# Tantalum
## 🧊 Tantalum · 3D (three.js)
<iframe src="https://wikitube-elements.netlify.app/?el=Ta&embed=1" width="100%" height="620" frameborder="0" style="border:0;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden" allowfullscreen loading="lazy" title="The Elements 3D microsim - Tantalum"></iframe>
*Tantalum in the live three.js Elements explorer — drag to orbit the atom, click any tile to compare, slide the temperature.* · [▶ open full](https://wikitube-elements.netlify.app/?el=Ta)
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!Tantalum plate.svg
*Plate 73 of 118 - animated Bohr shells, stylized per Madelung filling; engraving style per house Arcanity kit.*
## Microsim To Do
*Claimable rows, house pattern. Real Wikipedia articles only.*
- Tantalum capacitor - high-capacitance surface-mount components
- Coltan - columbite-tantalite ore mining and supply
- Conflict mineral - tantalum and responsible sourcing
- Refractory metal - tantalum oxide coatings and high-temperature uses
## Links (Wikipedia order)
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> **Official MAIN - Chemical element, Z = 73.** Part of the Elements Canon (one canonical page per element). Infobox grounded in [Wikipedia: List of chemical elements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chemical_elements), fetched 2026-07-08. Full article: [Wikipedia: Tantalum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalum).
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## Key facts (infobox)
| | |
|---|---|
| Symbol - Z | Ta - 73 |
| Group - Period - Block | 5 - 6 - d-block |
| Atomic weight (Da) | 180.95 |
| Density (g/cm3) | 16.69 |
| Melting - Boiling (K) | 3290 - 5731 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 1.5 |
| Crustal abundance (mg/kg) | 2 |
| Origin | primordial |
| Phase (STP) | solid |
| Name origin | King Tantalus; see niobium |
*Bracketed weights are the mass number of the most stable isotope; values in parentheses are predictions (per the source table).*
## Story
Tantalum was discovered in 1802 by Swedish chemist Anders Ekeberg, who named it after Tantalus, the figure from Greek mythology punished for his transgressions by being unable to reach food or water—a fitting metaphor for an element that is chemically inert and 'elusive' to dissolution [model-prior - verify]. Tantalum is closely related to niobium (Z = 41), and the two elements are always found together in nature, a pairing reflected in their mythological connection: Tantalus was the father of Niobe. Significant industrial-scale production of pure tantalum did not begin until the 1950s.
Tantalum is a dense, silvery transition metal with an exceptionally high melting point (3290 K, second only to wolfram/tungsten) and outstanding corrosion resistance [model-prior - verify]. Tantalum is used in high-temperature alloys for aerospace and military applications, and in capacitors for electronics (tantalum capacitors are ubiquitous in circuit boards, offering high capacitance in small volumes). Tantalum's oxide (Taâ‚‚Oâ‚…) is used in optical coatings and specialized refractory materials. The element has become a flash point for supply-chain ethics: the majority of tantalum ore (coltan) is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where mining has financed armed conflict, making it one of the so-called 'conflict minerals' [model-prior - verify].
Tantalum exemplifies how elemental properties tie to geopolitics: its rarity, strategic applications, and concentrated geographic supply create both technological necessity and human rights challenges that the corpus documentation seeks to illuminate.
## Corpus connections
- R.E.A.C.T.I.O.N. - the Chemistry hub
- Centers of Excellence Portal
- [[Technetium|Technetium - the element made before found]] - the canon's patron - and Technitium, the School
- Space Mining In Minnesota - transition metals and supply-chain ethics
- History of Mining in Minnesota - conflict minerals and responsible sourcing
## Vocational-Technical Semiotics
The element speaks the canon's shared signs: the periodic table cell (Ta, group 5, period 6), isotope notation, and hazard pictograms ghs where handling demands it.
## Sources
Infobox: [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chemical_elements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chemical_elements) (fetched 2026-07-08); etymology per the same table's notes. Story sources to be added at enrichment.
## Navigation
- Canon: Elements Canon index - neighbors by Z: [[Hafnium|Hafnium (72)]] - [[Tungsten|Tungsten (74)]]
- R.E.A.C.T.I.O.N. - Centers of Excellence
## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalum) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Tantalum)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parents: [[Helium]] · [[Hydrogen]] · [[Oxygen]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*