rubidium

[ roo-bid-ee-uhm ]

nounChemistry.
  1. a silver-white, metallic, active element resembling potassium, used in photoelectric cells and radio vacuum tubes. Symbol: Rb; atomic weight: 85.47; atomic number: 37; specific gravity: 1.53 at 20°C.

Origin of rubidium

1
1860–65; <New Latin, equivalent to Latin rūbid(us) red (in allusion to the two red lines in its spectrum) + -ium-ium

Other words from rubidium

  • ru·bid·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for rubidium

rubidium

/ (ruːˈbɪdɪəm) /


noun
  1. a soft highly reactive radioactive element of the alkali metal group; the 16th most abundant element in the earth's crust (310 parts per million), occurring principally in pollucite, carnallite, and lepidolite. It is used in electronic valves, photocells, and special glass. Symbol: Rb; atomic no: 37; atomic wt: 85.4678; half-life of 87 Rb: 5 × 10 11 years; valency: 1, 2, 3, or 4; relative density: 1.532 (solid), 1.475 (liquid); melting pt: 39.48°C; boiling pt: 688°C

Origin of rubidium

1
C19: from New Latin, from Latin rubidus dark red, with reference to the two red lines in its spectrum

Derived forms of rubidium

  • rubidic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for rubidium

rubidium

[ rōō-bĭdē-əm ]


Rb
  1. A soft, silvery-white metallic element of the alkali group. It ignites spontaneously in air and reacts violently with water. Rubidium is used in photoelectric cells, in making vacuum tubes, and in radiometric dating. Atomic number 37; atomic weight 85.47; melting point 38.89°C; boiling point 688°C; specific gravity (solid) 1.532; valence 1, 2, 3, 4. See Periodic Table.

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