'Jun+Yuan'+Hafnium-+Important+Ingredient+for+Nuclear+Reactors

Hafnium General Information: Symbol: Hf Atomic mass: 178.49 Atomic number: 72 Boiling Point: 4603 ° C Melting Point: 2227 ° C Group category: Transition Metal Appearance: Shiny, Silvery Electronic Configuration: 2.8.18.32.10.2

Hafnium is named after Hafnia, the Latin name of Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, where it was first discovered by Dirk Coster and Georg von Hevesy in 1923. It has similar chemical properties compared to zirconium as both have the same number of valence electrons and are found in the same group in the Periodic Table.

Uses: Hafnium has a low abundance on Earth. It is estimated to make up about 5.8 ppm of the Earth's upper crust by weight. Also, it is often found together with zirconium, and due to their similar chemical properties, it is possible to replace hafnium with zirconium in some applications. Hafnium is commonly used in making control rods for nuclear reactors as most hafnium isotopes are able to absorb multiple neutrons. It is also corrosion-resistant. It is often used in metal alloys. For example, an alloy used to make liquid rocket thruster nozzles for the main engine of the Apollo Lunar Module consists of 89% niobium, 10% hafnium and 1% titanium.

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