Talk:Niobium/Archive 1

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Archive 1

body piercing

I recall reading that Niobum does not cause allergic reations in people so that is why it is used in body piercing jewelry.

I was going to say the same thing. "Because of its bluish color" really doesn't make sense. Jafafa Hots 12:18, 18 January 2006 (UTC)


Pronunciation of niobium

Is it pronounced with a long i or a short i -- "knee"-obium or "nigh"-obium? 171.65.102.235 22:47, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

Following the Great Vowel Shift, "Niobe" is pronounced /'najobi/ in English, so I'm guessing the latter. 89.138.121.82 06:18, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

Is it safe or hazardous?

The section on body piercing says it's used for jewelry because it is biologically inert, while below it says that dust or compounds are severe health hazards. Which is correct?

Both. The metal used for jewelry is neither a compound nor dust.--Syd Henderson 02:43, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

References

  • doi:10.1002/andp.18020110507
  • Niobium for Steelmaking Authors: Patel Z.1; Khul'ka K.1 Metallurgist, Volume 45, Numbers 11-12, November 2001 , pp. 477-480(4)
  • [1]
  • doi:10.1002/prac.18550650104
  • [2]
  • doi:10.1098/rsnr.2003.0216
  • [3]
  • doi:10.1126/science.39.995.139
  • Niobium in modern steels Author: Deardo A.J. International Materials Reviews, Volume 48, Number 6, December 2003 , pp. 371-402
  • [4]
  • [5]--Stone
  • [6](talk) 05:10, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

Color.

The article says that Niobium is grey - but both photographs of the substance appear golden colored. What's the deal here? SteveBaker (talk) 20:48, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

It's an interference effect of the very thin oxide coating which steadily forms when the metal is exposed to air. The article hints at the answer, but probably needs to be more specific! Physchim62 (talk) 23:17, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Dubious ions

This sentence was taken from the Chemical section:


If you take a look at the wiki markup, you'll notice that it makes no sense. I replaced it with what I believe is the correct statement:


But I may have been mistaken. Could someone with access to the Holleman book verify this? --Cryptic C62 · Talk 17:38, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

My Dyslexia makes it hard to see the difference between pbdq. You are right and that is what I wanted to write.--Stone (talk) 17:48, 3 September 2008 (UTC)
I have corrected the charge typo on the niobate ion, NbO43−.
I am not sure about the existence of Nb2O3- I can't find a solid reference to it- Greenwood doesn't mention it, I haven't got access to Holleman at the moment.
Question- Is the reference to LnNbO4 to the specific LaNbO4 or collectively to the niobates of lanthanide element?
--Axiosaurus (talk) 09:53, 5 September 2008 (UTC)
The sentence reads : Lanthanoidniobate und -tantalate LnNbO4 und LnNbO4 I change it! Thanks--Stone (talk) 08:52, 11 September 2008 (UTC)


Numismatics

Lativa niobium coin 2004

The section Numismatics shows and describes only 2 coins of Austria in the last Euro jears, but in fact Austria produced these coins in a series of one of each jear, each jear in a different color. These series starts in 2003 and is going up to 2008 at least, this means a minimum of 8 different coins with 8 different colors a produced by the Austrian Mint. Take a look at Austrian coins. This should be statet a bit more clear. Also Lithuania has released at least one coin with violett niobium pill in 200x (?) (also produced by the austrian mint). NobbiP (talk) 08:40, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

I know the first and will have a look for the second and by the way its Latvia not Lithuania !--Stone (talk) 10:32, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
o.k., you are right, it's Latvia from 2004, sorry. But the color on the coin is realy violett (I own that coin), not blue which is shown on the gif pic on the right. NobbiP (talk) 10:48, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
Thanks for the tip! The color is hard to get right because its caused by the interference in a thin oxid layer, this is also the case if you take a picture of a car with a metallic paint used. The photoshop has to do the fine tuning.--Stone (talk) 11:36, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
You might own the second coin of the series? The Coin of Time II is violet! --Stone (talk) 11:37, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
I've to check that out tonight, wenn I'm at home. I know the engravings look like the ones in the pic at right, but if the CoT II has the same face on both sides it could also be the second one I have. NobbiP (talk) 12:18, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
sorry again, about the color - you thought right, my 1 Lats coin is from 2007, but same design und in violett, so the 2004 coin might be in that blue color. NobbiP (talk) 19:38, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
No problem! I never saw one of the coins, but anodizing to get the colors is cool. If you have other suggestions for the article? --Stone (talk) 20:35, 19 September 2008 (UTC)
no, I'm not a chemist, or someone, I looking around for something special and I'm also a collector of some exotic or simple nice things, so I must have some Nb coins ;-) The one from Sierra Leone looks nice also, I've not seen before. If you are interested in more Nb coins, i found one very special at [7] a Mongolia coin, showing a snow leopard, the shape of the leopard as the niobium pile, but no (?) dedicated colouring, but nice done. Greetings from Germany NobbiP (talk) 21:31, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Niobium/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

I wanted to nominate Niobium for a Good Article, because after hard work I feel that it has the potential to be one.--Stone (talk) 08:00, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

GA Fail

Unfortunatly, this article has not yet reached GA status. The article has some issues that need to be addressed, and I feel these could not be resolved within the seven day "on hold" period. Here is a list of improvements which need to be made in order for the article to meet the Good article criteria: -

  • Two non-free images are being used in this article, depicting coins that contain nobium. Having two images fails NFC criteria #3a, minimal usesage, as readers only really need to see one image of a coin to understand the way Noibium is used. Please pick one image, and then for that image provide a fair use rationale for it's inclusion in the article. The current fair use rationales are not adequate as they must argue why the images are valuable for their inclusion in the article. In this case the image would both illustrate alternative uses for the metal Niobium and also show how different colours can be created using anodizing. The creation of another colour using anodizing should also be included in the images caption when used on the article.
 Done
  • References are needed where I have placed {{fact}} tags.
 Done
  • There article contains quite a bit of jargon. I have an A grade A-Level in chemistry and I didn't understand some words, alot of readers may not have even studied chemistry to this level. Though it is good that alot of these terms are linked to relavant wikipedia articles as is recommended by WP:Jargon it can be frustrating if a reader has to contantly read other articles in order to understand the original one they are on. Some words I feel need in-article explanations are multicore complexes, substoichetic compunds, hygroscopic, magnetic penetrator depth, capture cross-section, reactive metal anodizing and perovskite-like structure.
improved
  • The Numismatics section should be written as prose. See WP:Embedded lists for more information on when lists are appropriate.
 Done
  • The inclusion of the chemical equations for both niobium and tantalum clutters the article a little. I would leave the first two equations as it is describing the step after mixed oxides are obtained but after this only the Niobum equations need be included. Also, please write a sentence leading into the equation, stating exactly what they are. For expample: The following is the chemical equations for the reaction of pottasium flouride with niobium floride to give a potassium floride complex.
 Done

I feel I should add that the history section of this article is very good and even though this contains chemistry it is explained well. It is in this manner that some of the other areas of the article which suffer from inclusion of technical jargon, such as the production and properties section, should be written.

I have clarified a few. Since this is not a FAC, unless you have specific examples, I don't quite understand your opposition. Nergaal (talk) 01:02, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

If you feel this review is in error, you can ask for it to be reassesed. Otherwise, once these alternations have been made, the article can be re-nominated for good article status. Please feel free to contact me here or on my talk page if you have any problems, and good luck! Million_Moments (talk) 18:10, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Niobium/GA2. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Hi! I will be reviewing this article for GA status, and should have the full review up soon. Dana boomer (talk) 17:28, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

GA review (see here for criteria)
  1. It is reasonably well written.
    a (prose): b (MoS):
    • At the bottom of the references section there is a bulleted link to the Los Alamos Nat'l Laboratory Niobium site. Is this actually used as a reference? If so, please put it in line, if not, drop it down to the external links section.
  2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.
    a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):
    • Deadlinked references:
    • Current ref 19 (A New Metallic Compound) deadlinks
    • Done changed url.--Stone (talk) 20:51, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • #34 (Development and Production of High Strength Pipeline Steels)
    • Done changed url.--Stone (talk) 20:26, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • #39 (A Success Story) (now #40)
    • Done changed url.--Stone (talk) 20:26, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • This still gives me a link to a page of undecipherable gibberish characters. The DOI link works fine - it's the link in the title I'm having issues with.
    • References needed:
    • A reference is needed for the end of the first paragraph and all of the second paragraph of the Occurrence section
    • Done for second paragraph added ref.--Stone (talk) 10:05, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
    • Already done for the first paragraph.--Stone (talk) 13:16, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
    • The last equation in the Production section
    • It basically derived from ref 27 and ref 28 which explain the reaction in the following sentence.--Stone (talk) 20:56, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • The last sentences of the second and third paragraphs of the Other uses section
    • Already done 3 refs have been added.--Stone (talk) 13:20, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
    • Other reference issues:
    • Current refs 1 and 2 (WebElements) go to what is apparently a homepage, rather than to pages with these titles.
    • Current ref 3 (Bernath) goes to a PDF journal article with a different title.
    • Done (changed to real title in the journal) --Stone (talk) 20:12, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • Book refs really should have page numbers, if possible.
    • do you have specific ones in mind besides #4? Nergaal (talk) 15:51, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
    • Errr...all of them? #5, 6, and 8 definitely, and any others I may have missed in the quick scan I just did. Basically, all books should include page numbers, and at the moment none of them do. Dana boomer (talk) 15:57, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
    • References that are not in English (for example #10) should be marked as such.
    • Done language German --Stone (talk) 20:12, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • Please check through all of your references to see if any others that are not in English need to be marked. For example, 41 and 42 (Austrian Mint) are not in English.
    • done with all. Nergaal (talk) 15:44, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
    • Reference #10 (Kouptsidis) needs publisher information.
    • Done added publisher --Stone (talk) 20:12, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • This has been brought up during a previous FAC. Nevertheless, the guy presents his references and as much as I've checked them up, they always seemed to backup his statements. I believe that as long as the referenced statements here are not controversial, this site should be ok, especially for a GA. Nergaal (talk) 15:33, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
    • Works for me, I guess. However, as with the other source I questioned, please replace this source if you happen to come upon a more reliable one. Dana boomer (talk) 15:51, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
    • Refs 35 and 37 (Bhadeshia and Hebda) need access dates, and please spell out the publisher name for 37.
    • Done changed assessdate to accessdate and it showed up and changed CBMMto Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração--Stone (talk) 20:26, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • Please capitalize the publisher names of refs 40 and 41 (Austrian Mint).
    • Done now Austrian Mint--Stone (talk) 20:26, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • It's the only one I could find.--Stone (talk) 20:26, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
    • I guess this is fine for now, but if at any point you find a more reliable source for this information, please replace it.
    • Please decide to list authors either by last name or first name, and stick with it through all of the references.
  3. It is broad in its coverage.
    a (major aspects): b (focused):
  4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.
    Fair representation without bias:
  5. It is stable.
    No edit wars etc.:
  6. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.
    a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
  7. Overall:
    Pass/Fail:

This article needs quite a bit of work on its references before it can be promoted to GA status. I have held off evaluating the prose until I see that work is being completed. For the moment, I am putting the article on hold for seven days to allow the editors time to address my concerns. If you have any questions, please drop me a note here on the review page or on my talk page. Dana boomer (talk) 17:59, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

Everything looks good with the references, and I've done a check of the prose that resulted in some minor copyedits but no major questions. Very nice job, and so I am promoting this article to GA status. Dana boomer (talk) 15:51, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
Congratulations guys, job well done!!! Miguel.mateo (talk) 23:03, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

Reference

doi:10.1179/095066003225008833--Stone (talk) 07:55, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

Incendiary

Unless it's what was kicked over by Mrs. O'Leary's cow, I've never heard of an "incendiary" lamp. Incandescent lamp or incandescent arc lamp seems more plausible. I don't have access to the cited source, so I can't check it. Otherwise, the article looks good.

J G Campbell (talk) 08:15, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Points for FAC

  • columbite ore that was sent to England in the 1750s by a John Winthrop. That "a" sounds a bit vague for a WP article! Judging by the date this could well be John Winthrop (1714–1779). If so, please drop the "a" & link.
    Some sources make him governor, but other sources are more carfull. For me this looks like it is not 100% sure.(stone)
    Perhaps this would be worthy of a footnote, to point out that were not excluding John Winthrop (1714–1779), but that sources are uncertain. Physchim62 (talk) 20:55, 26 November 2008 (UTC)
  • I've done a sex-change on Pelops> the son of Tantalus.
    Good!(stone)
  • Also some general c/editing of the History section.
    Thanks!--Stone (talk) 19:17, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

All in all, looks a pretty professional article. --NigelG (or Ndsg) | Talk 19:10, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Columbia

I need a good sentence to the facts:

where the name columbium came from and
done. n
why coltan has its name from columbite tantalite mix mineral.--Stone (talk) 20:30, 27 November 2008 (UTC)
http://www.tanb.org/coltan.html . n


proposed addition to lead per FAC comment that discoverers should be mentioned in lead

I added the following to the lead, meaning it as a suggestion only, since an FAC comment said the discoverers should be mentioned in the lead. However, I reverted it as SandyGeorgia complained. I will add it here, in case, there are parts you may want to use or reword:

Niobium /nˈbiəm/ (Greek mythology: Niobe, daughter of Tantalus), or columbium /kəˈlʌmbiəm/, is a chemical element that has the symbol Nb and atomic number 41. A rare, soft, gray, ductile transition metal, niobium is found in the minerals pyrochlore (the main source for niobium) and columbite. Niobium is similar to tantalum, and the two are difficult to distinguish. This similarity has lead to confusion over the years during process of its recognition and naming. Niobium was first discovered in columbite in 1801, by the English chemist Charles Hatchett who initially named it columbium; that mineral has since been renamed niobite. In 1846, the German chemist Heinrich Rose distinguished that niobium and tantalum were separate elements. The difference between the two was unequivocally demonstrated in 1864. However,it was not until the early 20th century that niobium was first used commercially. Now niobium is used almost exclusively to give strength to high-grade structural steels.

Regards, —Mattisse (Talk) 18:49, 27 November 2008 (UTC)


I would like to keep the discoverer and the renamer in the lead!--Stone (talk) 20:30, 27 November 2008 (UTC)
O.K. I will move it back; but feel free to revert! —Mattisse (Talk) 18:58, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

Spelling

I noticed "aluminum" in the article, so per Wikipedia:WikiProject Chemicals/Style guidelines#Element_names I changed it to "aluminium". Given this, I checked and also found that both "color" and "colour" existed in the article; I changed all instances of "color" to "colour" given that both existed in the article and Commonwealth English is more conducive to the "aluminium" used because of the aforementioned guideline. Does anyone have a problem with these changes? {{Nihiltres|talk|log}} 20:41, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

I did not start the article and I learned the Commonwealth English, but as a non native speaker I would suggest go for a over all uniform spelling! Thanks! The aluminium if it was from me was for sure a typo! I do not like to take away a i from a element which needs it! Iodne Palladum Helum and the others thank you!--Stone (talk) 21:15, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
The spelling of aluminium or sulfur for that matter should never be used to justify going with one or the other variety of English b/c those are the accepted spellings by IUPAC and therefore what we have standardized on here. It it therefore fine to use aluminium in an element article that is otherwise in American English and conversely it is fine to use sulfur in an element article that is otherwise in British English. With those exceptions in mind, the only thing that matters is usage by the first author of an article. Looking at the history of this article, the first version doesn't seem to help. Then there is the edit I made that merged the text of Columbium into this article. Of course, that was in American English. But then there are a number of other edits that adds new next and edits the old; those are in British English. Those edits changed the spelling of the text there before in contradiction to policy. I then de-stubbed this article, using American English. The situation has been mixed from that edit to the most-recent standardization to CE. --mav (talk) 03:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
As long as it's consistent… anyway, I know about the IUPAC spellings: I figured that, given an arbitrary decision, it would be preferable to not have to use the exception (by having the rest of the text match). :) {{Nihiltres|talk|log}} 03:44, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
As far as I am aware, most if not all the wp:elem FA's are written in the American English. Consistency? Nergaal (talk) 05:59, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
The Consistency is only for each article, what I know from the guidelines. And to change everything back would be a lot of work in the middle of a FAC.--Stone (talk) 06:04, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

isotopes

very little is available about the nucleosynthesis of niobium in specific since it is not a nuclearly interesting element. this paper might be interesting enough though. Nergaal (talk) 04:18, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

  • or:
Quantitative technetium and niobium abundances in heavy-element stars. Smith, Verne V.; Wallerstein, George. Astron. Dep., Univ. Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Astrophysical Journal (1983), 273(2, Pt. 1), 742-8. CODEN: ASJOAB ISSN: 0004-637X. Journal written in English. CAN 99:203114 AN 1983:603114 CAPLUS
  • Nuclear synthesis Jaschek, Carlos (1995). "Niobium". The Behavior of Chemical Elements in Stars. Cambridge University Press. pp. 123–125. ISBN 9780521411363.
  • Geologic abundance J.-I. Bodinier, C. Merlet, R.M. Bedini, F. Simien, M. Remaidi and C.J. Garrido (1996). "Distribution of niobium, tantalum, and other highly incompatible trace elements in the lithospheric mantle: The spinel paradox". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 60 (3): 545–550. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(95)00431-9.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

--Stone (talk) 10:12, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

Unbalanced reaction

2H2[NbOF5] + 10NH4OH → Nb2O5↓ + 10NH4F + 3H2O is an unbalanced reaction. I'm not a professional scientist, but I think the 3 should be a 7, because that would balance the reaction. Art LaPella (talk) 01:05, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Thanks!! I changed it! --Stone (talk) 05:11, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Numismatics

The intro states Niobium is used in numismatics, which I looked up, and means coin collection. This is kind of a confusing statement. Is it used in coin collection, or is it simply used in coins?

97.113.111.238 (talk) 13:35, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Well, niobium isn't used in normal coins used to pay for things: it is only used in special issue coins which are directed at collectors. Maybe we need to rethink that sentence to make it clearer, but it's not obviously wrong so I won't change it immediately. Physchim62 (talk) 14:12, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Congrats on FA promotion

No one else seems to have congratulated those responsible for bringing this article up to FA standard—so let me be the first to do so! Congratulations & thanks for all your hard work. --NigelG (or Ndsg) | Talk 16:18, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

  • Maybe there are too many people who think that "FA-status" is worthless. I would still like to thank, on the occasion that the article has been given its worthless star by a self-selected clique, all those people who have actually worked to improve the quality of the article and to make the subject matter more accessible to Wikipedia users. Physchim62 (talk) 18:29, 16 December 2008 (UTC)
Thanks to NigelG it was some work, but it was worth it! The star is only there to have a good feeling. The people which get attracted by the FAC help a lot to improve the article. It is more a Collaboration of the Month and this is the fun, work together to get somewhere. The FAC of Acid dissociation constant made me sad and showed some critical points of the process, I understand why some professional editors go somewhere else. But enough sad feelings! Plutonium is the next element with a star in the improvment drive with the wrong title FAC.--Stone (talk) 19:38, 16 December 2008 (UTC)
I honestly believe that people (like me) thought that the article was FA already, since it was very recently promoted to GA. I did not understand why there were so many recent edits when the article was already promoted, I just did not realized that you guys were trying to push it for FA. So once again, congratulations, job well done! Miguel.mateo (talk) 03:42, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

I'd like to offer congratulations as well! Lets get the entire Periodic Table promoted to featured articles! --Pstanton (talk) 20:21, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

WTF? OMG1! Did I mess up citations or something? Weird warning message.

When making this edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Niobium&oldid=248539660


I got a warning that I was inserting new links and I shouldn't spam and blah balh.

Fine, but I didn't insert links... so what's up? Did I accidently remove some refrences or something? I tried to clean up a run on sentence that while probably gramatically correct was qutie difficult to read.

Didn't change meaning at all just tried to make things readable and fixed some grammer.

Did I mess up references in the process of editing and tweaking and schtuff and that prompted the warning? I didn't try to..

Maybe someone should take a look and make sure I didn't mess something up :/

Otherwise, what was that warning for?--24.29.234.88 (talk) 02:29, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't see any problems on this page. Probably a server malfunction, it happens occasionally…
Some websites are blacklisted by Wikipedia because they have been used for spam, and if you try to insert a link to the site, the software will stop you. Also, if you try to edit a page where there's already a link, the software will stop you until you've removed the link (the pages are only checked when they're edited). There doesn't seem to be any blacklisted links on this page, which makes me think it was just a server with indigestion! Physchim62 (talk) 02:43, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
Basically is that you are not using a personal account, so your IP can be shared by more than one person. In the history of the IP page clearly says that this warning was inserted in 11 September 2008, because of a vandalism done in a locomotive article. If this wasn't you I wouldn't pay too much attention to it. I would encourage you though to create an account to avoid situations like this in the future. Best regards, Miguel.mateo (talk) 02:52, 30 October 2008 (UTC)


Ok, thanks guys. Wanted to make sure I didn't mess something up. I'm fine with the IP account, but thanks for the suggestion :D

btw, that was me that 'vandalized' the locomotive article's talk page. I added 'engineers are kinda queer' (didn't remove anything or mess up anything else) to the article's talk page, which wasn't found to be funny by others. I was in an odd mood and I gues others didn't find that funny. Won't do it again, promise :) --24.29.234.88 (talk) 06:50, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Why don't you create an account? Miguel.mateo (talk) 07:55, 31 October 2008 (UTC)


I liked that wikipedia trusted folks to make edits with no account and figured I'd use it. But I've gone ahead and made an account as you can see. That will maybe get the dumb talk page addition I refrenced above off my wikipedia record and I can keep track of my edits. My IP only changes like twice in a year, but I figure I'll keep track of myself this way. Thanks for the suggestion and for helping me out in that edit I asked you guys to review. Still getting the hang of wikipedia and wasn't sure if I messed anything up.

Thanks again :D--Δζ (talk) 23:46, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi all, I just tried to add the link tin in the introduction (3rd or so paragraph) but recieved the message that only established users could do so. *hint²* To whom it may concern - would be fine if you could do so - I think it highly unjust that Titanium receives a link and poor old Tin doesn't... ;-) Regards --Klingon83 (talk) 22:09, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

SPT Correction

The South Pole telescope does not use Niobium-Nitride Bolometers. We use Aluminum-Titanium Bolometers mounted on a Silicon-Nitride mesh. The SQUID's which we use to read out the bolometers are indeed made of Niobium, as are the the mounting pads for the SQUID's (which provide the magnetic sheilding). There are many Niobium-Titanium wires as well.

Martin Lueker

Thank you indeed. Would it be possible to have a reference for this information? Please note that the article doe not say SPT uses Nb bolometers, it says they were tested there but are used elsewhere. Would that be correct? Materialscientist (talk) 23:55, 23 July 2010 (UTC)
SPT has never used Niobium nor Niobium Nitride bolometers for astrophysical observations. You can find more information about the SPT detectors in this paper: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009ITAS...19..517S. The detectors for the future SPT Polarimeter will have Niobium filters and transmission line structures, but the sensors themselves will be made of a Molybdenum-Copper alloy. I think that as a bolometer sensor, elemental Niobium would be rather poor due to its high critical temperature (9.8 K as opposed to 0.1-0.5 K in fielded systems) and thus would have a large amount of Johnson noise and higher thermal fluctuation noise.
As far as frequency ranges are concerned, the SPT only observes up to 220GHz, though there is talk of a 350GHz instrument in the distant future. Perhaps you meant the AST/RO telescope? They used to do THz observations from the South Pole, but then I believe they were using coherent detectors, and not bolometers.
Lastly, I don't think a discussion of Niobium Nitride bolometers belongs in an article about elemental Niobium. However there is quite a bit of interesting stuff you could write about Niobium as a useful material in other aspects of superconducting electronics, such as SQUID's and Quantum Computing applications.
Mlueker (talk) 18:13, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

Proposed revisions

I made some changes to the Nb, Ta and coltan pages back in 2006 and am only now checking them again. As the page is a far cry from the what it was five years ago and looks very professional, I would like to propose material here for discussion first before wading in with changes.


History - I consulted an 1802 paper by Hatchett to find out more about the element's history and found some interesting snippets, e.g. the name of the area where the mineral he studied is supposed to have come from: "AN ANALYSIS - OF A - MINERAL SUBSTANCE FROM NORTH AMERICA, - CONTAINING - A METAL HITHERTO UNKNOWN. - BY CHARLES HATCHETT, ESQ. -- FROM THE - PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. -- LONDON: - PRINTED BY W. BULMER AND CO. CLEVELAND-ROW, - ST. JAMES'S. - 1802. "Read before the ROYAL SOCIETY, November 26, 1801. "In the course of the last summer, when I was examining and arranging some minerals in the British Museum, I observed a small specimen of a dark-coloured heavy substance, which attracted my attention, on account of some resemblance which it had with the Siberian chromate of iron, on which at that time I was making experiments. "Upon referring to Sir HANS SLOANE's catalogue, I found that this specimen was only described as "a very heavy black stone, " with golden streaks," which proved to be yellow mica; and it appeared, that it had been sent, with various specimens of iron ore, to Sir HANS SLOANE, by Mr. WINTHROP, of Massachusets. The name of the mine, or place where it was found, is also noted in the catalogue; the writing however is scarcely legible: it appears to be an Indian name, (Nautneauge;) but I am informed by several American gentlemen, that many of the Indian names (by which certain small districts, hills, &c. were forty or fifty years ago distinguished,) are now totally forgotten, and European names have been adopted in the room of them."

I would like to add some highlights of the above text into the history description, suitably referenced.


Steel production - alloys - I find the general description a bit weak on the following counts: a) the greatest use of niobium is in structural and automotive micro-alloys containing 0.03% Nb b) gas pipelines use a higher grade micro-alloy but are secondary in volume c) the further sub-divisions of niobium alloys


Occurrence - Brazil and Canada are indeed the major producers, however I would like to list some of the minor producers. I would also like to distinguish the deposits which are being actively developed, versus other deposits which are still in the exploration stage, plus add some countries with significant deposits e.g. Gabon.


Electroceramics - Hypoallergenic - simply point out (consistent with other text in the article) that these characteristics are shared with tantalum, in order not to give the false impression that they are unique to niobium.


Obviously all text would be referenced to books and/or conference papers. Thanks for your feedback. Tanbtech (talk) 11:01, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

thanks! I will have a look after my trip home.--Stone (talk) 17:32, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Niobium in them thar.... uhhhh flatlands

Hurry Ma... grab the younguns. We gotta' be grabbing a claim and get a grubstake over yonder 'cross the holler in Elk City, Nebraska. Them city slickers done found some of that niobium stuff and we gotta' be grabbin' us some.

Sure ain't no jobs to be had and the younguns and I are mighty tired of nuthin' but road-kill possun stew fer' dinner.

And what with all the money being sent up, up forever up to those way up thar' atop the socio-economic hierarchy this may be to only way we can ever eat some of that high-falutin' store-bought food.

Excuse me while I butt in. IF there IS a real deposit there sumpthin' tells me it may have been deposited by a meteorite impact.

http://www.libertynewsonline.com/article_301_30897.php

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gadgets/huge-rare-earth-minerals-depost-springs-from-tiny-nebraska-hamlet/


Obbop (talk) 12:23, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

Niobium RARE? REALLY??

I don't know how can we trust wikipedia anymore?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.230.174.229 (talk) 20:34, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

There is no definition of "rare". The data from abundance of elements in Earth's crust puts Nb close to rare earth elements by abundance. We don't see much Nb around us, do we. Materialscientist (talk) 03:25, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Niobium crystals and 1cm3 cube.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on February 1, 2012. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2012-02-01. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page so Wikipedia doesn't look bad. :) Thanks! howcheng {chat} 23:07, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

Niobium crystals and cube
High-purity niobium crystals, with a 1 cm3 cube of anodized niobium for comparison. Niobium is a soft, grey, ductile transition metal named after Niobe from Greek mythology. Niobium is typically used in steel alloys; only a tiny amount (0.1%) is required to improve the strength of the steel.Photo: Alchemist-hp

John Winthorp

  1. The CHEMICAL CONTRIBUTIONS of CHARLES HATCHETT MARY ELVIRA WEEKS, 1938, Weeks, Jornal of Chemical Education: From Sir Hans Sloane's catalog he found that it had been sent by "Mr. Winthrop of Massachusetts" (a grandson of the first governor of Connecticut).
  2. Natures Building blocks  : Hans Sloane ... which had been sent to him by one John Winthrop, of Connecticut, early in the eighteenth century
  3. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2003.0216The donor was probably John Winthrop (1681-1747) a great-grandson of the founder of Massachusetts Bay colony. Winthrop .... gave Sir Hans Sloane ... a collection of 600 Minerals.

Is what I have.....

--Stone (talk) 21:49, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Wait a minute—this is getting more & more confusing!
  • This character is variously a grandson, a great-grandson &, in the article on John Winthrop (1714–1779), a great-great-grandson of the founder of the colony.
  • It's unlikely that John Winthrop (1681-1747) sent the specimen to England in the 1750s (per the main article)—unless it was sent from beyond the grave.
  • Since John Winthrop (1714–1779) was a professor of maths & science, & since his dates encompass the 1750s, isn't there a strong presumption that he was indeed the donor?

--NigelG (or Ndsg) | Talk 22:14, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

  • F.R.S. is short for Fellow of the Royal Society, so we can presume that the John Winthrop F.R.S. who was noted as the donor is probably also a scientist. Breadblade (talk) 23:27, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

It was 1734 not 1750s. (sorry) The journal article from 2003 says the Hans Sloane 1660 - 1753 got it before Winthorp became FRS in 1734 so ....--Stone (talk) 20:41, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

John Winthrop F.R.S. is Winthrop the Younger's (the governor's) grandson, and is, in turn, the great-grandson of the founder of the colony. As far as I know he does not have his own wikipedia article. Sources point to him being the discoverer of columbite. John Winthrop (1714-1779) is the great-great grandson of the founder of the colony. Confusing, but there is no inconsistency as far as I can tell. Breadblade (talk) 23:22, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

Refractive index of niobium glasses

Niobium is added to glass in order to attain a higher refractive index, a property of use to the optical industry in making thinner corrective glasses.

Could anyone provide source to this statement? A Google search only gives copies/mirrors of this article. Yinweichen (talk) 17:10, 11 March 2014 (UTC)

Panda Hill niobium deposit in Tanzania

Pandaite is a hydrated bariun-strontium pyrochlore found in biotite-rich contact-metamorphic rocks at the Panda Hill niobium deposit in Tanzania [8] Since 2012, Cradle Resources has started development on the Panda Hill niobium deposit in the Mbeya region in southern Tanzania. This is planned as an open pit mining ooperation. [9] and [10]


This must be shown in the future if this is worth to be mentioned in the article. --Stone (talk) 22:04, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

Kenya's deposits found in Kwale are ranked amongst the top six in the world.[11] Recently, NioCorp has considered opening a mine in Elk Creek, Nebraska to begin domestic production in the United States.[12]


Two other things which are in the far future. --Stone (talk) 18:50, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Atomic number

Hi, I'm new here. I just noticed the atomic number in the heading has four digits. It says it is 41 in the next section, a two digit number more appropriate to the periodic table. Maybe my smartphone is partly at fault somehow. It is a Moto G android. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeffreagan (talkcontribs) 05:06, 12 March 2017 (UTC)

I do not see such a heading. Could you point us to where you found it? Double sharp (talk) 16:42, 12 March 2017 (UTC)
When using a mobile phone the infobox is the heading section. But it says 41 there too. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 21:33, 12 March 2017 (UTC)

A mystery remains. A four digit Atomic Number appeared below the title in smaller font. I think the first two numerals were sixes and the last was a nine, but I can't be sure. Title may have rendered with more white space. Today all systems render correctly; Win 7, Ubuntu, and Android. It must have been a glitch on my end. No artifacts remain. Jeffreagan (talk) 16:27, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

Naming controversy

seems a little more complicated than that, since the 9th edition of the Britannica in the 1880s used Niobium but the 11th edition in the 1910s switched to Columbium. Did some Brits also prefer to use their countryman's name for the element? or is this just an accident of the edition of the Britannica copied at Wikisource? — LlywelynII 05:41, 16 January 2019 (UTC)

"Nicobium" listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Nicobium. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Steel1943 (talk) 19:38, 20 September 2019 (UTC)