Zirconium

What is zirconium?

Zircon

Discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth of Germany, zirconium was named for the mineral zircon. It is also thought to be named for the Persian word 'zargun', meaning gold-like,  describing the color of the gemstones known as zircon, jargon, hyacinth, jacinth, or ligure.







Zirconium, however, looks very different from the gemstone. It is a grayish white metal, the polar opposite of the sunny gemstone shown to the right. If finely divided, zirconium can ignite on its own accord in the open air. The solid metal is usually quite stable though.


Zircaloy, a component that can be gotten from zirconium, is an important alloy for nuclear applications. Zirconium also has a low absorption cross section for neutrons, therefore making it very useful for nuclear energy applications, like cladding fuel elements.

Some more items zirconium is used for:

• Acids (it is resistant to corrosion in seawater)
• Alloying agent in steel
• Getter in vacuum tubes
• Component in:
  Surgical appliances
  Photoflash bulbs
  Explosive primers
  Rayon spinnerette