Crookes was effective in experimentation. The method of spectral analysis, introduced by Bunsen and Kirchhoff, was received by Crookes with great enthusiasm and to great effect.
The element thallium, discovered by Crookes
The mineral Crookesite, named after Crookes
His first major discovery was that of the element thallium, made with the aid of flame spectroscopy. Crookes discovered a previously unknown element with a bright green emission line in its spectrum. He named italy email list the element thallium, from the Greek θαλλός, talós, meaning "a green shoot or branch." Crookes' findings were published on March 30, 1861.
Thallium was also discovered independently by Frenchman Claude Auguste Lamy, who had the advantage of having access to large quantities of the material through his brother-in-law, Charles Frédéric Kuhlmann. Both Crookes and Lamy isolated the element in 1862.
Crookes was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1863. Crookes wrote a standard treatise on Select Methods of Chemical Analysis in 1871.
In 1866, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld identified a rare mineral from Skrikerum as a selenide of copper, silver and thallium, and named the mineral crookesite in honour of Sir William Crookes.
Crookes developed Crookes tubes, investigating cathode rays. He published numerous papers on spectroscopy and carried out research on a variety of minor subjects.
