thoria

American  

[thawr-ee-uh, thohr-] / ˈθɔr i ə, ˈθoʊr- /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, heavy, water-insoluble powder, ThO 2 , used chiefly in incandescent mantles, as the Welsbach gas mantle.

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thoria British  

/ ˈθɔːrɪə /

noun

1. another name for thorium dioxide

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Etymology

Origin of thoria

First recorded in 1835–45; thori(um) + -a ⁴

Example Sentences

By experiment it was determined that the best proportions for the rare-earth content are one part of ceria and ninety-nine parts of thoria.

From Artificial Light Its Influence upon Civilization by Luckiesh, Matthew

Much the best practical source of helium is thorianite, a mineral imported from Ceylon for the manufacture of thoria.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 2 "Hearing" to "Helmond" by Various

Later lamps consisted of "glowers" about one inch long made from a mixture of zirconia and yttria, and finally a mixture of ceria, thoria, and zirconia was used.

From Artificial Light Its Influence upon Civilization by Luckiesh, Matthew

It has been found that a mantle in which thoria is used alone is a poor light-source, but that when a small amount of ceria is added the mantle glows brilliantly.

From Artificial Light Its Influence upon Civilization by Luckiesh, Matthew

In other words, it is easier to accelerate the motion of the corpuscles in ceria, thoria and the other ingredients of the mantle, than it is those of carbon.

From Marvels of Scientific Invention An Interesting Account in Non-technical Language of the Invention of Guns, Torpedoes, Submarine Mines, Up-to-date Smelting, Freezing, Colour Photography, and many other recent Discoveries of Science by Corbin, Thomas W.