Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

tantalum

[tan-tl-uh m]
noun Chemistry.
  1. a gray, hard, rare, metallic element occurring in columbite and tantalite and usually associated with niobium: used, because of its resistance to corrosion by most acids, for chemical, dental, and surgical instruments and apparatus. Symbol: Ta; atomic weight: 180.948; atomic number: 73; specific gravity: 16.6.
Show More

Origin of tantalum

1795–1805; < New Latin; named after Tantalus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tantalum

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Just to make sure of cleaning up the last infinitesimal traces, though, I'm going to flash a getter charge of tantalum in it.

    Skylark Three

    Edward Elmer Smith

  • A century elapsed after its discovery before von Bolton produced the first tantalum filament lamp.

    Artificial Light

    M. Luckiesh

  • The tantalum lamp had no opportunity to become established, because the tungsten lamp followed its appearance very closely.

    Artificial Light

    M. Luckiesh

  • If the first figure of the last pair was assumed to be a null, the word was the symbol for tantalum: "Ta."

  • The oxide of tantalum dissolves in the bead, but gives no colour.

British Dictionary definitions for tantalum

tantalum

noun
  1. a hard greyish-white metallic element that occurs with niobium in tantalite and columbite: used in electrical capacitors in most circuit boards and in alloys to increase hardness and chemical resistance, esp in surgical instruments. Symbol: Ta; atomic no: 73; atomic wt: 180.9479; valency: 2, 3, 4, or 5; relative density: 16.654; melting pt: 3020°C; boiling pt: 5458±100°C
Show More

Word Origin

C19: named after Tantalus, with reference to the metal's incapacity to absorb acids
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
tantalum in Medicine

tantalum

(tăn′tə-ləm)
n. Symbol Ta
  1. A hard heavy metallic element that is exceptionally resistant to chemical attack below 150°C and is used to make electronic components and surgical instruments. Atomic number 73.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
tantalum in Science

tantalum

[tăn′tə-ləm]
Ta
  1. A hard, heavy, gray metallic element that is highly resistant to corrosion at low temperatures. It is used to make light-bulb filaments, surgical instruments, and glass for camera lenses. Atomic number 73; atomic weight 180.948; melting point 3,017°C; boiling point 5,458°C; specific gravity 16.6; valence 2, 3, 4, 5. See Periodic Table.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.