Limestone has been used by mankind for millennia, but its components were not known, until 1808 when English chemist Sir Humphry Davy used electrolysis to isolate the element that is the anion in limestone.
Once that element was isolated, it was discovered that the element was a silvery-white metal that was light-weight and highly reactive. This metal was named by combining the Latin word for limestone and the suffix for newly discovered metals(Calx + -ium), making the element calcium.
Properties of Calcium
Calcium is an alkaline earth metal with the symbol Ca.
Calcium is an invaluable mineral in your body. Approximately 99% of the calcium in your body exists in the form of calcium hydroxyapatite — a mineral matrix of calcium and phosphate — and is stored in your teeth and bones in order to provide the structure and strength that your skeleton requires, however, these deposits of calcium also function as a reservoir that can release calcium into your bloodstream for other bodily functions when necessary.
The remaining 1% of the calcium in your body is vital for functions such as allowing muscle contraction and relaxation, promoting nerve function, assisting in blood clotting, regulating heart rhythm, facilitating the dilation and contraction of blood vessels, and helping the release of hormones and enzymes.
Calcium salts are found in many places in life: calcium sulfate (gypsum) is used to make drywall, calcium carbonate is the main component of limestone and wood ash, and calcium chloride is often used as a high-performance ice-melt.
Calcium salts are sometimes used in pyrotechnics for producing an orange or a red-orange flame.
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