niobium
[ nahy-oh-bee-uhm ]
/ naɪˈoʊ bi əm /
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noun Chemistry.
a steel-gray metallic element resembling tantalum in its chemical properties; becomes a superconductor below 9 K; used chiefly in alloy steels. Symbol: Nb; atomic number: 41; atomic weight: 92.906; specific gravity: 8.4 at 20°C.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for niobium
The oxide of niobium dissolved in a bead of microcosmic salt gives a bluish colour in the reducing flame.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob BeringerThe corresponding group consists of nitrogen, vanadium and niobium; they are triatomic, paramagnetic, and negative.
Occult Chemistry|Annie Besant and Charles W. LeadbeaterChemically related to vanadium are the two elements tantalum and columbium or niobium.
But the knowledge was very imperfect; neither was it much clarified by H. Rose, who regarded niobium oxide as the element.
British Dictionary definitions for niobium
niobium
/ (naɪˈəʊbɪəm) /
noun
a ductile white superconductive metallic element that occurs principally in columbite and tantalite: used in steel alloys. Symbol: Nb; atomic no: 41; atomic wt: 92.90638; valency: 2, 3, or 5; relative density: 8.57; melting pt: 2469±10°C; boiling pt: 4744°CFormer name: columbium
Word Origin for niobium
C19: from New Latin, from Niobe (daughter of Tantalus), so named because it occurred in tantalite
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Medical definitions for niobium
niobium
[ nī-ō′bē-əm ]
n. Symbol Nb
A soft ductile metallic element that is used in steel alloys and superconductors. Atomic number 41.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Scientific definitions for niobium
niobium
[ nī-ō′bē-əm ]
Nb
A soft, silvery, ductile metallic element that usually occurs in nature together with the element tantalum. It is used to build nuclear reactors, to make steel alloys, and to allow magnets to conduct electricity with almost no resistance. Atomic number 41; atomic weight 92.906; melting point 2,468°C; boiling point 4,927°C; specific gravity 8.57; valence 2, 3, 5. See Periodic Table.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.