titanium

Titanium was asleep in our earth's crust for many years. It was finally
discovered as an element in the U.K. about 200 years ago. It was
found that this unknown material was an oxide that had unique
characteristics. This new metal element was later given the name
titanium, which comes from Greek mythology. The Titans were giants
that were imprisoned underground after losing a war against the gods
on Olympus. In a similar way, titanium elements were "imprisoned" in
mineral ore.

In the middle of the 20th century, titanium began to be used for practical
applications. Dr. J. Kroll, who was a metallurgist in Luxembourg,
invented the "Magnesium Reduction Method" which made it possible
for the industrial mass production of titanium. The Kroll process
became widely used as a smelting technology. Afterwards, titanium
was developed and used for its unique characteristics in the aircraft
industry such as for jet engines. Today, nuclear power plants,
chemical plants, marine structures, building roofs, daily commodities
such as golf clubs, and medical products such as artificial joints all
use titanium. Clearly, the usages and possibilities for titanium have
become very broad.