the.com/zirconium
The metal so unbothered by heat it shrugs off nuclear reactors and surgeons alike.
means Zirconium is a hard, silvery, corrosion-resistant metallic element (atomic number 40) prized for shrugging off heat and chemical attack, which is why it shows up in nuclear reactor cladding and medical implants.
from Named from the mineral zircon, the source it was first teased out of. "Zircon" itself traces back through German Zirkon to the gemstone the Persians called zargun — from zar 'gold' and gun 'colored,' a nod to the warm, golden hues of the stone. So buried in this coolly heat-proof metal's name is, fittingly, the glow of gold-colored fire.
- reactor armor
- Lines nuclear fuel rods, nearly invisible to neutrons
- bone friendly
- Hip implants made of it fuse with you
- name origin
- From Persian for gold-colored, via zircon gems
- oddly common
- More abundant in Earth's crust than copper
- spark show
- Powdered, it ignites and dazzles in flashbulbs
baddeleyite — naturally occurring zirconium oxide mineral found in brazil and sri lanka
zircon — zirconium silicate gemstone, used in jewelry and dating rocks up to 4.4 billion years old
candu reactor — canadian nuclear reactor using zirconium alloy cladding, 30+ operating worldwide since 1962