Browse "Chemistry"

Spodumene is a lithium aluminum silicate (8.0% Li2O, 27.4% Al2O3, 64.6%SiO2) and is the world's most common commercially mined lithium ore mineral. Petalite, lepidolite and amblygonite are also mined in different parts of the world.

A synchrotron is a source of brilliant light that acts like a giant microscope to allow matter to be seen at the atomic level. Synchrotron light is millions of times brighter than sunlight and millions of times more intense than conventional X-rays.

Talc is a mineral composed of 31.7% magnesium oxide (MgO), 63.5% silicon dioxide (SiO2) and 4.8% water. It is formed by the alteration of dolomite or ultramafic IGNEOUS rocks. A formula for pure talc would look like this: 3 dolomite + 4 quartz + 1 water = 1 talc + 3 calcite + 3 CO2.

Tantalum (Ta) is a grey, heavy, very hard metal with a high melting point (2996°C). When pure, it is ductile and can be easily fabricated. Tantalum has good rectifying properties (ie, converts alternating to direct current) and dielectric properties (ie, does not conduct direct current).

Titanium (Ti) is a metallic element estimated to form about 0.5% of the rocks of the Canadian SHIELD. Titanium minerals of commercial importance include the dioxides rutile and anatase, which are polymorphs of TiO2 and ilmenite (FeO.TiO2), a mineral that contains 52.7% TiO2.

Tungsten (W), also called Wolfram, lapis ponderosus or Heavy Stone, is a silver-grey metallic element with the highest melting point of any metal (3410° C). Tungsten has a high density, high strength at elevated temperatures and extreme hardness.

Uranium oxide was first identified in 1789 by M.H. Klaproth in the MINERAL pitchblende, but its distinctive property of radioactivity was discovered much later (1896) by Henri Becquerel.