Illinium—Element 61
Illinium, the first element to be
Discovered in America!
That it existed, the wise would all agree
But vainly sought to capture it,—
Most elusive of elements,—sixty-one.
In our fine rare earths laboratory
At Illinois the long, hard battle was won
And recorded by the faithful X-ray.
Discovered in America!
That it existed, the wise would all agree
But vainly sought to capture it,—
Most elusive of elements,—sixty-one.
In our fine rare earths laboratory
At Illinois the long, hard battle was won
And recorded by the faithful X-ray.
For full six years it was the department joke
Whenever they thought the end in sight
Some delicate piece of apparatus broke
But still the persistent search went on,
A "trouble book" was kept that showed the pace
At which they climbed the upward path,
The times the crystal slipped from out its place,
The tube broke when success was near.
Whenever they thought the end in sight
Some delicate piece of apparatus broke
But still the persistent search went on,
A "trouble book" was kept that showed the pace
At which they climbed the upward path,
The times the crystal slipped from out its place,
The tube broke when success was near.
