rubidium Hear it!

rubidium Definition

ru·bid·ium (ro̵̅o̅ bid′ē 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
  2. ‹ Rubicon
  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 ›