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gallium definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element; brittle at low temperatures but liquid above room temperature; occurs in trace amounts in bauxite and zinc ores [syn: gallium, Ga, atomic number 31]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: New Latin, from Latin gallus cock (intended as translation of surname of Paul Lecoq de Boisbaudran died 1912 French chemist) Date: 1875 a bluish-white metallic element obtained especially as a by-product in refining various ores and used especially in semiconductors and optoelectronic devices — see element table

Dictionary of the Elements

gallium
Symbol: Ga
Atomic number: 31
Atomic weight: 69.72
Soft silvery metallic element, belongs to group 13 of the periodic table. The two stable isotopes are Ga-69 and Ga-71. Eight radioactive isotopes are known, all having short half-lives. Gallium Arsenide is used as a semiconductor. Corrodes most other metals by diffusing into their lattice. First identified by Francois Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Chem. a soft bluish-white metallic element occurring naturally in zinc blende, bauxite, and kaolin. Usage: Symb.: Ga. Etymology: mod.L f. L Gallia France (so named patriotically by its discoverer Lecoq de Boisbaudran d. 1912)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gallium Gal"li*um, n. [NL.; perh. fr. L. Gallia France.] (Chem.) A rare metallic element, found combined in certain zinc ores. It is white, hard, and malleable, resembling aluminium, and remarkable for its low melting point (86[deg] F., 30[deg] C.). Symbol, Ga; at. wt., 69.9. Gallium is chiefly trivalent, resembling aluminium and indium. It was predicted with most of its properties, under the name eka-aluminium, by Mendelyeev on the basis of the periodic law. This prediction was verified in its discovery (in 1875) by its characteristic spectrum (two violet lines).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ekaluminium Ek*al`u*min"i*um, n. [Skr. [=e]ka one + E. aluminium.] (Chem.) The name given to a hypothetical element, -- later discovered and called gallium. See Gallium, and cf. Ekabor.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gallium Gal"li*um, n. [NL., fr. L. Gallia France.] (Chem.) A rare metallic element, found in certain zinc ores. It is white, hard, and malleable, resembling aluminium, and remarcable for its low melting point (86? F., 30?C). Symbol Ga. Atomic weight 69.9. Note: The element was predicted with most of its properties, under the name ekaluminium, by the Russian chemist Mendelejeff, on the basis of the Periodic law. This prediction was verified in its discovery by the French chemist Lecoq de Boisbaudran by its characteristic spectrum (two violet lines), in an examination of a zinc blende from the Pyrenees.