pitchblende

pitchblende
/pich"blend'/, n. Mineral.
a massive variety of uraninite, occurring in black pitchlike masses: a major ore of uranium and radium.
[1760-70; half trans., half adoption of G Pechblende. See PITCH2, BLENDE]

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Amorphous, dense, black, pitchy form of the crystalline uranium oxide mineral uraninite; it is one of the primary mineral ores of uranium.

Pitchblende is found in granular masses and has a greasy lustre. Three chemical elements were first discovered in pitchblende: uranium, polonium, and radium. Deposits, frequently in association with uraninite or with secondary uranium minerals, are known in the Czech Republic, Britain, the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan in Canada, and Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Utah in the U.S.

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      amorphous, black, pitchy form of the crystalline uranium oxide (uranium processing) mineral uraninite (q.v.); it is one of the primary mineral ores of uranium, containing 50–80 percent of that element. Three chemical elements were first discovered in pitchblende: uranium by the German chemist Martin Klaproth in 1789, and polonium and radium by the French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie in 1898. Deposits, frequently in association with uraninite or with secondary uranium minerals, are known in Congo (Kinshasa); the Czech Republic; England; the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan in Canada; and Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Utah in the United States.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • pitchblende — [pich′blend΄] n. [calque of Ger pechblende < pech (< L pix), PITCH1 + blende,BLENDE] a brown to black, radioactive, massive form of uraninite: pitchblende is the chief ore of uranium and radium …   English World dictionary

  • Pitchblende — Pitch blende , n. [1st pitch + blende.] (Min.) A pitch black mineral consisting chiefly of the oxide of uranium; uraninite. See {Uraninite}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pitchblende — ► NOUN ▪ a form of the mineral uraninite occurring in brown or black pitch like masses and containing radium. ORIGIN German Pechblende, from Pech pitch + Blende, denoting a zinc ore …   English terms dictionary

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  • pitchblende — noun Etymology: part translation of German Pechblende, from Pech pitch + Blende blende Date: 1770 a brown to black mineral that consists of massive uraninite, has a distinctive luster, contains radium, and is the chief ore mineral source of… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • pitchblende — noun A variety of the mineral uraninite …   Wiktionary

  • pitchblende — A mineral of pitchlike appearance, chiefly uranium dioxide, the main source of uranium and elements, such as radium, produced as a result of the radioactive breakdown of that element. SYN: uraninite. * * * pitch·blende pich .blend n …   Medical dictionary

  • pitchblende — pitch|blende [ˈpıtʃblend] n [U] a dark shiny substance dug from the earth, from which ↑uranium and ↑radium are obtained …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • pitchblende — pitch·blende || pɪtʃblend n. black mineral that contains uranium and radium …   English contemporary dictionary

  • pitchblende — [ pɪtʃblɛnd] noun a form of the mineral uraninite occurring in brown or black pitch like masses and containing radium. Origin C18: from Ger. Pechblende, from Pech pitch + Blende (see blende) …   English new terms dictionary

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