Meaning of URANIUM
| Pronunciation: | | yû'reyneeum
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 WordNet Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | [n] a heavy toxic silvery-white radioactive metallic element; occurs in many isotopes; used for nuclear fuels and nuclear weapons |
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| | Synonyms: | | atomic number 92, U |
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| | See Also: | | metal, metallic element, pitchblende, uraninite, uranium 235, uranium 238 | |
| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | \U*ra"ni*um\, n. [NL., from Uranus the planet. See
{Uranus}.] (Chem.)
An element of the chromium group, found in certain rare
minerals, as pitchblende, uranite, etc., and reduced as a
heavy, hard, nickel-white metal which is quite permanent. Its
yellow oxide is used to impart to glass a delicate
greenish-yellow tint which is accompanied by a strong
fluorescence, and its black oxide is used as a pigment in
porcelain painting. Symbol U. Atomic weight 239.
Note: Uranium was discovered in the state of an oxide by
Klaproth in 1789, and so named in honor of Herschel's
discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781.
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