Niobium

Niobium is a soft, gray transition metal with atomic number 41. Its resistance to corrosion and ability to become superconducting make it useful in steel alloys, electronics, and scientific instruments.

Niobium steel: Steel containing small amounts of niobium, which refines its grain structure and improves strength. Microalloyed niobium strengthens pipelines and structural steels without requiring large alloy additions.
Niobium pentoxide: The stable oxide Nb₂O₅, used in optical materials, ceramics, and some electronic components. This oxide forms readily on niobium and underlies several of its material applications.
Charles Hatchett: An English chemist who discovered the element later named niobium in a mineral from Connecticut. Hatchett identified the element in 1801 and first called it columbium.
Chemical element: A pure substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons. Niobium is defined by its 41 protons, regardless of its chemical form.
Niobium-titanium: A superconducting alloy of niobium and titanium used to make practical superconducting wire. Its superconducting wires carry the high currents needed in many large magnets.
Passivation: The formation of a protective surface layer that slows further corrosion of a material. A tenacious niobium oxide layer protects the metal from many corrosive environments.
Tantalum: A dense, corrosion-resistant transition metal with atomic number 73, chemically similar to niobium. Their chemical resemblance delayed the recognition that niobium and tantalum are distinct elements.
Atomic number: The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, which identifies its chemical element. The atomic number 41 uniquely identifies niobium.
Niobium-tin: A brittle intermetallic superconductor with a high critical temperature and high-field capability. It enables magnets operating at fields beyond the practical range of niobium-titanium.
Superconductivity: A state of matter in which electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic flux is expelled below a critical temperature. Niobium and its alloys become superconducting below characteristic critical temperatures.

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