Template:POTD/2012-08-31
A crystal bar of cadmium, made by the flux process, and 1 cm3 of cadmium for comparison. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. It was discovered in 1817 simultaneously by Stromeyer and Hermann, both in Germany, as an impurity in zinc carbonate.Photo: Alchemist-hp