Named by Berzelius after Greek selēnē 'moon' to pair with tellurium ('earth')—the Moon element to complement the Earth element.
A chemical element (Se, atomic number 34) with properties between metals and nonmetals, essential in trace amounts for biological function.
Coined by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius from Greek selēnē 'moon.' Berzelius named it after the Moon because it was chemically similar to tellurium (from Latin tellūs 'earth')—pairing Earth and Moon. He discovered it while investigating a red deposit in sulfuric acid residues at a factory in Gripsholm, Sweden. Key