Stromeyer made his discovery after a request from the government to inspect the pharmacies in the town of Hildesheim, Germany.
In those days zinc oxide was used, as it still is, to treat skin conditions. For some reason, Hildesheim’s pharmacies were selling zinc carbonate rather than the usual zinc oxide.
Stromeyer was aware that heating zinc carbonate until it was red hot would convert it to the oxide. He did this with samples from the pharmacies. He found that the brilliant white carbonate turned into an oxide which ought to have been white, but was in fact yellow/orange.î
Normally this color would suggest iron or lead contamination, but Stromeyer could not find any trace of these elements.
He visited the factory in Salzgitter where the pharmacies had bought the zinc carbonate. He asked why they were selling zinc carbonate instead of the usual oxide.
The manager explained to him that their zinc carbonate was the expected color – white – and it was easy to sell.