In 1814, the Swedish chemist Berzelius advocated the name kalium for potassium, with the chemical symbol K.

In 1807, Humphry Davy produced the element via electrolysis: in 1809, Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert proposed the name Kalium for Davy's 'potassium'. In 1797, the German chemist Martin Klaproth discovered 'potash' in the minerals leucite and lepidolite, and realized that 'potash' was not a product of plant growth but actually contained a new element, which he proposed calling kali. The symbol K stems from kali, itself from the root word alkali, which in turn comes from Arabic: القَلْيَه al-qalyah 'plant ashes'. When Humphry Davy first isolated the pure element using electrolysis in 1807, he named it potassium, which he derived from the word potash. The English name for the element potassium comes from the word potash, which refers to an early method of extracting various potassium salts: placing in a pot the ash of burnt wood or tree leaves, adding water, heating, and evaporating the solution. Heavy crop production rapidly depletes the soil of potassium, and this can be remedied with agricultural fertilizers containing potassium, accounting for 95% of global potassium chemical production. Most industrial applications of potassium exploit the high solubility of its compounds in water, such as saltwater soap.

The body responds to the influx of dietary potassium, which raises serum potassium levels, by shifting potassium from outside to inside cells and increasing potassium excretion by the kidneys. Fresh fruits and vegetables are good dietary sources of potassium. The transfer of potassium ions across nerve cell membranes is necessary for normal nerve transmission potassium deficiency and excess can each result in numerous signs and symptoms, including an abnormal heart rhythm and various electrocardiographic abnormalities. Potassium ions are vital for the functioning of all living cells. K are found in all potassium, and it is the most common radioisotope in the human body. Naturally occurring potassium is composed of three isotopes, of which 40 It was suspected in 1702 that they were distinct elements that combine with the same anions to make similar salts, and this was proven in 1807 through using electrolysis. They have a similar first ionization energy, which allows for each atom to give up its sole outer electron. Potassium is chemically very similar to sodium, the previous element in group 1 of the periodic table. It is found dissolved in seawater (which is 0.04% potassium by weight), and occurs in many minerals such as orthoclase, a common constituent of granites and other igneous rocks. Elemental potassium reacts vigorously with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite hydrogen emitted in the reaction, and burning with a lilac- colored flame. In nature, potassium occurs only in ionic salts.

In the periodic table, potassium is one of the alkali metals, all of which have a single valence electron in the outer electron shell, which is easily removed to create an ion with a positive charge (which combines with anions to form salts).

It was first isolated from potash, the ashes of plants, from which its name derives. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to form flaky white potassium peroxide in only seconds of exposure. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin kalium) and atomic number 19.

Potassium element atomic radius