| Thallium
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| Properties
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| Atomic symbol
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Tl
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| Atomic number
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81
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| Classification
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Metals
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| Atomic mass
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204.3833 amu
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| Other Information
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| Date of discovery
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1861
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| Name of discoverer
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Sir William Crookes
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| Name origin
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From the Greek thallos, meaning a young shoot or green twig, due to the bright green line in its spectrum.
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| Uses
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Originally, its compounds were used in rat and ant poisons, but has been prohibited since 1975 in many countries. Also used for detecting infrared radiation and in heart muscle research.
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| Obtained from
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It is generally obtained as the by-product of zinc and lead smelting. Also found in iron pyrites, crookesite, hutchinsonite and lorandite.
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