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How did Sir Humphry Davy isolate calcium metal?

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A labeled diagram of the periodic table entry for calcium, showing its atomic number 20, symbol Ca, atomic weight 40.078, electron configuration, and classification as an alkaline-earth metal. Icons indicate calcium is a solid with a face-centered cubic crystal structure and strongly basic oxides at room temperature. — calcium The chemical element calcium is the most abundant metallic element in the human body.

In 1808, the English chemist Sir Humphry Davy successfully isolated calcium metal by applying the electrolytic method he had previously developed to isolate alkali metals like potassium and sodium.12

Specifically, Davy electrolyzed a mixture of lime (calcium oxide) and mercuric oxide. This process created an amalgam of calcium and mercury. He then distilled the mercury from this amalgam to obtain the pure, silvery, lightweight calcium metal.3