As with the rest of the write-ups, however, it may be interesting to note that Titanium was first discovered by William McGregor, an
English Clergyman and
amateur mineralogist, in 1791, in
Ilmenite sand.
A german chemist, Martin Klaproth found the element to be present in the mineral Rutile, in 1795. It was this man who named it after the Titans, the mythological first sons of the Earth.
A sample of the element was first produced in 1825, but it wasn't until the Kroll process was discovered in 1937 that it became commercially produced.
It is an important material for Aerospace applications, with 80% of the Titanium metal production going to this field. The oxide is also used in paints, as a pigment.
Titanium is not really used on its own and instead is alloyed to form Titanium Alloys.
Titanium has two crystallographic phases. One is knowm as Alpha-Titanium, which is a hexagonal close packed, or HCP structure. The other is Beta-Titanium, which is body-centred cubic. These are the basis of Titanium Alloy technology.