What is "cadmium"

Cadmium \Cad"mi*um\, n. [NL. See Cadmia.] (Chem.) A comparatively rare element related to zinc, and occurring in some zinc ores. It is a white metal, both ductile and malleable. Symbol Cd. Atomic weight 111.8. It was discovered by Stromeyer in 1817, who named it from its association with zinc or zinc ore.

Cadmium yellow, a compound of cadmium and sulphur, of an intense yellow color, used as a pigment.

bluish-white metal, 1822, discovered 1817 by German scientist Friedrich Strohmeyer, coined in Modern Latin from cadmia, a word used by ancient naturalists for various earths and oxides (especially zinc carbonate), from Greek kadmeia (ge) "Cadmean (earth)," from Kadmos "Cadmus," legendary founder of Boeotian Thebes. So called because the earth was first found in the vicinity of Thebes (Kadmeioi was an alternative name for "Thebans" since the time of Homer).

n. A metallic chemical element (''symbol'' Cd) with an atomic number of 48.

n. a soft bluish-white ductile malleable toxic bivalent metallic element; occurs in association with zinc ores [syn: Cd, atomic number 48]

Cadmium is a chemical element with symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds, and like mercury, it has a lower melting point than other transition metals. Cadmium and its congeners are not always considered transition metals, in that they do not have partly filled d or f electron shells in the elemental or common oxidation states. The average concentration of cadmium in Earth's crust is between 0.1 and 0.5 parts per million (ppm). It was discovered in 1817 simultaneously by Stromeyer and Hermann, both in Germany, as an impurity in zinc carbonate.

Cadmium occurs as a minor component in most zinc ores and is a byproduct of zinc production. Cadmium was used for a long time as a corrosion-resistant plating on steel, and cadmium compounds are used as red, orange and yellow pigments, to colour glass, and to stabilize plastic. Cadmium use is generally decreasing because it is toxic (it is specifically listed in the European Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and nickel-cadmium batteries have been replaced with nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries. One of its few new uses is cadmium telluride solar panels.

Although cadmium has no known biological function in higher organisms, a cadmium-dependent carbonic anhydrase has been found in marine diatoms.

Sky released their sixth album, Cadmium, in December 1983. The album contents were a mixture of Sky traditions and new elements - it contained a classical-rock arrangement of Prokofiev's "Sleigh Ride" (from the " Lieutenant Kijé Suite"), alongside seven original compositions and the first examples of commissioned compositions from contemporary writers from outside the band (in this case, Kevin Peek's old friend and fellow Cliff Richard collaborator Alan Tarney, who provided two original tunes).

In February 1984, John Williams parted company with Sky, returning to a full-time classical career. Williams had previously hinted that his work with Sky had been intended as a five-year stint. His departure damaged Sky's profile, as he had remained the band's biggest star and live draw despite their efforts to present themselves as a partnership of equals.

In 2015 Esoteric Recordings continued a schedule of remasters and expanded releases with this recording.