Tantalum
Tántalo (Ta, Z=73)
- Date
- 1802 · confidence high
- Place
- Uppsala, Sweden
- Credited to
- Anders Gustaf Ekeberg
- People
- 👤 Anders Gustaf Ekeberg1767–1813
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Ekeberg found in minerals from Ytterby and Kimito an oxide unable to become saturated with acid, and named it after Tantalus; Wollaston confused it with columbium until Rose and Marignac separated them.
Confused with niobium/columbium for six decades.
What it led to
- Tantalum capacitors in portable electronics
- Surgical implants
- Light bulb filaments before tungsten
Built on
- Ytterby minerals
- Ekeberg's analysis
Made possible
- Tantalum capacitor
- Tantalum-filament light bulb