Rare metals
tantalum and
niobium belong to the same group of elements in the periodic table, and are called "twin brothers" of metals because they are similar in physical and chemical properties and grow together in the same ore body.
Tantalum and niobium were discovered in 1801 and 1802 by the British chemist Charles hachette and the Swedish chemist eichberg. Tantalum niobium ore is the main ore of tantalum and niobium. Tantalum is silvery white and niobium looks like steel. Tantalum and niobium are high melting point metal, melting point 2996 ℃ and 2468 ℃ respectively. Tantalum and niobium are extremely chemically stable and do not fear nitric acid. Tantalum is malleable and can be stretched into wires finer than a human hair or rolled into foil thinner than paper. Both tantalum and niobium are excellent superconducting materials with compressive and abrasion resistance.
Tantalum and niobium are widely used in various fields because of their excellent properties.
