siderophile

American  

[sid-er-uh-fahyl] / ˈsɪd ər əˌfaɪl /

adjective

1. (of a cell or tissue) having an affinity for iron.

2. Geology. (of a chemical element in the earth) having an affinity for metallic iron.

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noun

1. a siderophile element, tissue, or cell.

Etymology

Origin of siderophile

sidero- ¹ + -phile

Example Sentences

Fractionation of siderophile elements in the Earth’s upper mantle.

From Nature

Kadlag, Y. & Becker, H. Highly siderophile and chalcogen element constraints on the origin of components of the Allende and Murchison meteorites.

From Nature

Because the Earth pulls siderophile, or iron-loving, elements such as iridium or gold inward to its core, the planet's crust contains relatively low concentrations of these molecules.

From Scientific American

Meanwhile, space debris contains more siderophile elements than the Earth's crust, and space rocks such as asteroidstypically contain more of these elements than do comets, which are known as the "dirty snowballs" of the solar system.

From Scientific American

This theory requires gold and other siderophile elements to be more soluble than has previously been thought, otherwise insufficient quantities would have dissolved in the magma.

From BBC