History of fluorine reaction. Scheele recognized the product of the reaction as an acid, which he called "fluss-spats-syran" (fluor-spar-acid); in English, it was known as "fluoric acid". In 1810, French physicist André-Marie Ampère suggested that hydrofluoric acid was a compound of hydrogen with an unknown element, analogous to chlorine. Fluorite was then shown to be mostly composed of calcium fluoride. Sir Humphry Davy originally suggested the name "fluorine", taking the root from the name of "fluoric acid" and the -ine suffix, similarly to other halogens. This name, with modifications, came to most European languages. (Greek, Russian, and several other languages use the name
Fluorine of the planned incendiary chlorine trifluoride and the Manhattan Project used huge quantities to produce uranium hexafluoride for uranium enrichment. Since is as corrosive as fluorine, gaseous diffusion plants required special materials: nickel for membranes, fluoropolymers for seals, and liquid fluorocarbons as coolants and lubricants. This burgeoning nuclear industry later drove post-war fluorochemical development. Fluorine has a rich chemistry, encompassing organic and inorganic domains. It combines with metals, nonmetals, metalloids, and most noble gases, and usually assumes an oxidation state of −1. Fluorine's high electron affinity results in a preference for ionic bonding; when it forms covalent bonds, these are