(Niobe, daughter of Tantalus or "Columbium" from Columbia, name for America) Discovered by Hatchett in 1801 and prepared by Blomstrand in 1864. The name was adopted by IUPAC in 1950, but a few commercial producers still refer to it as Columbium.
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shiny, white, soft, transition metal, ductile, bluish tint when exposed to air for a long time, superconductive properties
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alloys of carbon and steels for strength, pipeline construction, arc welding, superconductive magnets made with Nb-Zr alloy wire