NameTantalumNormal PhaseSolidFamilyTransition MetalsPeriod6Cost$50 per ounce
Also, what type of metal is tantalum?
Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion-resistant. It is part of the refractory metals group, which are widely used as minor components in alloys. The chemical inertness of tantalum makes it a valuable substance for laboratory equipment and a substitute for platinum.
What type of element is tantalum?
Tantalum is a strong, ductile metal that is nearly immune to chemical attack at room temperatures. It can be drawn into a fine wire that is used to evaporate metals, such as aluminum. It has a high melting point and is frequently used as a substitute for platinum, which is more expensive.
What is tantalum used for in everyday life?
Tantalum is used in a variety of alloys to add high strength, ductility and a high melting point. More than half of tantalum’s use is for electrolytic capacitors and vacuum furnace parts. The element is also used to make chemical process equipment, nuclear reactors, aircraft and missile parts.
Is tantalum used in cell phones?
Many sources mention coltan’s importance in the production of mobile phones, but tantalum capacitors are used in almost every kind of electronic device. Coltan is also used to make high-temperature alloys for jet engines and air- and land-based turbines.
Where is tantalum found in the world?
Tantalum is found mainly in the minerals tantalite [(Fe,Mn)Ta2O6] (easily confused with columbite, the niobium analogue of tantalite) and euxenite. Ores are found in Australia, Brazil, Mozambique, Thailand, Portugal, Nigeria, Zaire and Canada. It is also a byproduct from the extraction of tin.
Why is tantalum so important?
This protection from corrosion is due to a natural protective layer created by oxides of tantalum on the surface of the the metal; making the element a perfect match for use in structures exposed to the the elements, like bridges and water tanks. Tantalum’s primary 21st Century use comes in the creation of capacitors.
What is tantalum used for in everyday life?
Tantalum is used in a variety of alloys to add high strength, ductility and a high melting point. More than half of tantalum’s use is for electrolytic capacitors and vacuum furnace parts. The element is also used to make chemical process equipment, nuclear reactors, aircraft and missile parts.
What is the origin of the name of tantalum?
Tantalum was discovered by Anders Gustaf Ekeberg (SE) in 1802. The origin of the name comes from the Greek word Tantalos meaning father of Niobe in Greek mythology, (tantalum is closely related to niobium in the periodic table).
Where did tantalum come from?
Coltan, the industrial name for a columbite–tantalite mineral from which niobium and tantalum are extracted, can also be found in Central Africa, which is why tantalum is being linked to warfare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).
Is tantalum expensive?
FORTUNE — Tantalum is a rare element in high demand. To control tantalum is to control a key part of the 21st-century supply chain: Half of all tantalum mined goes into electronic capacitors, which store an electric charge. And it is expensive — $130 per pound, vs. its rarer cousin, tungsten, at $28.
How did tungsten get its name?
From the Swedish words tung sten, which mean “heavy stone.” Tungsten’s chemical symbol comes from its eariler, Germanic name, Wolfram. The name Wolfram comes from the mineral wolframite, in which it was discovered.
Is all the tantalum radioactive?
So, we can say that there is such a thing as radioactive nitrogen, arsenic and tantalum. Some elements have isotopes that are all radioactive. It is often the case that the radioactive isotopes of that element are very rare and the stable isotope is very common.
How many isotopes of tantalum are there?
Tantalum: isotope data. Tantalum has only two isotopes and one of them, Ta-180, has one of the lowest natural abundances of all naturally occurring isotopes (0.012%). Ta-180 has only been produced in minute quantities and is very expensive. Ta-181 can be used for the production of W-178 which decays to Ta-178.
What is the family of lead?
Lead is the heaviest member of the carbon family. The carbon family consists of the five elements in Group 14 (IVA) of the periodic table. The periodic table is a chart that shows how chemical elements are related to each other.
How reactive is tantalum?
Tantalum is a gray, heavy, and very hard metal. When pure, it is ductile and can be drawn into fine wire, which is used as a filament for evaporating metals such as aluminum. At high temperatures, tantalum becomes much more reactive. The element has a melting point exceeded only by tungsten and rhenium.
How was the element tantalum discovered?
Tantalum was discovered by Anders Gustaf Ekenberg, a Swedish chemist, in 1802 in minerals obtained from Ytterby, Sweden. Many scientists believed that he had only discovered an allotrope of niobium, an element that is chemically similar to tantalum.
How do you mine tantalum?
Tantalum is chiefly obtained as a by-product of tin processing, although it is also mined from the minerals columbite, tantalite and samarskite. Tantalum and niobium are almost always found together, and are recovered from pegmatite veins in granite intrusions or from placer deposits.
What type of metal is sodium?
Sodium is an element that is a member of the alkali metal group with a symbol Na. It is physically silver colored and is a soft metal of low density. Pure sodium is not found naturally on earth because it is a highly reactive metal.
Is tantalum flammable?
TANTALUM dust reacts rapidly with oxidizing agents (oxygen, fluorine, chlorine). Highly flammable in air, igniting spontaneously when dry. TANTALUM OXIDE dust is generally unreactive at room conditions. Insoluble in water and acids with the exception of hydrofluoric acid.
What type of metal is titanium?
Titanium is a chemical element with symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It is a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength.
What Colour is lead?
Lead (/l?d/) is a chemical element with atomic number 82 and symbol Pb (from Latin: plumbum). It is a soft, malleable, and heavy metal. Freshly cut solid lead has a bluish-white color that soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air; as a liquid, lead has a shiny chrome-silver luster.
Which element is W?
The elements of the periodic table sorted by name in an alphabetical list.Name chemical elementSymbolAtomic numberThuliumTm69TinSn50TitaniumTi22TungstenW74
What is a tantalum capacitor used for?
A tantalum capacitor is a type of electrolytic capacitor and usually consists of a pellet of tantalum metal that acts as an anode, is covered by an insulating oxide layer which forms the dielectric and is surrounded by conductive material that acts as a cathode.