Tantalum (Tantalum, Ta, in the periodic system of chemical elements 73) is a white-silver transition metal covered with a bluish oxide film, moderately shiny.
It has a relatively high melting point (3017 °C), and is comparable in plasticity to gold. It lends itself well to processing, rolled into sheets, drawn into a thin wire, capable of forming a film several nanometers thick. It belongs to good gas getters, differs in paramagnetic properties.
The areas of application of tantalum are diverse, the main three are:
• Electronics. Serves as a material for electrical capacitors used in automotive electronics, hearing aids, laptops, smartphones, video equipment, GPS receivers, glasses for various gadgets and devices.
• Chemical industry. It is used in the production of chemically resistant vessels (better than glass), pipelines and heat exchangers.
• Medical industry. Here it is a powerful competitor to titanium, causes fewer complications when implanted into the body, accelerates the development of cells, and has a very high resistance to corrosion. It is used in the manufacture of dental prostheses, implants, etc. In addition, tantalum is in demand in the nuclear industry, aircraft industry, jewelry and, of course, in metallurgy. It is used to make high-speed, superhard, corrosion-resistant alloys that can withstand high temperatures. It is used in the production of jet engines (up to 10% in the composition), as well as turbines of power plants.
