tantalum

tantalum
/tan"tl euhm/, n. Chem.
a gray, hard, rare, metallic element occurring in columbite and tantalite and usually associated with niobium: used, because of its resistance to corrosion by most acids, for chemical, dental, and surgical instruments and apparatus. Symbol: Ta; at. wt.: 180.948; at. no.: 73; sp. gr.: 16.6.
[1795-1805; < NL; named after TANTALUS]

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Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Ta, atomic number 73.

It is a dense, hard, unreactive, silvery gray metal with an extremely high melting point (5,425 °F [2,996 °C]). Relatively rare, it occurs native in a few places. It is difficult to separate from niobium, the element above it in the periodic table, with which it shares many properties. The most important uses are in electrolytic capacitors, corrosion-resistant chemical equipment, dental and surgical instruments, tools, catalysts, components of electron tubes, rectifiers, and prostheses. Its compounds are relatively unimportant commercially; tantalum carbide is used in machine tools and dies.

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 chemical element, bright, very hard, silver-gray metal of Group 5 (Vb) of the periodic table, characterized by its high density, extremely high melting point, and excellent resistance to all acids except hydrofluoric at ordinary temperatures.

      Closely associated with niobium in ores and in properties, tantalum was discovered (1802) by the Swedish chemist Anders Gustaf Ekeberg (Ekeberg, Anders Gustav) and named after the mythological character Tantalus because of the tantalizing problem of dissolving the oxide in acids. Due to the great chemical similarity of niobium and tantalum, the establishment of the individual identities of the two elements was very difficult. Tantalum was soon identified with niobium (then called columbium), but in 1844 the German chemist Heinrich Rose demonstrated their distinct characters. Although some of the impure metal was isolated earlier, the Russian chemist Werner Bolton prepared (1903) the first ductile tantalum, which was used briefly as incandescent lamp-filament material.

      Relatively rare, tantalum is about as abundant as uranium. It occurs, with niobium, in the columbite–tantalite series (in which columbite [FeNb2O6] and tantalite [FeTa2O6] occur in highly variable ratios) and the pyrochlore–microlite series of minerals. Native tantalum metal with some niobium and traces of manganese and gold occurs sparingly in Russia in placers in the Ural and possibly the Altai mountains in Central Asia. (For mineralogical properties, see native element [table].)

      Tantalum is separated from niobium compounds by solvent extraction in a liquid-liquid process and is then reduced to metallic tantalum powder. The massive metal is produced by powder metallurgy techniques. It can also be obtained by either electrolysis of fused salts or reduction of fluoro complexes with a very reactive metal such as sodium. The most important uses for tantalum are in electrolytic capacitors and corrosion-resistant chemical equipment. Tantalum capacitors have the highest capacitance per unit volume of any capacitors and are used extensively in miniaturized electrical circuitry. Other uses include getters and components in electron tubes, rectifiers, and prosthetic devices.

      Tantalum is chemically much like niobium because both have similar electronic configurations and because the radius of the tantalum ion is nearly the same as that of niobium as a result of the lanthanide contraction. Tantalum is usually in the +5 oxidation state in its compounds; lower oxidation states, especially from +2 to +4, have been prepared. Tantalum compounds are relatively unimportant commercially, although the carbide TaC is used in cemented-carbide tools for machining hard metals. The only naturally occurring isotope, tantalum-181, is stable.

atomic number
73
atomic weight
180.948
melting point
2,996° C (5,425° F)
boiling point
5,425° C (9,797° F)
specific gravity
16.6 (20° C)
oxidation states
+2, +3, +4, +5
electronic config.
[Xe]4f145d36s2

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Tantalum — (pronEng|ˈtæntələm) (formerly tantalium IPA|/tænˈtæliəm/) is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. A rare, hard, blue grey, lustrous, transition metal, tantalum is highly corrosion resistant and occurs naturally in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Tantalum — Tan ta*lum, n. [NL. So named on account of the perplexity and difficulty encounterd by its discoverer (Ekeberg) in isolating it. See {Tantalus}.] (Chem.) A rare nonmetallic element found in certain minerals, as tantalite, samarskite, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tantălum — Tantălum, so v.w. Tantal …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • tantalum — Symbol: Ta Atomic number: 73 Atomic weight: 180.948 Heavy blue grey metallic transition element. Ta 181 is a stable isotope, and Ta 180 is a radioactive isotope, with a half life in excess of 10^7 years. Used in surgery as it is unreactive. Forms …   Elements of periodic system

  • tantalum — [tan′tə ləm] n. [ModL: so named (1802) by its discoverer, Anders Gustaf Ekeberg (1767 1813), Swed chemist < Gr Tantalos, TANTALUS (its insolubility in most acids made extraction from the mineral tantalizing) + (I)UM] a hard, gray, ductile,… …   English World dictionary

  • Tantalum — Eigenschaften …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • tantalum — tantalas statusas T sritis chemija apibrėžtis Cheminis elementas. simbolis( iai) Ta atitikmenys: lot. tantalum angl. tantalum rus. тантал …   Chemijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

  • tantalum — noun [tɑ˧nˈʃaː˨lɔ˧m] a) A metallic chemical element (symbol Ta) with an atomic number of 73. b) tantalum See Also: coltan, Tantalean, Tantalic, tantalise, tantalize, tantalite, Tantalus …   Wiktionary

  • tantalum — A heavy metal of the vanadium group, atomic no. 73, atomic wt. 180.9479; used in surgical prostheses because of its noncorrosive properties. [G. mythical king of Lydia, Tantalus] * * * tan·ta·lum tant əl əm n a hard ductile gray white acid… …   Medical dictionary

  • tantalum — n. a rare heavy metal used in surgery as it is easily moulded and does not corrode. For example, tantalum sutures and plates are used for repair of defects in the bones of the skull. Symbol: Ta …   The new mediacal dictionary

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