Abstract
Tellurium (Gr., the earth) was discovered in 1782 by Muller Von Reichenstein and was more fully investigated by Klaproth and Berzelius. It is an element of rare occurrence and is found chiefly in Transylvania, the Altai Mountains, and Boulder Co., Colorado. In addition to existing in the free state, tellurium occurs as the tellurides of bismuth, gold, silver and mercury. In solution, tellurium is most commonly detected by precipitation of the black amorphous variety in the presence of dilute Hydrochloric acid solution and sulphur dioxide gas. Stannous chloride, Bypophosphorous acid, hydrazine hydrochloride, zinc, aluminum, magnesium, and reducing sugars like glucose and fructose throw down elementary black tellurium when added to tellurium solutions.