It reduces the melting point of materials used to make glass. It was also used to melt the ores of metals and to isolate the metals from those ores.
In 1808, English chemist Humphry Davy (1778-1829) had just learned how to isolate the most active metals, such as sodium and potassium. He was also working on a method to remove boron from its compounds. (See sidebar on Davy in the calcium entry.)
News of Davy's success had traveled to France, where emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) grew concerned about the scientific reputation of his country. He ordered larger and better equipment built for his scientists. He wanted them to surpass Davy in his work on metals. This equipment was designed especially for two French chemists, Louis Jacques Thenard (1777-1857) and Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850).
Thenard and Gay-Lussac found a new way to separate boron from its compounds. They heated boracic acid (also known as boric acid, H3BO3) with potassium metal to produce impure boron. Thenard and Gay-Lussac were given credit for discovering the new element. In 1892, French chemist Henri Moissan (1852-1907) produced boron that was 98 percent pure.
The names borax and boracic acid probably originated as far back as the time of Rhazes as buraq (in Arabic) or burah (in Persian).
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