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Thorium - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Thorium : (noun)
1: a soft silvery-white tetravalent radioactive metallic
element; isotope 232 is used as a power source in nuclear
reactors; occurs in thorite and in monazite sands [syn: Th,
atomic number 90]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Thorium : \Tho"ri*um\, n. [NL. See Thorite.] (Chem.)
A metallic element found in certain rare minerals, as
thorite, pyrochlore, monazite, etc., and isolated as an
infusible gray metallic powder which burns in the air and
forms thoria; -- formerly called also thorinum. Symbol Th.
Atomic weight 232.0.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Thorium : Symbol: Th
Atomic number: 90
Atomic weight: 232.038
Grey radioactive metallic element. Belongs to actinoids. Found in monazite sand
in Brazil, India and the US. Thorium-232 has a half-life of 1.39x10^10 years.
Can be used as a nuclear fuel for breeder reactors. Thorium-232 captures slow
neutrons and breeds uranium-233. Discovered by Jons J. Berzelius in
1829.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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