Uranium oreUranium ore deposits are economically recoverable concentrations of uranium within the Earth's crust. Uranium is one of the most common elements in the Earth's crust, being 40 times more common than silver and 500 times more common than gold. It can be found almost everywhere in rock, soil, rivers, and oceans. The challenge for commercial uranium extraction is to find those areas where the concentrations are adequate to form an economically viable deposit. The primary use for uranium obtained from mining is in fuel for nuclear reactors.
Nickel–metal hydride batteryA nickel metal hydride battery (NiMH or Ni–MH) is a type of rechargeable battery. The chemical reaction at the positive electrode is similar to that of the nickel–cadmium cell (NiCd), with both using nickel oxide hydroxide (NiOOH). However, the negative electrodes use a hydrogen-absorbing alloy instead of cadmium. NiMH batteries can have two to three times the capacity of NiCd batteries of the same size, with significantly higher energy density, although much less than lithium-ion batteries.
DidymiumDidymium (δίδυμο, twin) is a mixture of the elements praseodymium and neodymium. It is used in safety glasses for glassblowing and blacksmithing, especially with a gas (propane)-powered forge, where it provides a filter that selectively blocks the yellowish light at 589 nm emitted by the hot sodium in the glass without having a detrimental effect on general vision, unlike dark welder's glasses. The usefulness of didymium glass for eye protection of this sort was discovered by Sir William Crookes.
Tributyl phosphateTributyl phosphate, known commonly as TBP, is an organophosphorus compound with the chemical formula (CH3CH2CH2CH2O)3PO. This colourless, odorless liquid finds some applications as an extractant and a plasticizer. It is an ester of phosphoric acid with n-butanol. Tributyl phosphate is manufactured by reaction of phosphoryl chloride with n-butanol. POCl3 + 3 C4H9OH → PO(OC4H9)3 + 3 HCl Production is estimated at 3,000–5,000 tonnes worldwide. TBP is a solvent and plasticizer for cellulose esters such as nitrocellulose and cellulose acetate.
Magnetic refrigerationMagnetic refrigeration is a cooling technology based on the magnetocaloric effect. This technique can be used to attain extremely low temperatures, as well as the ranges used in common refrigerators. A magnetocaloric material warms up when a magnetic field is applied. The warming is due to changes in the internal state of the material releasing heat. When the magnetic field is removed, the material returns to its original state, reabsorbing the heat, and returning to original temperature.
Placer depositIn geology, a placer deposit or placer is an accumulation of valuable minerals formed by gravity separation from a specific source rock during sedimentary processes. The name is from the Spanish word placer, meaning "alluvial sand". Placer mining is an important source of gold, and was the main technique used in the early years of many gold rushes, including the California Gold Rush. Types of placer deposits include alluvium, eluvium, beach placers, aeolian placers and paleo-placers.
Yttrium iron garnetYttrium iron garnet (YIG) is a kind of synthetic garnet, with chemical composition , or Y3Fe5O12. It is a ferrimagnetic material with a Curie temperature of 560 K. YIG may also be known as yttrium ferrite garnet, or as iron yttrium oxide or yttrium iron oxide, the latter two names usually associated with powdered forms. In YIG, the five iron(III) ions occupy two octahedral and three tetrahedral sites, with the yttrium(III) ions coordinated by eight oxygen ions in an irregular cube.
Yttrium barium copper oxideYttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) is a family of crystalline chemical compounds that display high-temperature superconductivity; it includes the first material ever discovered to become superconducting above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K) at about . Many YBCO compounds have the general formula YBa2Cu3O7−x (also known as Y123), although materials with other Y:Ba:Cu ratios exist, such as YBa2Cu4Oy (Y124) or Y2Ba4Cu7Oy (Y247). At present, there is no singularly recognised theory for high-temperature superconductivity.
PerovskitePerovskite (pronunciation: pə'rɒvskaɪt) is a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate (chemical formula ). Its name is also applied to the class of compounds which have the same type of crystal structure as (XIIA2+VIB4+X2−3), known as the perovskite structure. Many different cations can be embedded in this structure, allowing the development of diverse engineered materials. The mineral was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia by Gustav Rose in 1839 and is named after Russian mineralogist Lev Perovski (1792–1856).
FerroceriumFerrocerium (also known in Europe as Auermetall) is a synthetic pyrophoric alloy of mischmetal (cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, other trace lanthanides and some iron – about 95% lanthanides and 5% iron) hardened by blending in oxides of iron and/or magnesium. When struck with a harder material, the mixture produces hot sparks that can reach temperatures of when rapidly oxidized by the process of striking the rod. Striking both scrapes fragments off, exposing them to the oxygen in the air, and easily ignites them by friction heat due to cerium's remarkably low ignition temperature of between .
