Adjacent Words

Zirconium definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ZIRCONIUM, n. The metallic basis of zirconia.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a lustrous grey strong metallic element resembling titanium; it is used in nuclear reactors as a neutron absorber; it occurs in baddeleyite but is obtained chiefly from zircon [syn: zirconium, Zr, atomic number 40]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: New Latin, from International Scientific Vocabulary zircon Date: 1808 a steel-gray hard ductile metallic element with a high melting point that occurs widely in combined form (as in zircon), is highly resistant to corrosion, and is used especially in alloys and in refractories and ceramics — see element table

Britannica Concise

Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Zr, atomic number 40. The metal is hard and brittle when impure, soft and ductile when highly purified. It is relatively abundant, occurring as zircon (which can be a semiprecious gemstone) and baddeleyite. Highly transparent to neutrons, zirconium became important in the 1940s in nuclear-energy applications. Other uses are in alloys, fireworks, and flashbulbs and as a scavenger for oxygen and other gases. Its compounds, in most of which it has valence 4, are important industrial materials. Zirconia (the oxide) is used in piezoelectric crystals (see piezoelectricity), high-frequency induction coils, colored glazes and glasses, heat-resistant fibers, and preparations to cure the rash of poison ivy.

Dictionary of the Elements

zirconium
Symbol: Zr
Atomic number: 40
Atomic weight: 91.22
Grey-white metallic transition element. Five natural isotopes and six radioactive isotopes are known. Used in nuclear reactors for a neutron absorber. Discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, isolated in 1824 by Berzelius.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Chem. a grey metallic element occurring naturally in zircon and used in various industrial applications. Usage: Symb.: Zr. Etymology: mod.L f. ZIRCON + -IUM

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Zirconium Zir*co"ni*um, n. [NL.] (Chem.) A rare element of the carbon-silicon group, intermediate between the metals and nonmetals, obtained from the mineral zircon as a dark sooty powder, or as a gray metallic crystalline substance. Symbol Zr. Atomic weight, 90.4.