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Object

Gallium

A metallic, faceted sphere with the number "31" embossed on its surface, representing gallium, element 31, with the date "94.10.2" below it.

Element 31, a soft silvery metal that melts at 29.76 °C — cool enough to liquefy in a closed palm. Lecoq de Boisbaudran isolated it in 1875 from zinc ore in the Pyrenees. Its modern uses are mostly electronic: gallium arsenide and gallium nitride semiconductors power LEDs, solar cells, and the radio amplifiers in mobile phones.

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