Why is scandium alloys used to make bicycle frames?

A small amount of scandium in an alloy makes it much stronger and reduces its weight. For this reason, scandium-aluminium alloys are used to make very strong and very expensive sports equipment, including bicycle frames and baseball bats.

A little bit of scandium is also used in mercury vapour lamps to produce a bright white light that is similar to daylight.

Scandium is a silvery-white metal, which develops a slightly yellowish or pinkish hue when exposed to air. Scandium was discovered by Lars Fredrik Nilson, a Scandinavian in 1876. He found it in the minerals euxenite and gadolinite, which had not yet been found anywhere except in Scandinavia. Apparently, there is much more scandium on the sun and many other stars than here on Earth.

Picture Credit : Google