• Next (in period)

• Previous (in period)

• Periodic Table

Tutorials

• Atomic Structure

• Electrovalent Bonding

• Covalent Bonding

• Water

• Transition Metals

• Metal or Non-metal?

• Noble Gases

General

• Element Identification Timeline

Thorium is a weakly radio active atom. It is found as its oxide (thoria) and its silicate (thorite).

What the name means: Thorium was named after the Norse god of thunder, Thor.

Who identified thorium? In 1828, Jöns Jakob Berzelius was sent a sample of a black mineral that had been found on the Norwegian island called Lovo. Berzelius analysed the mineral and concluded that it contained a new element. He named this element thorium. Thorium was isolated in 1914.

About thorium: Thorium is a weak radio active element. It is quite common in the Earth’s crust (three times more common than the element lead). It is found in minerals such as monazite (which also contains the elements lanthanum and cerium).