Wonderful Life with the Elements

115

MELTING POINT

BOILING POINT

DENSITY

Zirconium shines as brightly as any diamond

if processed correctly (as cubic zirconia). It

can also be made into a rust-free ceramic

material that’s harder than steel if it’s oxi-

dized, ground into a powder, and sintered.

These advanced ceramics can be used for

creating useful household tools such as scis-

sors and kitchen knives, as well as in more

exotic applications like spacecraft and jet

engines.

DIAMONDS FOR EVERYONE!

DISCOVERY YEAR: 1789

Transition

metal

Multipurpose

In teeth

Almost

indistinguishable

from real diamonds

Atomic reactors

Solid

Knives and

scissors

Ceramics

Very

hard and

doesn’t

rust

Here too

116

MELTING POINT

BOILING POINT

DENSITY

Niobium is named after Niobe, the daugh-

ter of Tantalus in Greek myth, since it bears

some resemblance to element 73 (tanta-

lum). But despite the name’s ancient ori-

gins, it now represents an element used in

cutting-edge jet engines, space shuttles,

and maglev vehicles. The metal can create

extremely powerful magnetic materials by

being alloyed with steel. This makes it not

only heat resistant but also superconductive.

SUPPORTING THE

PRACTICALITIES OF THE

FUTURE

DISCOVERY YEAR: 1801

Ferroniobium

Used in pipelines

Transition

metal

Zero resistance

Superconductivity

occurs at low

temperatures.

The magnets

used in

maglev trains

Iron

Niobium

Strong

Solid

Industrial

uses

117

MELTING POINT

BOILING POINT

DENSITY

Molybdenum steel is a very strong and rust-

resistant iron alloy. Knives made from this

steel can cost several hundred dollars. This

specialist material is also used in jet plane

landing gear and rocket engines. Recent

research has enabled us to use molybdenum

to heat water more effectively, creating a

new generation of ceramic heaters (used in

automated Japanese toilets, which use warm

jets of water instead of toilet paper).

THE DIVERSE BLACKSMITH

DISCOVERY YEAR: 1778

Transition

metal

Daily

uses

Ultra-modern

toilet seats

Industrial

lubricants

Solid

The

strongest

steel is

made with

molybdenum.

Pfft

118

MELTING POINT

BOILING POINT

DENSITY

While there might have been particles of the

43rd element at the time Earth was born,

they have long since decayed. Scientists

searched for this element for decades after

Mendeleev predicted its existence. The ele-

ment has many medical uses. For example,

because the technetium-99m isotope decays

very quickly, it is used as a radioactive tracer

to perform imaging scans and detect blood

clots.

THE FIRST

MAN-MADE ELEMENT

DISCOVERY YEAR: 1936

Used to find

blood clots

Solid

Transition

metal

Man-

made

Continuously

falls apart

Medical

119

MELTING POINT

BOILING POINT

DENSITY

While it hangs out with the other precious

metals, ruthenium isn’t really an accessory

type of guy. However, it did contribute to two

recent Nobel prizes (in 2001 and 2005) as a

catalyst in organic synthetic chemistry. It’s

great for creating higher-capacity magnetic

hard drives, and since it has a beautiful lus-

ter and is durable, it’s also used for making

fountain pens. An air of glamour hangs about

this element.

A CELEBRITY SINCE BIRTH

DISCOVERY YEAR: 1844

Transition

metal

Hard but

brittle

Multipurpose

Good at splitting

water into

hydrogen and

oxygen with the

help of sunlight

Increasing

the size of

hard disks

Solid

Fountain

pen tips

Light

Hard

disk