Strontium definition

strŏnchē-əm, -tē-əm, -shəm
The strontium isotope with mass 90, having a half-life of 28 years, used for its high-energy beta emission in certain nuclear electric power sources and constituting a radiation hazard in fallout.
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A pale-yellow, metallic chemical element, one of the alkaline-earth metals, resembling calcium in properties and found only in combination: strontium compounds burn with a red flame and are used in fireworks: symbol, Sr; at. no. 38: a deadly radioactive isotope (strontium-90) is present in the fallout of nuclear explosions.
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A soft, silvery metallic element of the alkaline-earth group that occurs naturally only as a sulfate or carbonate. One of its isotopes is used in the radiometric dating of rocks. Because strontium salts burn with a red flame, they are used to make fireworks and signal flares. Atomic number 38; atomic weight 87.62; melting point 777°C; boiling point 1,382°C; specific gravity 2.54; valence 2.
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A radioactive isotope of strontium having a mass number of 90 and a half-life of 28 years. Strontium 90 is the most dangerous component of the fallout from nuclear explosions because it is easily absorbed by the body. It is also used in medicine to treat cancer.
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A metallic chemical element (symbol Sr) with an atomic number of 38.
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(physics) The radioactive isotope of strontium, 9038Sr, that is present in the fallout from nuclear explosions and, being chemically similar to calcium, is accumulated in the bones.
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A soft, silvery, easily oxidized metallic element that ignites spontaneously in air when finely divided. Strontium is used in pyrotechnic compounds and various alloys, and as a coating on cathode-ray tubes and related display devices to block x-ray emission. Atomic number 38; atomic weight 87.62; melting point 777°C; boiling point 1,382°C; specific gravity 2.64; valence 2.
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Origin of strontium

  • From New Latin strontia strontium oxide from English strontian strontianite

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Named in a pseudo-Latin manner for the name of the Scottish town Strontian. The place name is from Scottish Gaelic Sròn an t- Sithein, "nose of fairy hill," said to be inhabited by the mythological sídhe.

    From Wiktionary

Strontium Sentence Examples

  • The next group may contain the white calcium, barium and strontium carbonates.

  • The so-called alkaline earth-metals are the elements beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium.

  • The metals comprising this group are never found in the uncombined condition, but occur most often in the form of carbonates and sulphates; they form oxides of the type RO, and in the case of calcium, strontium and barium, of the type R02.

  • An immediate precipitate indicates barium; a precipitate on standing indicates strontium.

  • The solution free from barium is treated with ammonia and ammonium sulphate, which precipitates strontium, and the calcium in the solution may be identified by the white precipitate with ammonium oxalate.

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