Scandium is a chemical element with symbol Sc and atomic number 21. A silvery-white metallic d-block element, it has historically been sometimes classified as a rare earth element, together with yttrium and the lanthanoids. It was discovered in 1879 by spectral analysis of the minerals euxenite and gadolinite from Scandinavia. Scandium is present in most of the deposits of rare earth and uranium compounds, but it is extracted from these ores in only a few mines worldwide. Because of the low availability and the difficulties in the preparation of metallic scandium, which was first done in 1937, it took until the 1970s before applications for scandium were developed. The positive effects of scandium on aluminium alloys were discovered in the 1970s, and its use in such alloys remains its only major application. The global trade of the pure metal is around fifty kilograms per year on average.

The Valknut

The valknut (Old Norse valr, "slain warriors" + knut, "knot") is a symbol consisting of three interlocked triangles, and appears on various Scandinavian and Germanic objects. The Valknut found on old Norse stone carvings is called "Hrungnir's heart," after the legendary giant of the Eddas. It is best known as the Valknut, or "knot of the slain," and it has been found on stone carvings with funerary motifs, where it signified the afterlife. The valknut can be drawn unicursally (in one stroke), making it a popular talisman of protection against spirits.

The Valknut's three interlocking shapes and nine points suggest rebirth, pregnancy, and cycles of reincarnation. The nine points are also suggestive of the Nine Worlds (and the nine fates) of Norse mythology. Their interwoven shape suggests the belief of the interrelatedness of the three realms of earth, hel, and the heavens, and the nine domains they encompass. The Valknut is also an important symbol to many followers of the Odinist faith, who often wear it as a symbol of the faith.

Scandium Sources and Uses

Regarded by most people as a very exotic element, scandium is not all that rare. Its average abundance in Earth's crust is 22 ppm, which can be compared with 25 ppm for cobalt and 13 ppm for lead. Other familiar metals that we use, such as molybdenum, tin, tungsten, silver, and gold, are far below in crustal abundances. While these other metals tend to be concentrated in economically exploitable deposits, the problem with scandium is that it is dispersed in common rock-forming minerals. Accordingly, minerals with scandium as a main constituent are few and rare. This makes scandium an exciting element for the mineralogist and geochemist. Although today's total market is relatively small, an increasing demand for scandium calls for an increased effort to better understand the distribution of the element and to locate new deposits.

Only nine major scandium minerals are known so far (year of first description in parentheses): thortveitite (1911), bazzite (1915), kolbeckite (1926; not originally recognized as a scandium mineral), jervisite (1982), cascandite (1982), juonniite (1997), pretulite (1998), scandiobabingtonite (1998), and kristiansenite (2002). Kolbeckite, juonniite, and pretulite are phosphates; the rest are silicates. A few more new species are in the pipeline for formal description. Thortveitite, Sc₂Si₂O₇, was once the world's most expensive mineral and was produced in small amounts from granite pegmatites in south Norway. Radioactive calcium isotopes were produced from it for use in medicine.

In minerals, the most common substitution mechanism involving scandium is the replacement of aluminum and trivalent iron. This is the main reason for the dispersal of scandium in the lithosphere and is explained by the valency of scandium (Sc³⁺) and similarities in ionic radii. Scandium can also substitute for yttrium and the heavy lanthanides (rare-earth elements), despite a larger difference in ionic radii. Incorporation of scandium in minerals containing magnesium, manganese, and divalent iron--or niobium, tantalum, tin, and zirconium--is explained by various coupled (heterovalent) substitutions; for example, Sc³⁺ + (Ti,Sn)⁴⁺ (Fe,Mn)²⁺ + (Nb,Ta)⁵⁺, Sc³⁺ + Na⁺ (Mg,Fe)²⁺ + Ca²⁺, Sc³⁺ + Ca²⁺ Sn⁴⁺ + Na⁺, and Sc³⁺ + P⁵⁺ Zr⁴⁺ + Si⁴⁺. No wonder scandium is a dispersed element! In common rocks, it is mainly present in ferromagnesian minerals like pyroxenes, amphiboles, micas, garnets, and epidote-group minerals.

Owing to its dispersed nature and resulting low concentration, scandium is produced exclusively as a by-product during processing of various ores and has also been recovered from mine tailings. The principal scandium-producing countries are China, Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Future resources are known in the U.S., Australia, and Norway. Undiscovered scandium resources are probably very large.

Investigations of the use of scandium in aluminum alloys began in the Soviet Union in the 1970s, although such alloys were patented in the U.S. in 1971. During the 1980s, Russian scientists implemented scandium in several alloy systems. Some of the advantages of using scandium in aluminum alloys are to achieve grain refinement during casting and welding, increased strength from Al₃Sc precipitates, increased resistance to recrystallization, and enhanced superplastic properties. It has been claimed that scandium provides the highest increment of strengthening per atomic percent of any of the other aluminum-alloying elements.

Principal uses for scandium are in high-strength aluminum alloys, high-intensity metal halide lamps, electronics, and laser research. A recently developed application is in welding wire, and future demand is expected to be in fuel cells. Approximately 15 different commercial Al-Sc alloys have been developed in Russia, and some of them are used for aerospace applications. In Europe and the U.S., scandium-containing alloys have been evaluated for use in structural parts in airplanes. The combination of high strength and light weight makes Al-Sc alloys suitable for a number of applications.

But the high price of scandium has so far restricted widespread use of such alloys in the Western world. Uses have been primarily in sports equipment like baseball and softball bats, bicycle frames, lacrosse sticks, and even in handgun frames and cylinders! With the current prices, an addition of typically 0.2 weight % Sc to an aluminum alloy will quadruple the price. However, should the price fall by 90% or more, scandium will be in immediate demand for large-scale production of several alloy types. Of course, such a development is dependent on stable, long-term supplies.

Homeopathy

Scandium is the first remedy in stage 3. The zodiacsign that belongs to stage 3 is gemini. 

Clever, curious, communication. Making connection with surroundings. Trying to figure out, intelligence. Talkative, sociable, loves to interact with others on a superficial level. Unemotional, impersonal, ruled by rationality. Requires great mental stimulation. Playfull, inconstant, attention easily drifts so something new, seeks novelty.  

Here with Scandium it has to do with the polarity between curious and anxious in combination with the profession or task (virgo). Scholten talks about trying all kinds of possible jobs.

Don’t know which task to choose. Can not decide, but it has to be perfect. Start all kind of professions, but do not persevere. When something goes wrong, they withdraw and do not go on.

The complementary sign of gemini is sagittarius. With the previous complementary signs there was a projection of their own inner nature on the outside world with Kalium (libra), and the carefull attempt to integrate their own contradictions with Calcium (scorpio).

Now with Scandium (sagittarius) there is an expansion of the worldview. Start looking around but not really get involved yet.