Hafnium (Hf)
Hafnium is used in nuclear reactor control rods and in high-temperature alloys for jet engines.
Properties of Hafnium
- Atomic number
- 72
- Category
- Transition Metal
- Atomic mass
- 178.49 u
- Electron configuration
- [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d² 6s²
- Melting point
- 2506 K (2232.85 °C)
- Boiling point
- 4876 K (4602.85 °C)
- Density
- 13.31 g/cm³
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 1.3
- Appearance
- Silvery-gray metal
- Discovered by
- Dirk Coster (1923)
Facts about Hafnium
- Hafnium is named after Hafnia, the Latin name for Copenhagen!
- Hafnium is used in nuclear submarine reactor control rods!
- Hafnium and zirconium are so similar they are very hard to separate!
- Hafnium is used in the latest computer chips to make them faster!