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Rubidium and Caesium

These metals were discovered by Bunsen and Kirchoff in 1860 in some spring-water they were analyzing. They are found in other waters, in the ashes of beet-root, in the mineral lepidolite, and are also found associated with potassium. Both these metals are closely analogous to potassium, but are more easily fusible and convertible into vapor, and also have more attraction for oxygen. Rubidium burns on water like potassium, and fires spontaneously in the air. See POTASSIUM.