Page 78 - The Periodic Table Book

40
Zr Zirconium 40 40 51 State: Solid

Discovery: 1789

Transition Metals Forms is caused by iron impurities. Zircon crystals refined in a laboratory
Bar of pure zirconium
This greyish-white pure
This dark brown colour
element is easy to shape.

Uses This zirconium-
filled bulb produces
a bright light.
These tough dental
Dental crowns crowns are made of a Zirconia
zirconium-rich ceramic. crystal ring

This hard, non-metallic
Ceramic blade does not require
knife frequent sharpening. This ring
contains cubic
Camera flash from zirconia crystals.
the 1960s

This element is named after the mineral in the form of the compound zirconium dioxide,
zircon, which means “golden” in Persian, a or zirconia. Powdered zirconia is heated to produce
reference to the golden-brown colour of its a hard glass-like ceramic, which is used to create
crystals. The Swedish chemist Jacob Berzelius dental crowns and sharp ceramic knives.
was the first person to isolate pure zirconium, in Powdered zirconia also forms sparkling zirconia
76 1824. Today, however, the element is mostly used crystals that look like diamonds.

076-077_Zirconium_Niobium.indd 76 02/12/16 10:00 pm