Potassium in 1809, Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert proposed the name "Kalium" for Davy's "potassium". In 1814, the Swedish chemist Berzelius advocated the name "kalium" for potassium, with the chemical symbol "K". The English and French speaking countries adopted Davy and Gay-Lussac/Thénard's name Potassium, while the Germanic countries adopted Gilbert/Klaproth's name Kalium. The "Gold Book" of the International Union of Physical and Applied Chemistry has designated the official chemical symbol as K. Potassium is the second least dense metal after lithium. It is a soft solid with a low melting point, and can be easily cut with a knife. Freshly cut potassium is
Potassium amyl xanthate compound. Potassium amyl xanthate Potassium amyl xanthate is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CH(CH)OCSK. It is a pale yellow powder or pellet with a pungent odor, soluble in water. It is widely used in the mining industry for the separation of ores using the flotation process. Potassium amyl xanthate is prepared by reacting amyl alcohol with carbon disulfide and potassium hydroxide. Potassium amyl xanthate is a pale yellow powder that is relatively stable between pH 8 and 13 with a maximum of stability at pH 10. The is 480 mg/kg (oral, rats) for potassium pentylxanthate. It is a