TANTALUM - ECONOMY
News: What is tantalum, the rare metal found in Sutlej?
What's in the news?
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Recently, a team of
researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar has found the presence of tantalum, a rare metal, in the Sutlej
river sand in Punjab.
About Tantalum:
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Tantalum
is a rare metal with the atomic
number 73 — the number of protons found in one atom of the element.
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It’s grey, heavy, very
hard and one of the most corrosion-resistant
metals in use today.
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It possesses high
corrosion resistance because when exposed to air, it forms an oxide layer that
is extremely difficult to remove, even when it interacts with strong and hot
acid environments.
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When
pure, tantalum is ductile, meaning it can be
stretched, pulled, or drawn into a thin wire or thread without breaking.
Moreover,
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It is almost completely immune to chemical attack at
temperatures below 150°C, and is attacked only by hydrofluoric acid, acidic
solutions containing the fluoride ion, and free sulfur trioxide.
Uses of Tantalum:
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Capacitor manufacturing
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Due to its high melting
point, it is used as an alternative for Platinum.
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Surgical equipments
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Aeroplane, Nuclear power
plants etc.