Zircon(sub-page)

I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4 Zirconium (Zr) is a grayish-white, "metallic element" (metal music) with an atomic number of 40. It naturally combines with silica and oxygen to form the mineral zircon (ZrSiO4), the primary ore of this element. Zirconium reacts with oxygen, forming a thin coating of zirconium oxide on its surface. This coating "protects the metal from further oxidation". (On our band page our headline is "preserving the metal") Zirconium is quite resistant to corrosion by acids and other chemicals, and is valued in industry for this resistant quality zircon was created from the Arabic word zargun. Zirconium is used in a number of industrial applications because it is so resistant to corrosion. It is used in pumps and valves and the cores of nuclear reactors. Zirconium oxide is used to make laboratory crucibles and to line furnaces. When zirconium is alloyed (mixed) with the element niobium, it becomes superconductive. This means that it is able to conduct electricity with very little loss of energy to electric resistance. Superconductivity is possible only at very low temperatures. Another feature of zirconium is that it does not absorb neutrons (unlike hafnium, which absorbs neutrons, and is also found in zirconium deposits). This makes it useful in nuclear applications, where it is used as fuel cladding in nuclear reactors, and as a coating on nuclear fuel parts. The new songs for our second cd will be up soon. For more info on Zircon click on the band picture to go to the main Zircon myspace page.