Zirconium alloys are also used in cutting tools. It is used in lock tabs and pocket clips.
Zirconium is a very strong, ductile and ductile metal. And it has high heat resistance, corrosion resistance, is a shiny silver - gray metal.
Zirconium and zirconium alloys have been used for centuries. Zirconium is similar to titanium in physical and chemical properties. But zirconium is lighter than steel and has a similar hardness to copper.
Zirconium is not a particularly rare element. It is more than twice as abundant as copper and zinc, and more than ten times as abundant as lead. The main sources of zirconium on earth are the minerals zircon and plagioclase, which are mined in the United States, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and Sri Lanka.
Zircons can be sold as jewelry. The metal also has other USES, such as making flashlights, surgical instruments, and glass for televisions.
Zirconium is also used in explosive devices because it spontaneously ignites at high temperatures.
Zirconium compounds have excellent water resistance, strength, so can be made into a good surface coating for use.
Zirconium is also used in nuclear applications because it does not absorb neutrons easily. Zirconium 95 is one of the radionuclides used in the atmospheric experiments of nuclear weapons.
Many people confuse zircon with cubic zirconia, a cheap synthetic alternative to diamonds. But these two substances are completely separate substances, and apart from the fact that they both have zirconium in their chemical structures, there is no connection between them.
