Cobalt

The chemical element Cobalt (Co), atomic number 27, is a greyish-white hard metal that melts at 1,495°C. Just like iron and nickel, it has ferromagnetic properties. Minerals containing cobalt have been used as pigments for millennia to produce a deep blue (cobalt blue). Still, it was not until 1735 that the Swedish chemist Georg Brandt (1694-1768) discovered the metal. A decade later, he demonstrated that cobalt was the cause of the blue colour in natural pigments used for glass and ceramics. Forty-five years after its discovery, Swedish mineralogist and chemist Torbern Olof Bergman successfully extracted pure cobalt in 1780, acknowledging Georg Brandt’s pioneering role. Cobalt takes its name from the German kobold, which means goblin.