What are 3 interesting facts about niobium?
It has an atomic weight of 92.90638 and a specific gravity of 8.57. Niobium has a melting point of 2750 K (2477°C or 4491°F), and a boiling point of 5017 K (4744°C or 8571°F). Niobium can have a valence of +2, +3, +4, or +5. Niobium is a soft, silvery-gray, ductile metal, which remains solid at room temperature (20°C).
What are 5 uses for bismuth?
Uses of Bismuth Bismuth is used in medicine (bismuth subnitrate and subcarbonate), cosmetics (bismuth oxychloride), low-melting alloys, fire detection/extinguishing systems, replacement for lead in shot and bullets (bismuth-tin alloy).
What elements do bismuth bond with?
At red heat, bismuth reacts with steam, but it is not affected by cold, air-free water; it combines directly with sulfur and with the halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine).
What is niobium made of?
The main source of this element is the mineral columbite. This mineral also contains tantalum and the two elements are mined together. Columbite is found in Canada, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria and elsewhere. Some niobium is also produced as a by-product of tin extraction.
What is niobium known for?
The temperature stability of niobium-containing superalloys is important for its use in jet and rocket engines. Niobium is used in various superconducting materials. These alloys, also containing titanium and tin, are widely used in the superconducting magnets of MRI scanners.
Is bismuth flammable?
When burned in oxygen, bismuth burns with a blue flame and its oxide forms yellow fumes. Its toxicity is much lower than that of its neighbors in the periodic table, such as lead, antimony, and polonium. No other metal is verified to be more naturally diamagnetic than bismuth.
Does bismuth float in water?
The density of the metal is 9.8, little less than lead but like water, the solid expands as it freezes and it floats on the liquid.
What does bismuth element do?
Bismuth finds its main uses in pharmaceuticals, atomic fire alarms and sprinkler systems, solders and other alloys and pigments for cosmetics, glass and ceramics. It is also used as a catalyst in rubber production.
Where is bismuth found on Earth?
Bismuth is typically obtained as a by-product in refining lead, copper, tin, silver, and gold ores found in Bolivia, Peru, Japan, Mexico, and Canada.
What is bismuth metal used for?
Bismuth is a brittle, crystalline, white metal with a slight pink tinge. It has a variety of uses, including cosmetics, alloys, fire extinguishers and ammunition. It is probably best known as the main ingredient in stomach ache remedies such as Pepto-Bismol.
How does bismuth get its color?
The variations in the thickness of the oxide layer that forms on the surface of the crystal cause different wavelengths of light to interfere upon reflection, thus displaying a rainbow of colors. When burned in oxygen, bismuth burns with a blue flame and its oxide forms yellow fumes.
What is niobium (Nb)?
1 Niobium is a chemical element with atomic number 41 and represented with the symbol Nb in the Periodic Table. 2 It is a soft, ductile transition metal, which is resistant to corrosion due to the presence of oxide layer on its surface. 3 It is one of the most common elements found in the Earth’s Crust. It is often found in the pyrochlore mineral.
What is the abundance of bismuth on Earth?
Bismuth ranks 65th in elemental abundance in the Earth’s crust, at an estimated 85 parts per billion by weight, constituting much less than 0.001% of the total. Bismuth abundance in our solar system is 10 parts per billion by weight. There is only one naturally occuring isotope of bismuth, bismuth-209.
How common is niobium in the Earth’s crust?
Occurring at only twenty parts per million, it is 33 rd in the hall of fame of most common elements in the Earth’s crust. This surprisingly low value might arise from the ‘missing’ niobium sinking to the Earth’s core during the planet’s formation.
What is niobium used for in welding?
Niobium, like tantalum, can act as an electrolytic valve allowing alternating current to pass in only one direction through an electrolytic cell. Niobium is used in arc-welding rods for stabilized grades of stainless steel. It is also used in advanced airframe systems.