Discovery
                  Joseph Black, a Scottish physician and chemist, was given credit for the discovery of the element magnesium in 1755. He was the first one to design experiments on magnesium compounds. Unfortunately Black couldn’t figure out how to break the bonds of the magnesium compounds and it remained a mystery up until the 1800’s. Finally in 1808 and English chemist named Humphry Davy broke a magnesium oxide compound. He passed an electric current through melted magnesium oxide. The current caused the compound to break apart which formed magnesium metal and oxygen gas.

Compounds
                  Magnesium is most commonly found and used in compounds. Magnesium compounds are very useful for medicines such as pain killers. Pain killers are made of the compound magnesium acetylsalicylate. It can also be used for sleeping pills, which are made of magnesium bromide and also can be made into laxatives. Other uses for magnesium compounds are for fireproofing wood and manufacturing paper.

Uses
                  There are many used for magnesium metal in the world. One use for magnesium is for cameras with flash bulbs. There is a thin strip of magnesium metal inside the bulb. When the flash ignites the magnesium catches on fire and instantly burns with a bright white light creating a flash. Another use of magnesium is in fireworks and is used to create the bright white lights. Magnesium alloys are also used quite frequently. Magnesium alloys are generally 90% magnesium metal, 2-9% aluminum, and a small amount of zinc. These alloys are very strong and malleable so they are great for building airplanes, cars, ladders, racing bikes, and many more.

Health Effects
                  Magnesium is very effective in the health of plants and humans. Magnesium is a vital part of the chlorophyll molecule, which is what turns plants green. Without magnesium most plants would turn blotchy yellow. It’s also found in the enzymes in plants and animals. It’s recommended to receive 300 to 400 milligrams of magnesium everyday, but it’s not hard because magnesium is found in many foods like nuts, cereal, and seafood.