Craftsmen used materials from the earth to color glass, pottery, glazes, and other materials. Cobalt minerals were especially prized for their rich blue color.
The word cobalt may have been first used near the end of the fifteenth century. In German, the word Kobold means "goblin" or "evil spirit." The term was used by miners to describe a mineral that was very difficult to mine and was damaging to their health. When the mineral was heated, it gave off an offensive gas that caused illness. The gas that affected the miners was arsenic trioxide (As4O6), which often occurs with cobalt in nature.
At first, chemists were skeptical about Brandt's claims of a new element, but he continued his research on the mineral. He showed that its compounds were a much deeper blue than copper compounds. (Copper and cobalt compounds had long been confused with each other.) Eventually, Brandt was given credit for the discovery of the element. The name chosen was a version of the original German term, Kobold.
Cobalt is a hard, gray metal that looks much like iron and nickel. It is ductile, but only moderately malleable.
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