It's Elemental

Selenium was discovered by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist, in 1817 after analyzing an impurity that was contaminating the sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) being produced at a particular factory in Sweden. Originally believing the material was tellurium, Berzelius eventually realized that it was actually a previously unknown element. Selenium occurs in minerals such as eucairite (CuAgSe), crooksite (CuThSe) and clausthalite (PbSe), but these minerals are too rare to use as a major source of selenium. Today, most selenium is obtained as a byproduct of refining copper.

Selenium's resistance to the flow of electricity is greatly affected by the amount of light shining on it. The brighter the light, the better selenium conducts electricity. This property has made selenium useful in devices that respond to the intensity of light, such as electric eyes, photo cells, light meters for cameras and copiers. Selenium can also produce electricity directly from sunlight and is used in solar cells. Selenium is also a semiconductor and is used in some types of solid-state electronics as well as in rectifiers, devices which convert alternating current electricity into direct current electricity. In addition to its use in electrical devices, selenium is also used to make a ruby-red color in glasses and enamels, as a photographic toner and as an additive to stainless steel.

Selenium forms few inorganic compounds, none of which are commercially important. They include selenious acid (H₂SeO₃), selenium dichloride (SeCl₂) and selenium oxychloride (SeOCl₂).