Illustration of Zirconium

1789,1824 Zirconium

The book of science

Tom Sharp

Berlin, StockholmMartin Heinrich Klaproth, Jöns Jacob Berzelius elements Illustration of Zirconium

Zirconium

Zirconium minerals are mentioned in the Bible jargoon, jacinth, hyacinth, ligure although for ligure it’s impossible to say. Martin Heinrich Klaproth reduced jargoon to zirconium oxide in 1789 and announced that he had found a new element, zircon earth or zirconia. Humphry Davy failed to reduce the oxide to a metal using electrolysis in 1808 but gave it the name zirconium. Jöns Jacob Berzelius heated potassium hexafluorozirconate with potassium metal in an iron tube to obtain a black powder of impure zirconium.

Atomic number 40

Beware: Dust or small grains of zirconium can ignite on warm days. Zirconium oxide is used in strong ceramics to resist heat and corrosion. Zirconium makes a good radiation shield used in nuclear-powered ships and subs. Cut cubic zirconium (zirconium oxide) resemble diamonds.

Leshem, Liguria

The seventh stone on the hoshen, the breastplate of judgment The tribe of Dan, the eagle The color of smoke, possibly blue or black, or dark red, like carbuncle The color of sparks in smoke The gem named with a lost Hebrew word maybe based on a place, also lost

The decay of trace amounts of uranium and thorium in zircons have helped date the oldest rocks on earth. We also look for traces of more recent things.

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