rubidium Hear it!

rubidium Definition

ru·bid·ium (ro̵̅o̅ bidē əm)

noun

a soft, silvery-white, metallic chemical element, one of the alkali metals, that ignites spontaneously in air and reacts violently in water: used in photocells and in filaments of vacuum tubes: symbol, Rb; at. no., 37

Etymology: ModL: so named (1861) by Robert Wilhelm Bunsen & Gustav Robert Kirchhoff < L rubidus, red < ruber, red (from the red lines in its spectrum) + -ium

rubidium Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

atom: The arrow alongside points to a clump of cold rubidium atoms in a vacuum cell.

Browse dictionary entries near rubidium

  1. rubicund
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  3. rubescent
  4. rubeola
  5. Rubenstein, Helena
  6. Rubens
  7. Rubenesque
  8. rubellite
  9. rubella
  10. rubefaction
  1. rubied
  2. rubiginous
  3. Rubin, Robert
  4. Rubinstein
  5. rubious
  6. ruble
  7. rubric
  8. rubrical
  9. rubricate
  10. rubrician