How did fluorine get its name?

Fluorine is derived from the Latin word "fluere," which means "flow" or "flux." Fluorine in the form of calcium fluoride, or fluorite, was used as a flux in ore smelting as early as the 1500s. The addition of fluorite helps the metal ore become liquid at a lower temperature.

Pure fluorine is a pale yellow gas that is toxic, corrosive and highly reactive. It is the most electronegative of all the elements and reacts with nearly all organic and inorganic substances, including metal, glass, ceramics and water. Fluorine even forms compounds with the otherwise non-reactive noble gases, including xenon, radon and krypton.