History

Two chemists, the German Carl Jacob Lowig and Frenchman Antoine Balard independently discovered bromine in the 19th century while studying natural salt waters.

They crystallized the salts and saturated the remaining liquid with chlorine. What was left after distillation was a dark red liquid: bromine. Bromine derives its name from the Greek word brōmos meaning strong odour.

The earliest use of bromine was in medicines. But today, the largest use of bromine is in fire safety.

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BROMINE HISTORY Timeline