Why was uranium mined in the 1500s, but only "discovered" in 1789?
score:65
Accepted answer
Uranium oxide in the form of the mineral pitchblende was known and mined - as the Wikipedia article says. So the short answer is that as far as anyone in the 1500s was concerned, they were mining pitchblende and using it to make things turn yellow - they had no reason to care about where pitchblende came from.
The use of uranium in its natural oxide form dates back to at least the year 79 CE, when it was used in the Roman Empire to add a yellow color to ceramic glazes. ... Starting in the late Middle Ages, pitchblende was extracted from the Habsburg silver mines in Joachimsthal, Bohemia (now JΓ‘chymov in the Czech Republic), and was used as a coloring agent in the local glassmaking industry. [WP]
Discovering what pitchblende itself was composed of did not come until Klaproth (or possibly, per Wikipedia, until PΓ©ligot in 1841 - Klaproth thought he had identified it, but PΓ©ligot was the first to extract pure uranium).
This situation was not unique to uranium; cobalt ores have been used for millennia to colour things, but the underlying element was not identified until the mid-18th century.
More post
- π What literary or philosophical works did the ancient Egyptians have that have influenced ancient civilizations or the modern word?
- π Was the country of Papua New Guinea a part of Indonesia ever?
- π How did news of important events spread during the English Civil War?
- π How long did Latin survive in Bavaria?
- π Why were northern Native Americans less urban than central or southern?
- π How "successful" were WWII pigeon-guided missiles?
- π How many days of supply did units in WW2 carry?
- π What is the origin and significance of karahafu (εη ΄ι’¨)?
- π How common is "decades ahead of his time" in real history?
- π In which banking institute was Soren Kierkegaard a customer?
- π What is this medal ribbon? WAAF
- π What did women wear during the Rashidun era?
- π Did Christians ever use crucifixion as punishment?
- π When did Averroes start to study medicine?
- π Were there hippies in the USA in 1930?
- π Why did the Native American city of Cahokia die out?
- π Did it matter that the Red Army clung on to Stalingrad's West bank in 1942?
- π Who were these two 1961 Soviet pilot defectors?
- π After the fall of Constantinople was there a re-evaluation of the basis of Russia's religion?
- π When Israel won the Six Day War, did they consider expelling all Arabs from the annexed territories?
- π What was the role of Midnapore town in present day West Bengal of India in the armed struggle for freedom in Bengal province of British India?
- π Conditions of Upper-Silesian-Poles minority in Weimar Republic?
- π Were any of the early settlements in America attacked from the sea?
- π Why does the US use MM/DD/YY?
- π Framers and Criminal Voting Rights
- π Did the citizens of US really back the declaration of war on Japanese Empire as it was implied by F.D. Roosevelt in his Pearl Harbor Speech?
- π Why did the Portuguese permit an Italian commercial agent to accompany Vasco da Gama on the 4th Portuguese India Armada?
- π What was so "hot" about hot cakes?
- π Is there a Mongolian ritual of throwing water in front of someone departing on a journey?
- π Why did the U.S. place an arms embargo on all belligerents in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- π Why was uranium mined in the 1500s, but only "discovered" in 1789?
- π Why was the Red Army successful against the Japanese in 1939 but perform poorly against Finland 1939-40 and early part of WW2?
- π Before entering WW II, why was the US so against Japanese aggression in China but did nothing about Germany in Europe?
- π Why was Copernicus not persecuted by the church, but Galileo was?
- π Why was Poland able to resist the Swedish invasion during the Deluge, but not during the time of Charles XII?
- π Why was only the Silver medal awarded for music at the 1932s Olympics?
- π Why was silage only invented in the 19th century?
- π Why was the requirement for Impeachment set at simple majority for House of Representatives, but supermajority (2/3) for a trial at the Senate?
- π Why was there a "workers' militia" in Eastern Europe but not in the USSR?
- π Why was Benedict Arnold liked by the Tories but scorned by the Whigs?
- π Why did Hitler attack the Soviet Union when he was still busy fighting the United Kingdom?
- π Why did archery not make a comeback when armor was phased out in the 18th century?
- π Why was Poland spared from the Black Death?
- π Why was Africa colonized last of the continents in the Age of Discovery?
- π Why did the Western Roman Empire collapse but not the Eastern Roman Empire?
- π Why was Britain willing to return Hong Kong but not Gibraltar?
- π Was hay invented only in the Middle Ages in Europe?
- π Why was the Scout movement so successful?
- π Why was the Council of Nicea held in Nicea rather than Rome or Constantinople?
- π Why was World War I ended on Nov 11 11:00, rather than immediately upon signing the armistice?
- π In the Soviet Union, why was the Cheka renamed so many times?
- π Why was "leaping into the river" a valid trial outcome to prove one's innocence?
- π Why was the Japanese Army's fatalities inflicted:suffered ratio so low in the Pacific theatre?
- π Why was capturing the south of Okinawa necessary?
- π Why were the drawings of Colossus burnt after WW2 and why was its very existence "of course" kept secret?
- π Why did only the English adopt, evolve and use the longbow en masse in war?
- π Why were Albanians the only nation in the Balkans who converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation?
- π Why could China keep most of the lands it conquered after 17th century but European powers could not?
- π Why was there a surge in the US incarceration rate during the 1990s?
- π Why is this Latin text black but the Latin numerals are red?