A lead selenide mineral, a naturally occurring compound of lead and selenium used in semiconductors and infrared detectors.
Named after Clausthal, a mining town in Germany's Harz Mountains, with the mineralogical suffix -ite. The town became famous for metal mining in the 18th century.
This mineral is invisible to human eyes but essential to thermal cameras and night-vision technology—it's one of thousands of minerals named after geographic locations, turning the periodic table into a map of scientific discovery.
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