{"id":459,"date":"2012-05-25T21:35:58","date_gmt":"2012-05-25T21:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/?page_id=459"},"modified":"2017-12-07T02:08:38","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T07:08:38","slug":"tantalum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/tantalum.html","title":{"rendered":"Tantalum Element Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"insidepagelinks\">\n<a href=\"#data\">Data Zone<\/a> |  <a href=\"#discovery\">Discovery<\/a> |  <a href=\"#facts\">Facts<\/a> | <a href=\"#appear\">Appearance &amp; Characteristics<\/a> | <a href=\"#uses\">Uses<\/a> | <a href=\"#abund\">Abundance &amp; Isotopes<\/a>  | <a href=\"#refer\">References<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tmetalsT\">\n<div class=\"atnorT\">73<\/div>\n<div class=\"clearT\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"elnamT\">Ta<\/div>\n<div class=\"atweiT\">  180.9<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The chemical element tantalum is classed as a transition metal. It was discovered in 1802 by Anders G. Ekeberg.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"adsense300\">\n<div class=\"adsense300spacer\">\n<div style=\"line-height:10px;\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"\/\/www.chemicool.com\/ad.png\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-9461632227417539\" data-ad-slot=\"3265846807\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"data\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Data Zone<\/h2>\n<table class=\"datatop\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Classification:<\/td>\n<td>  Tantalum is a transition metal  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Color:<\/td>\n<td>  gray  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Atomic weight:<\/td>\n<td>   180.947 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">State:<\/td>\n<td>   solid   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Melting point:<\/td>\n<td> 3020 <sup>o<\/sup>C, 3293 K   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Boiling point:<\/td>\n<td>  5560 <sup>o<\/sup>C, 5833 K    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Electrons:<\/td>\n<td>73<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Protons:<\/td>\n<td>73<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Neutrons in most abundant isotope:<\/td>\n<td>108<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Shells:<\/td>\n<td>   2,8,18,32,11,2      <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Electron configuration:<\/td>\n<td>  [Xe] 4f<sup>14<\/sup> 5d<sup>3<\/sup> 6s<sup>2<\/sup>      <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Density @ 20<sup>o<\/sup>C:<\/td>\n<td>  16.6  g\/cm<sup>3<\/sup>   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a4019d162900\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Show more, including: Heats, Energies, Oxidation,&lt;br \/&gt; Reactions, Compounds, Radii, Conductivities\"    >Show more, including: Heats, Energies, Oxidation,<br \/> Reactions, Compounds, Radii, Conductivities<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a4019d162900\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \">\n<table class=\"datatop\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Atomic volume:<\/td>\n<td>   10.90 cm<sup>3<\/sup>\/mol   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Structure:<\/td>\n<td>   bcc: body-centered cubic <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Hardness: <\/td>\n<td>    6.5 mohs <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Specific heat capacity<\/td>\n<td>  0.14 J g<sup>-1<\/sup> K<sup>-1<\/sup>  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Heat of fusion<\/td>\n<td>  36.57 kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup> <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Heat of atomization<\/td>\n<td>  782 kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup> <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Heat of vaporization<\/td>\n<td>    737  kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup>   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">1<sup>st<\/sup> ionization energy<\/td>\n<td>  761 kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup>    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">2<sup>nd<\/sup> ionization energy<\/td>\n<td>  1500  kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup>    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">3<sup>rd<\/sup> ionization energy<\/td>\n<td>   &#8211;   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Electron affinity<\/td>\n<td>   31.1 kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup>  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Minimum oxidation number<\/td>\n<td>  -1    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Min. common oxidation no.<\/td>\n<td> 0   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Maximum oxidation number <\/td>\n<td> 5 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Max. common oxidation no. <\/td>\n<td>  5  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Electronegativity (Pauling Scale) <\/td>\n<td>  1.5  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Polarizability volume <\/td>\n<td>   13.1  &Aring;<sup>3<\/sup>  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Reaction with air<\/td>\n<td> none   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Reaction with 15 M HNO<sub>3<\/sub> <\/td>\n<td>  none  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Reaction with 6 M HCl <\/td>\n<td> none <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Reaction with 6 M NaOH <\/td>\n<td>   none  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Oxide(s) <\/td>\n<td>  TaO<sub>2<\/sub>, Ta<sub>2<\/sub>O<sub>5<\/sub> <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Hydride(s) <\/td>\n<td>    Ta<sub>2<\/sub>H  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Chloride(s) <\/td>\n<td>   TaCl<sub>3<\/sub>, TaCl<sub>4<\/sub>, TaCl<sub>5<\/sub> <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Atomic radius <\/td>\n<td>    146 pm  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Ionic radius (1+ ion) <\/td>\n<td> &#8211; <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Ionic radius (2+ ion) <\/td>\n<td>   &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Ionic radius (3+ ion) <\/td>\n<td>  86  pm <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Ionic radius (1- ion) <\/td>\n<td>   &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Ionic radius (2- ion) <\/td>\n<td> &#8211; <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Ionic radius (3- ion) <\/td>\n<td>   &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Thermal conductivity <\/td>\n<td>  57.5  W m<sup>-1<\/sup> K<sup>-1<\/sup> <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Electrical conductivity <\/td>\n<td>  8.1 x 10<sup>6<\/sup> S m<sup>-1<\/sup> <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Freezing\/Melting point:<\/td>\n<td> 3020 <sup>o<\/sup>C, 3293 K   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"leftimagepadding\">\n<div style=\"width: 309px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chemicool.com\/elements\/images\/300-tantalum.jpg\" width=\"299\" height=\"157\" alt=\"High purity tantalum\" class=\"size-full\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">High purity tantalum. Photo by Tomihahndorf.<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/images\/200-tantalum-capacitors.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"188\" alt=\"Tantalum capacitors\" class=\"size-full\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tantalum capacitors<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t<a id=\"discovery\"><\/a>\t<\/p>\n<h2>Discovery of  Tantalum<\/h2>\n<div class=\"author\">Author: Dr. Doug Stewart<\/div>\n<p>\tTantalum was discovered by Anders G. Ekeberg in 1802, in Uppsala, Sweden, in the minerals tantalite from Finland and yttrotantalite from Sweden.<\/p>\n<p>\tUnfortunately for Ekeberg, in 1809 the well-known English chemist Willian Wollaston said there had been no discovery and there was no new element. <\/p>\n<p>\tWollaston claimed Ekeberg&#8217;s new element was actually <a href=\"niobium.html\">niobium<\/a>, which had also been discovered in 1802. The scientific community came to believe Wollaston was right and that Ekeberg&#8217;s claim for a new element had been a mistake. <\/p>\n<p>   Tantalum and niobium are in fact hard to separate from one another, which led to Wollaston&#8217;s error.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tIn 1846 German mineralogist Heinrich Rose finally proved beyond doubt that tantalum and niobium were different elements.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tIn 1903 Werner von Bolton refined tantalum metal for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>\t   The element name comes from the Greek mythological character Tantalos. Niobe (niobium) was the daughter of Tantalos. Ekeberg gave his new element the name tantalum because it had been a tantalizing element to find.<\/p>\n<p>     <a id=\"appear\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Appearance and Characteristics<\/h3>\n<p>\t  <strong>Harmful effects:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>\t \tTantalum is considered to be non-toxic.  <\/p>\n<p>\t  <strong>Characteristics:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\t\tTantalum is a rare, shiny, gray, dense metal. It is highly ductile and can be drawn into a thin wire.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tIts chemical properties are very similar to those of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/niobium.html\">niobium<\/a>. Tantalum is highly corrosion resistant due to the formation of an oxide film. It is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tThe metal has a melting point exceeded only by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/tungsten.html\">tungsten<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/rhenium.html\">rhenium<\/a>. Tantalum is one of the five major refractory metals (metals with very high resistance to heat and wear). The other refractory metals are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/tungsten.html\">tungsten<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/molybdenum.html\">molybdenum<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/rhenium.html\">rhenium<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/niobium.html\">niobium<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a id=\"uses\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Uses of Tantalum<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t Tantalum is used in the electronics industry for capacitors and high power resistors.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tIt is also used to make alloys to increase strength, ductility and corrosion resistance.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tThe metal is used in dental and surgical instruments and implants, as it causes no immune response. <\/p>\n<p><a id=\"abund\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Abundance and Isotopes<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"elemgl\">Abundance earth&#8217;s crust:<\/span>   1.7 parts per million by weight,  0.2 parts per million by moles<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Abundance solar system:<\/span> <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Cost, pure:<\/span>  $450 per 100g<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Cost, bulk:<\/span>  $8.10 per 100g<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Source:<\/span> Tantalum is not found free in nature but in minerals such as columbite and tantalite. Minerals that contain tantalum often also contain niobium. Commercially, tantalum is extracted by first forming the oxide (Ta<sub>2<\/sub>O<sub>5<\/sub>). The oxide is then reduced using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/carbon.html\">carbon<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/hydrogen.html\">hydrogen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Isotopes:<\/span>  Tantalum has 31 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers from 156 to 186. Naturally occurring tantalum consists of its one stable isotope, <sup>181<\/sup>Ta. <\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;line-height:2px;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"max-width:750px;\">\n<div style=\"line-height:10px;\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"\/\/www.chemicool.com\/ad.png\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-9461632227417539\" data-ad-slot=\"8753977201\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t<a id=\"refer\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>References<\/h4>\n<p><a id=\"Cite\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Cite this Page<\/h4>\n<p>For online linking, please copy and paste one of the following:<\/p>\n<pre class='code'>\r\n&lt;a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/tantalum.html\"&gt;Tantalum&lt;\/a&gt;\r\n<\/pre>\n<p>or<\/p>\n<pre class='code'>\r\n&lt;a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/tantalum.html\"&gt;Tantalum Element Facts&lt;\/a&gt;\r\n<\/pre>\n<p>To cite this page in an academic document, please use the following MLA compliant citation:<\/p>\n<pre class='code'>\r\n\"Tantalum.\" Chemicool Periodic Table. Chemicool.com. 18 Oct. 2012. Web. <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n<!--\r\nvar currentTime = new Date()\r\nvar month = currentTime.getMonth() + 1\r\nvar day = currentTime.getDate()\r\nvar year = currentTime.getFullYear()\r\ndocument.write(month + \"\/\" + day + \"\/\" + year)\r\n\/\/-->\r\n<\/script> \r\n&lt;https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/tantalum.html&gt;.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Data Zone | Discovery | Facts | Appearance &amp; Characteristics | Uses | Abundance &amp; Isotopes | References 73 Ta 180.9 The chemical element tantalum is classed as a transition metal. It was discovered in 1802 by Anders G. Ekeberg. Data Zone Classification: Tantalum is a transition metal Color: gray Atomic weight: 180.947 State: solid [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-459","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4306,"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/459\/revisions\/4306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}