Niobium 41 Nb 92.90638	Niobium is used as wire for hair.

Properties

Symbol	Name	Atomic Number	Atomic Weight	Group Number
Nb	Niobium	41	92.90638	5

Description

Standard State: solid at 298 K
Color: Gray metallic

Discovered in 1801 by Hatchett in an ore sent to England more than a century before John Winthrop the Younger, first governor of Connecticut.  The metal was first prepared in 1864 by Blomstrand, who reduced the chloride by heating it in a hydrogen atmosphere. The element is found in niobite (columbite), niobite-tantalite, pryochlore, and euxenite.  Large deposits of niobium have been found  associated with carbonates, as a constituent of pryochlore. It is used in arc-welding rods for stabilized grades of stainless steel.   Thousands pounds of niobium have been in advance air frame systems such as were used in the Gemini space program.