s Atomic number is 38 and it’s atomic weight is 87.62Discovered by Adair Crawford in 1790 (a Scot-Irish chemist --- questions about his Scottishness have arisen though – because really how many Scotts discover all these things!! but I digress…..)

Strontium is one of the more abundant elements, comprising about 0.04 percent of the earth’s crust. At a concentration of 400 parts per million, there is more strontium in the earth’s crust than carbon. Strontium is also the most abundant trace element in seawater, at a concentration of 8.1 parts per million. The human body contains about 320 mg of strontium, nearly all of which is in bone and connective tissue.
It is softer than calcium and in water it decomposes faster. Freshly cut strontium has a silvery appearance, but rapidly turns a yellowish color with the formation of the oxide.

The finely divided metal ignites spontaneously in air. Volatile strontium salts impart a beautiful crimson color to flames, and these salts are used in pyrotechnics and in the production of flares. The Red color in Fireworks is the product of Strontium. Strontium has also been discovered as being an essential substance to prevent showing an ability to regenerate, preserve, and even restore bone growth. Its chemical similarity to calcium allows strontium to replace calcium to some degree in certain processes of the body such as bones and teeth.

First appearing in Squire’s Companion to the British Pharma-copoiea (1884) over a hundred years ago, Strontium has been safely used sinse then as a beneficial medicinal substance. For decades in the first half of the twentieth century, strontium salts were administered in dosages of 200 to 400 mg/day without toxic effects