Austrium is the name of a new chemical element proposed by

Eduard Linnemann Eduard Linnemann (2 February 1841 – 4 April 1886) was a German chemist. He studied chemistry at the University of Heidelberg and at the University of Karlsruhe. After he received his Ph.D. he worked with Kekulé at the University of Ghent a ...

in 1886. As a chemist at the

German University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

he experimented with the mineral

orthite Allanite (also called orthite) is a sorosilicate group of minerals within the broader epidote group that contain a significant amount of rare-earth elements. The mineral occurs mainly in metamorphosed clay-rich sediments and felsic igneous rocks. ...

(from

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

in Norway). In the course of his works over several years he detected spectral lines at 4165 and 4030 Angstrom, respectively, which he was not able to ascribe to any then known element. These findings were published only after his death after due consideration on May 6, 1886, by the Academy of Sciences of Prague. Subsequently, the French chemist

Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

pointed out that Linnemann's findings could also be attributed to

gallium Gallium is a chemical element with the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Discovered by French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875, Gallium is in group 13 of the periodic table and is similar to the other metals of the group (aluminiu ...

, an element which had been described by Lecoq himself in 1875. Finally,

Richard Pribram Richard Pribram (21 April 1847 – 7 January 1928) was an Austrian chemist. He was the brother of internist Alfred Pribram (1841–1912). Biography Pribram was born on 21 April 1847 in Prague. He studied chemistry in Prague and Munich (under Ju ...

from the University of Czernowitz set out to settle the question. He was able to conclude that Linnemann's austrium did not constitute a new element but was – as already presumed by Lecoq – nothing but gallium. At the same time Pribram himself surmised that he might have found unidentified spectral lines of yet another new element, for which he as a homage to Linnemann again proposed the name austrium. But also these claims could not be substantiated in further investigations.

References

{{Reflist Misidentified chemical elements Gallium 1886 in Austria-Hungary 1886 in science