hafnium

American  

[haf-nee-uhm, hahf-] / ˈhæf ni əm, ˈhɑf- /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a gray, toxic metallic element with a high melting point (over 2000°C), found in most zirconium minerals. Hf; 178.49; 72; 12.1.

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hafnium British  

/ ˈhæfnɪəm /

noun

1. a bright metallic element found in zirconium ores: used in tungsten filaments and as a neutron absorber in nuclear reactors. Symbol: Hf; atomic no: 72; atomic wt: 178.49; valency: 4; relative density: 13.31; melting pt: 2231±20°C; boiling pt: 4603°C

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hafnium Scientific  

/ hăf′nē-əm /

1. A bright, silvery metallic element that occurs in zirconium ores. Because hafnium absorbs neutrons better than any other metal and is resistant to corrosion, it is used to control nuclear reactions. Atomic number 72; atomic weight 178.49; melting point 2,220°C; boiling point 5,400°C; specific gravity 13.3; valence 4.

2. See Periodic Table

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Etymology

Origin of hafnium

1923; < New Latin Hafn ( ia ) Copenhagen + -ium

Example Sentences

The researchers layered platinum, hafnium oxide and zinc oxide and added the stacked materials on top of the original magnetoelectric film.

From Science Daily

Once they find a GNR, they use the electron beam in the STM to trigger metal deposition from hafnium diboride precursor molecules to create the wires.

From Science Daily

They measured the concentration of hafnium and the ratio of two hafnium isotopes in the sherds.

From New York Times

One idea that famously didn’t make it was the hafnium bomb, based on the flawed belief that large amounts of energy can be released by bombarding the isotope hafnium-178 with X-rays.

From Nature

Woodhead and colleagues present a compilation of newly acquired and previously published neodymium and hafnium isotopic data, measured on archetypal kimberlites.

From Nature