Tantalum

<p>Tantalum is a <a href="/facts/Chemical_element/0jducgWD">chemical element</a>; it has <a href="/facts/Symbol_(chemistry)/2Fe1VAL0">symbol</a> Ta and <a href="/facts/Atomic_number/bgAr581S">atomic number</a> 73. It is named after <a href="/facts/Tantalus/dEVcNBCa">Tantalus</a>, a figure in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, <a href="/facts/Ductility/SBJsahEk">ductile</a>, <a href="/facts/Lustre_(mineralogy)/TCobwMGC">lustrous</a>, blue-gray <a href="/facts/Transition_metal/0slGWoLQ">transition metal</a> that is highly corrosion-resistant. It is part of the <a href="/facts/Refractory_metals/WtGXfsVQ">refractory metals</a> group, which are widely used as components of strong <a href="/facts/Superalloy/UwshApNV">high-melting-point alloys</a>. It is a <a href="/facts/Group_5_element/C08aMlur">group 5 element</a>, along with <a href="/facts/Vanadium/UvKkKTSm">vanadium</a> and <a href="/facts/Niobium/3zNI8AKp">niobium</a>, and it always occurs in geologic sources together with the chemically similar niobium, mainly in the <a href="/facts/Mineral/LkUFbNmv">mineral</a> groups <a href="/facts/Tantalite/oEVgGTLG">tantalite</a>, <a href="/facts/Columbite/TLtIHgpR">columbite</a> and <a href="/facts/Coltan/5s1wmyfr">coltan</a>. 
</p><p>The chemical inertness and very high melting point of tantalum make it valuable for laboratory and industrial equipment such as <a href="/facts/Chemical_reactor/asqApwa4">reaction vessels</a> and <a href="/facts/Vacuum_furnace/FDbFVWG9">vacuum furnaces</a>. It is used in <a href="/facts/Tantalum_capacitor/YksF94PD">tantalum capacitors</a> for electronic equipment such as computers. It is being investigated for use as a material for high-quality superconducting resonators in <a href="/facts/Quantum_processor/VFFYorrE">quantum processors</a>.
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Tantalum open-in-new

Tantalum