Name       : Chromium 
Symbol     : Cr
Atomic #   : 24
Atom weight: 51.996
Melting P. : 1857
Boiling P. : 2672
Oxidation  : +2, +3, +6
Pronounced : KROH-mi-em
From       : Greek chroma, "color" - suggest the wide variety of colors
             that characterize chromium compounds.
Identified : Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin in 1797
Appearance : Very hard, crystalline, steel-gray metal
Note       : Chromium ore (Siberian red lead) is a popular pigment for
             brilliant red oil paints in the 18th century.

[Properties]

  Chromium heads the list of Group VIB elements on the periodic table. It
shares a number of characteristics, including practical applications, with
the two preceding metals in the series, vanadium (V) and titanium (Ti).
Pure chromium metal has a blue-white color. It is hard, brittle, and
corrosion-resistant at normal environmental temperatures.
  There are two known allotropes of chromium. The most common - the one
that is stable at room temperature - has a body-centered cubic crystalline
structure. The second, or beta, form is stable above 1850 degrees. It has
a close-packed, hexagonal structure.
