This article has been reviewed and approved by the following Topic Editor: Sidney Draggan (other articles)
Background
Cobalt is a bluish-gray, shiny, brittle metallic element. Its atomic number is 27 and its symbol is Co. It belongs to a group of elements called the transition metals. It has magnetic properties like iron.
Ancient civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia used a substance to color glass a beautiful deep blue. In 1735, the Swedish scientist Georg Brandt set out to prove that this color was due not to the element bismuth, as people believed, but to a new and unidentified element. He is credited with the discovery of this new element, which he named cobalt.
Cobalt is one of the elements that is very important to life, including human life and health. Vitamin B-12 contains cobalt. In areas where there is little cobalt in the soil, farmers have to provide salt blocks containing cobalt for their animals to lick in order to provide enough cobalt in their diet.
Cobalt is also found in iron-nickel meteorites.
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