COBALT encyclopedia topics

COBALT - 6 reference results

cobalt bomb: see hydrogen bomb.

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cobalt

cobalt, metallic chemical element; symbol Co; at. no. 27; at. wt. 58.9332; m.p. 1,495°C;; b.p. about 2,870°C;; sp. gr. 8.9 at 20°C;; valence +2 or +3. Cobalt is a silver-white, lustrous, hard, brittle metal. It is a member of Group 9 of the periodic table. Like iron, it can be magnetized. It is similar to iron and nickel in its physical properties. The element is active chemically, forming many compounds, e.g., the series of cobaltous and cobaltic salts and the complex cobalt ammines derived from cobaltic salts and ammonia. Cobalt yellow, green, and blue are pigments of high quality that contain cobalt; another blue pigment, smalt, is made by powdering a fused mixture of cobalt oxide, potassium carbonate, and sand; these pigments are often used for coloring glass and ceramics. Cobalt chloride, used as an invisible ink, is almost colorless in dilute solution when applied to paper. Upon heating it undergoes dehydration and turns blue, becoming colorless again when the heat is removed and water is taken up. The element rarely occurs uncombined in nature but is often found in meteoric metal. It is a constituent of the minerals cobaltite and smaltite and of other ores, usually in association with other metals. Pure cobalt metal is prepared by reduction of its compounds by aluminum (the Goldschmidt process), by carbon, or by hydrogen. It is a component of several alloys, including the high-speed steels carboloy and stellite, from which very hard cutting tools are made. It is a component of some stainless steels, and of high-temperature alloys for use in jet engines. Alnico, an alloy of cobalt, aluminum, nickel, and other metals, is used to make high-strength, permanent magnets. As an element in the diet of sheep, cobalt prevents a disease called swayback and improves the quality of the wool. A radioactive isotope, cobalt-60 (with gamma ray emission 25 times that of radium), is prepared by neutron bombardment. It is used for cancer therapy and in industry for detecting flaws in metal parts. See hydrogen bomb. Cobalt was discovered in 1735 by Georg Brandt, a Swedish chemist.

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Periodic Table of the Elements: Cobalt

Atomic Number:	Atomic Number: 27
Atomic Symbol:	Atomic Symbol: Co
	Name of Element: Cobalt
Atomic Weight:	Atomic Weight: 58.9332
Electron Configuration:	Electron Configuration: 2 · 8 · 15 · 2

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Cobalt

Cobalt, town (1991 pop. 1,470), E Ont., Canada, NE of Sudbury, near Lake Timiskaming. Once a center for cobalt and silver mining, the area is now economically depressed. The town has a mining museum and an annual Miner's Festival.

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

cobalt

Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Co, atomic number 27. Widely dispersed in small amounts in many minerals and ores, this magnetic, silvery white metal with a faint bluish tinge is used mostly for special alloys (e.g., alnico, tool steel) with exacting applications. At valence 2 or 3 it forms numerous coordination complexes. One is vitamin B₁₂ (cyanocobalamin; see vitamin B complex). Cobalt and its compounds are used in electroplating and colouring ceramics and glass and as lamp filaments, catalysts, a trace element in fertilizers, and paint and varnish driers. The pigment cobalt blue has a variable composition, roughly that of cobalt oxide plus alumina. A radioactive isotope of cobalt emits penetrating gamma rays that are used in radiation therapy.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

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