Galena in the eye cosmetic kohl. In Ancient Egypt, this was applied around the eyes to reduce the glare of the desert sun and to repel flies, which were a potential source of disease. galena is the primary ore of lead, which is mainly used in making lead–acid batteries; however, significant amounts are also used to make lead sheeting and lead shot. Galena is often mined for its silver content, such as at the Galena Mine in northern Idaho. It is also used in pencils in the older times. Also known as "potter's ore", galena is used in a green glaze
Galena applied to pottery. Galena is a semiconductor with a small band gap of about 0.4 eV, which found use in early wireless communication systems. It was used as the crystal in crystal radio receivers, in which it was used as a point-contact diode capable of rectifying alternating current to detect the radio signals. The galena crystal was used with a sharp wire, known as a "cat's whisker" in contact with it. The operation of the radio required that the point of contact on the galena be shifted about to find a part of the crystal that acted as a rectifying