niobium (Nb)

niobium cavity resonantor. Image credit: DESY

A niobium cavity resonator, part of a superconducting linear accelerator
Source: DESY

A soft, silvery-white, rare metallic element in group VB of the periodic table. Niobium is a transition element. It occurs as columbite (niobium was also formerly known as columbium) and pyrochlore.

Niobium is unreactive and corrosion-resistant, and is used in steels, high-temperature alloys, and superconducting alloys (see superconductivity. Being permable to neutrons, it is also used in nuclear reactors. At high temperatures it reacts with nonmetals to give pentavalent covalent compounds.

atomic number	41
relative atomic mass	92.9
relative density	8.57 (20°C)
melting point	2,477°C (4,491°F)
boiling point	4,744°C (8,571°F)

Related category

• INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

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