tantalum

noun

tan·​ta·​lum ˈtan-tə-ləm 

: a gray-white ductile acid-resisting metallic element found combined in rare minerals (such as tantalite and columbite) and used especially in electronic components see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of tantalum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That could determine whether HB is able to replicate its business elsewhere—for example, in nearby Democratic Republic of Congo, home to giant reserves of copper, tantalum, and other minerals, and where three-quarters of the world’s cobalt is mined. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 31 Oct. 2024

Sealing the spacecraft’s vault—its nerve center—is a plate forged from tantalum metal. —Nadia Drake, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2024

The action cuts to a pit mine where workers using hand tools extract coltan (columbite-tantalite), a mineral used to create the tantalum capacitors that power devices like our mobile phones, personal computers, and cameras. —Ruby Thélot, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2024

Clipper is no exception: The electronics vault is capped by a dense tantalum metal plate etched with Limón’s bespoke poem, which connects the wonder of living on our watery planet with Europa’s own ocean. —science.org, 19 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin Tantalus; from its inability to absorb acid

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

tantalum

noun

tan·​ta·​lum ˈtant-ᵊl-əm 

: a gray-white metallic element found in rare minerals and used especially in electronic devices see element

Medical Definition

tantalum

noun

tan·​ta·​lum ˈtant-ᵊl-əm 

: a hard ductile gray-white acid-resisting metallic element of the vanadium family found combined in rare minerals and sometimes used in surgical implants and sutures

—symbol Ta see Chemical Elements Table