gallium

Gallium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Discovered by the French chemist Paul-??mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in Paris, France, 1875, elemental gallium is a soft, silvery metal at standard temperature and pressure with a complex orthorhombic crystal structure. In its liquid state, it becomes silvery white. If enough force is applied, solid gallium may fracture conchoidally. Gallium does not occur as a free element in nature, but rather as gallium(III) compounds in trace amounts in zinc ores and in bauxite.