Magnesium the water's bitter taste, but the farmer noticed that the water seemed to heal scratches and rashes. The substance became known as Epsom salts and its fame spread. It was eventually recognized as hydrated magnesium sulfate, ·7. The metal itself was first isolated by Sir Humphry Davy in England in 1808. He used electrolysis on a mixture of magnesia and mercuric oxide. Antoine Bussy prepared it in coherent form in 1831. Davy's first suggestion for a name was magnium, but the name magnesium is now used. Magnesium is the third-most-commonly-used structural metal, following iron and aluminium. The main applications of
Magnesium gives a Grignard reagent, which is a very useful tool for preparing alcohols. Magnesium salts are included in various foods, fertilizers (magnesium is a component of chlorophyll), and microbe culture media. Magnesium sulfite is used in the manufacture of paper (sulfite process). Magnesium phosphate is used to fireproof wood used in construction. Magnesium hexafluorosilicate is used for moth-proofing textiles. The important interaction between phosphate and magnesium ions makes magnesium essential to the basic nucleic acid chemistry of all cells of all known living organisms. More than 300 enzymes require magnesium ions for their catalytic action, including all enzymes using or