transition metal

English

Actinium

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Action-Actum
Actinium

The name actinium comes from the greek word aktis meaning "ray", because it generates radioactive rays and glows in the dark. It is name patron for a whole group of elements: the actinides. Because of its strong radioactivity there are only a few very special applications for it.

Osmium

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Osmo
Osmo

The name osmium is derived from the ancient Greek word osme meaning "smell". Apparently one of its oxides smells like radish. It is the element with the highest density. Belonging to the noble metals it is very unreactive. Because of its high melting point it was used in alloys with tungsten for light bulbs.

Rhenium

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Rheni
Rhenium

Rhenium was discovered in 1925 and named after the river Rhine – the home area of one of its discoverers  (Walter Noddack, Ida Tacke and Otto Berg). This very rare element is mostly used in alloys.

Rheni the monster resembles the river god Rhenus – also called "Father Rhine".

Tantalum

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Tantalos
Tantalos

This element was named after Tantalos, a character out of Greek mythology. Tantalos was a powerful king, who was punished by the gods for commiting several crimes. He was forced to stand in a lake up to his chin. But whenever he tried to drink from the water, it disappeared. Delicious fruits were hanging above him, but whenever he tried to reach for them to eat, they rose beyond his reach. This became the source of the English word tantalise.

Hafnium

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Hafnagen
Hafnium

The name of this element comes from the Latin word for Copenhagen "Hafnia", where it was discovered. There are only few very specific technical uses for hafnium.

The monster is inspired by the coat of arms of the city of Copenhagen.

Molybdenum

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Molly-B
Molybdenum

For a long time molybdenum was confused with lead ores. That’s why it got its name from the greek word for lead mólybdos. It is used for hardening steel. As a trace element it is essential for almost every organism. It can reach oxidation states up to six.

Iridium

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Iridella
Iridium

The name iridium is derived from the greek word Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, because iridium-compounds are very colourful. It is supposed to be the most corrosion-resistant element. It is used in many appliances, where persistence is important, for example in pen tips.

Technetium

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Technicus
Technetium

Technetium is the smallest radioactive element and thus a great exception among its neighbouring elements. It was the first artificially made element leading to its name: the Greek word technētós means "artificial".

Technicus the monster looks like put together from various spare parts. It wants to belong to the "good guys". But because of its radioactivity the other monsters avoid it.

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