Boron is a metalloid element which has the atomic number 5, an average atomic weight of 10.81, and is designated by the atomic symbol B. It has a melting point of 3767 ° F (2075 ° C) and boils at about 7232 ° F(4000 ° C).

Although boron was discovered nearly 200 years ago, scientists have not yet thoroughly explored all of its properties. Pure boron does not exist in nature, and the impurities present in many samples have made it difficult to characterize the element. But it is known that boron crystals are harder than any other substance except diamond, and boron compounds have been put to a variety of uses, from building jet planes to washing clothes.

The story of boron's discovery has its roots in the uneasy political relations between France and England in the early 1800s. Scientific discoveries in England, especially by the pioneering chemist Sir Humphry Davy, made France's...