Cruikshank, William

In 1787 William Cruikshank (1745-1795) isolated, but did not identify, strontium from the mineral strontianite he examined. In 1790 Dr. Adair Crawford (1748—1794), an Irish chemist, discovered strontium by accident as he was examining barium chloride. He found a substance other than what he expected and considered it a new mineral. He named the new element strontium and its mineral strontianite after a village in Scotland. In 1808 Sir Humphry Davy treated the ore with hydrochloric acid, which produced strontium chloride. He then mixed mercury oxide with the strontium chloride to form an amalgam alloy of the two metals that collected at the cathode of his electrolysis apparatus. He heated the resulting substance to vaporize the mercury, leaving the strontium metal as a deposit. 

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, flammable, toxic gas. It was first identified by the Spanish alchemist Arnold of Villanova (1235-1313), who noted the production of a poisonous gas when wood was burned. The formal discovery of carbon monoxide is credited to the French chemist Joseph Marie Francois de Lassone (1717-1788) and the British chemist Joseph Priestley (1733-1804). The former prepared carbon monoxide by heating carbon in the presence of zinc, and for a time the compound was incorrectly identified as hydrogen. William Cumberland Cruikshank (1745—1800) correctly determined that carbon monoxide was an oxide of carbon in 1800. 

Aitken DK (1981) (In Wynn-Williams CG, cruikshank DP (eds), Infrared astronomy.) D. Reidel, Dordrecht, p 207... 

The name comes from the town of Strontian in Scotland and was given to the element by Thomas Hope (1766-1844). There are many claims for the original discovery of strontium. William Cruikshank, in 1787, and Adair Crawford, in 1790, both examined strontianite (SrC03) and recognized that it had unique properties. Thomas Hope noted an unknown earth in 1791. Martin Klaproth presented a paper on a number of strontium compounds in 1793 and 1794. Richard Kirwan (1733-1812) examined a number of strontium compounds and presented his findings in 1794. It was Davy who isolated strontium metal, in 1808. Strontium does not occur in pure form in nature but is found in small quantities in many places. Some forms of strontium are radioactive, particularly 90Sr, which has been found in nuclear fallout. It can also be used in SNAP devices (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power) as a power source. The main commercial use of strontium is in the glass of color television picture tubes. 

The voltaic pile also had appfications in other fields of science. William Cruikshank discovered the process of electroplating while working with a voltaic pile. Davy constructed the first crude electric fight with the pile in 1820. SEE ALSO Davy, Humphry Electrochemistry Zinc. 

The discovery of carbon monoxide is usually credited to the English chemist Joseph Priestley (1733-1804). Between 177a and 1799, Priestley investigated the properties of carbon monoxide and recognized the difference between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The gas was first prepared synthetically by the French chemist Joseph Marie Francois de Lassone (1717-1788) in 1776, although he mistakenly identified it as hydrogen. The correct chemical formula for carbon monoxide was first identified by the English chemist William Cruikshank (1745-1800) in 1800. 

In 1790 Adair Crawford and William Cruikshank first detected non-radioactive strontium in the mineral strontianite in Scotland. Metallic strontium was isolated in 1808 by Sir Humphry Davy. Radioactive Sr-90, like many other radionuclides, was discovered in the 1940s in nuclear experiments connected to the development of the atomic bomb. 

KEVIN C. WILSON, WILLIAM W. CRUIKSHANK, and DAVID M. CENTER... 

William W. Cruikshank, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Medicine, The Pulmonary Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 

---