Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
The History of Calcium Orthophosphates
from 1770s till 1950
8.1
Introduction
By virtue of abundance in the nature and presence in the living
organisms, calcium apatites [1] and other calcium orthophosphates
(Table 1.1) appear to be the chemical compounds of a special
interest in many fields of science, including geology, chemistry,
biology and medicine [2, 3]. As follows from the designation, calcium
orthophosphates contain both calcium (Ca, atomic number 20) and
phosphorus (P, atomic number 15) as the major constituencies.
Concerning the history of both chemical elements, according to
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, calcium (from Latin
calx
, genitive
calcis
, meaning “lime”) compounds were known as early as the first
century, when the ancient Romans prepared lime as calcium oxide.
However, calcium sulfate (also known as plaster of Paris or lime
plaster) had been known much earlier: three statues were discovered
in a buried pit at 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan those were sculpted with lime
plaster over armatures of reeds and twine. They were made in the
pre-pottery Neolithic period, around 7200 BC. However, calcium
was not isolated until 1808, when Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829)
electrolyzed a mixture of lime and mercuric oxide [4, 5]. Phosphorus
is a bit younger. The discovery of this chemical element (its name
given from Greek mythology, Φωσφόρος meaning “light-bearer”
(Latin Lucifer), referring to the “Morning Star”, the planet Venus)
 
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