Areas of Use:
Molybdenum is a transition metal and is silvery white in its pure form and very hard. Its melting point is quite high. Steel can be further hardened by adding small amounts. Molybdenum is also important in the nutrition of plants and is found in some enzymes.
In 1778, Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele showed that the mineral (molybdenite), which was thought to be a lead ore or graphite until then, was a sulfur compound of an unknown metal. Swedish chemist Peter Jacob Hjelm also separated molybdenum in its metal form in 1782 and named it after the Greek word molybdos, meaning "like lead".