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cadmium Definition

cad·mium (kadmē əm)

noun

a silver-white, malleable, ductile, metallic chemical element occurring as a sulfide or carbonate in zinc ores: it is used in some low-melting alloys, electroplating, rechargeable batteries, etc.: highly toxic dust or fumes: symbol, Cd; at. no., 48

Etymology: ModL < L cadmia, zinc ore < Gr kadmeia(gē), Cadmean (earth) (so called because found near Thebes, home of Cadmus) + -ium: so named (1817) by F. Strohmeyer (1776-1835), Ger chemist, because frequently found assoc. with zinc

Related Forms:

  • cadmic cad′·mic (-mik) adjective
cadmium Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • contain: A small proportion of PV contains cadmium, the oxides of which are toxic in very small doses.
  • use: The amount of cadmium used is very small so the cell is not as unfriendly to the environment as We believe.
  • plate: Base metals of tensile strength above 1100 MPa should not be cadmium plated with conventional methods.
  • include: The task could be broadened to cover other heavy metals including cadmium & barium.
  • find: Over a period of 14 months we found cadmium in counterfeits to average more than five times the concentrations in genuine brands.

Preposition: in

  • food: These results will also complement previous MAFF surveys of lead and cadmium in foods.
  • battery: Although landfills are meant to be ' sealed ' the cadmium in one mobile phone battery can contaminate 600,000 liters of water.

Adjective modifier

  • heavy: In the first instance the study will be confined to the heavy metals cadmium, lead, arsenic and zinc.
  • e.g.: This also helps to reduce the amount of hazardous metals e.g. cadmium, nickel and mercury, in the waste stream.
  • Lead: Analysis Lead, cadmium, copper and zinc concentrations were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry ( ICP-MS ).
  • toxic: In portable electronics, they avoid toxic cadmium and mercury battery waste.
  • nickel: The battery was made by NIFE Batteries Ltd and was a nickel cadmium alkaline battery designed on the standard two-part principle.

Modifies a noun

  • telluride: He explained: " What silicon has done for digital cameras, cadmium telluride wafers will do for x-ray signals.
  • plating: Cadmium ion plating: The deposition of cadmium by a vacuum process to provide galvanic corrosion protection.
  • sulfide: A cadmium sulfide light sensitive resistor gives the buggy its ' eye ' .
  • zinc: The material you would be using is cadmium zinc telluride CZT which is being manufactured at Durham University.
  • battery: In practice 70 % of the portable nickel cadmium batteries market would be exempt.
  • concentration: The cadmium concentrations were generally higher than would be found in most foods.

Noun used with modifier

  • nickel: In practice 70 % of the portable nickel cadmium batteries market would be exempt.
  • metal: Exposure to the metal cadmium may be a risk.

Browse dictionary entries near cadmium

  1. cadmic
  2. Cadmean victory
  3. Cadmean
  4. Cadiz
  5. Cadillac
  6. cadi
  7. cadging
  8. cadger
  9. cadged
  10. cadge
  1. cadmium sulfide
  2. Cadmus
  3. cadre
  4. caducean
  5. caducei
  6. caduceus
  7. caducity
  8. caducous
  9. caeca
  10. caecal