Category:Uranium

U*ra"ni*um, n. Etym: [nl., from uranus the planet. See uranus.] (chem.)

Defn: an element of the chromium group, found in certain rare Minerals, as pitchblende, uranite, etc., and reduced as a heavy, Hard, nickel-white metal which is quite permanent. Its yellow oxide Is used to impart to glass a delicate greenish-yellow tint which is Accompanied by a strong fluorescence, and its black oxide is used as A pigment in porcelain painting. Symbol u. Atomic weight 239.

Note: uranium was discovered in the state of an oxide by klaproth in 1789, and so named in honor of herschel's discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781.