Vanadium (V)
"Meet Chroma-Steel! This hero changes colors with a thought and makes any metal it touches unbelievably tough, bending but never breaking!"
A memorable persona to anchor V in your mind.
6.11
Grams per cm³
1910
Celsius (°C)
179
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Think of your toughest bike frame or the spring in your pen – Vanadium likely made it stronger!
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1801
Discovered By
Andrés Manuel del Río
Origin of Name
"The element is named after 'Vanadis', the old Norse name for the Scandinavian goddess Freyja."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
50.942 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
3407°C
Electron Configuration
[Ar] 3d34s2
1st Ionization Energy
6.746 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"A gleaming, silvery-white metal that's surprisingly bendy."
Did You Know?
Vanadium was actually discovered *twice*! First in 1801, then again in 1830 by Nils Gabriel Sefström who named it after Vanadís, the Norse goddess of beauty – fitting for an element with such dazzling colors!
Chameleon Chemist! Vanadium compounds are famous for their stunning color changes – from vivid blues and greens to sunshine yellows and royal purples – depending on how many electrons it's playing with!
A Little Goes a Long Way! Adding just a small percentage of Vanadium to steel turns it into a super-strong alloy used in tools, springs, and even jet engines!
Bend It Like Vanadium! Despite its strength-boosting powers, pure Vanadium is surprisingly ductile – you can stretch it into thin wires without it breaking!