Germanium - ₃₂Ge: historical information

Germanium was an element whose existence was predicted by Mendeleev in 1871. He predicted that the then unknown element germanium should resemble silicon in its properties. He suggested therefore the name ekasilicon (symbol Es). His predictions for the properties of germanium are remarkably close to the reality. Germanium was discovered in a mineral called argyrodite by Clemens Alexander Winkler in 1886.