Discovered : 1790 by A. Crawford in Edinburgh, UK Isolated in 1808 by Sir Humphry Davy in London, UK Origin : The element is named after the town of Strontian in Scotland, where strontium ore was first found. Description : A soft, silvery metal that burns in air and reacts with water. It is used to make special glass for televisions, but it is best known as the brilliant reds its salts give to fireworks and flares. Because it is very like calcium, it can mimic its way into our bodies, ending up in our bones. Radioactive strontium-90, which is produced in nuclear explosions and released during nuclear plant accidents, is particularly worrying because it can be absorbed into the bones of young children. Image : Mushroom.