Group 12 element people in the 17th century. German chemist Andreas Marggraf is usually given credit for discovering pure metallic zinc in a 1746 experiment by heating a mixture of calamine and charcoal in a closed vessel without copper to obtain a metal. Experiments on frogs by the Italian doctor Luigi Galvani in 1780 with brass paved the way for the discovery of electrical batteries, galvanization and cathodic protection. In 1880, Galvani's friend, Alessandro Volta, invented the Voltaic pile. The biological importance of zinc was not discovered until 1940 when carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme that scrubs carbon dioxide from blood, was shown to
Metallic color the metallic finish of such paints was added using fine aluminum powder and pigment rather than actual gold. The use of metallic colors is not limited to those colors that approximate the appearance of actual metals. In some instances, it has been noted, "[b]eetles with bright metallic colors are made up into tie pins and cuff links". One popular modern use of metallic colors is for automobiles, which use metallic paint to achieve a particular shine. Such colors "are made from a combination of different pigments and aluminum flakes that have different weights and particle sizes". Crayon-maker Crayola has manufactured