tantalum flanges, molybdenum crucibles, electron beam welded assemblies, threaded rods, or tungsten machined parts,Shenzhen Sunrise Metal Industry Co.,Ltd should be your first call !

Tantalum

Whether your business needs tantalum flanges, molybdenum crucibles, electron beam welded assemblies, threaded rods, or tungsten machined parts,Shenzhen Sunrise Metal Industry Co.,Ltd should be your first call !

Shenzhen Sunrise Metal Industry Co.,Ltd

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Discovery date	1802
Discovered by	Anders Gustav Ekeberg
Origin of the name	The name is derived from the legendary Greek figure King Tantalus.
Allotropes

Ta

Tantalum

 

73

180.948  

 

Glossary

Group
A vertical column in the periodic table. Members of a group typically have similar properties and electron configurations in their outer shell.

Period
A horizontal row in the periodic table. The atomic number of each element increases by one, reading from left to right.

Block
Elements are organised into blocks by the orbital type in which the outer electrons are found. These blocks are named for the characteristic spectra they produce: sharp (s), principal (p), diffuse (d), and fundamental (f).

Atomic number
The number of protons in an atom.

Electron configuration
The arrangements of electrons above the last (closed shell) noble gas.

Melting point
The temperature at which the solid–liquid phase change occurs.

Boiling point
The temperature at which the liquid–gas phase change occurs.

Sublimation
The transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas phase without passing through a liquid phase.

Density (g cm⁻³)
Density is the mass of a substance that would fill 1 cm³ at room temperature.

Relative atomic mass
The mass of an atom relative to that of carbon-12. This is approximately the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Where more than one isotope exists, the value given is the abundance weighted average.

Isotopes
Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.

CAS number
The Chemical Abstracts Service registry number is a unique identifier of a particular chemical, designed to prevent confusion arising from different languages and naming systems.

Fact box

Fact box

Group	5	Melting point	3017°C, 5463°F, 3290 K
Period	6	Boiling point	5455°C, 9851°F, 5728 K
Block	d	Density (g cm−3)	16.4
Atomic number	73	Relative atomic mass	180.948
State at 20°C	Solid	Key isotopes	180Ta, 181Ta
Electron configuration	[Xe] 4f145d36s2	CAS number	7440-25-7
Shenzhen Sunrise Metal Industry Co.,Ltd ID		Shenzhen Sunrise Metal Industry Co.,Ltd is a free chemical structure database

  Glossary

Image explanation
Murray Robertson is the artist behind the images which make up Visual Elements. This is where the artist explains his interpretation of the element and the science behind the picture.

Appearance
The description of the element in its natural form.

Biological role
The role of the element in humans, animals and plants.

Natural abundance
Where the element is most commonly found in nature, and how it is sourced commercially.

Uses and properties

Uses and properties

Image explanation

An image of an abstracted human skull, banded with strips or ‘plates’. This reflects the use of the element in medical prosthetics. The background design is based on a scene from an Ancient Greek vase depicting the mythological figure Tantalus, a reference to the origin of the element’s name.

Appearance

A shiny, silvery metal that is very resistant to corrosion.

Uses

One of the main uses of tantalum is in the production of electronic components. An oxide layer which forms on the surface of tantalum can act as an insulating (dielectric) layer. Because tantalum can be used to coat other metals with a very thin layer, a high capacitance can be achieved in a small volume. This makes tantalum capacitors attractive for portable electronics such as mobile phones.

Tantalum causes no immune response in mammals, so has found wide use in the making of surgical implants. It can replace bone, for example in skull plates; as foil or wire it connects torn nerves; and as woven gauze it binds abdominal muscle.

It is very resistant to corrosion and so is used in equipment for handling corrosive materials. It has also found uses as electrodes for neon lights, AC/DC rectifiers and in glass for special lenses.

Tantalum alloys can be extremely strong and have been used for turbine blades, rocket nozzles and nose caps for supersonic aircraft.

Biological role

Tantalum has no known biological role. It is non-toxic.

Natural abundance

Tantalum is sometimes, but only rarely, found uncombined in nature. It occurs mainly in the mineral columbite-tantalite, which also contains other metals including niobium. It is mined in many places including Australia, Canada and Brazil. There are several complicated steps involved in separating the tantalum from the niobium. A lot of tantalum is obtained commercially as a by-product of tin extraction.