Definition of "hafnium" [haf•ni•um]

• A brilliant, silvery, metallic element separated from ores of zirconium and used in nuclear reactor control rods, as a getter for oxygen and nitrogen, and in the manufacture of tungsten filaments. Atomic number 72; atomic weight 178.49; melting point 2,220°C; boiling point 5,400°C; specific gravity 13.3; valence 4. See Table at element. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The name hafnium was given by its Danish discoverers, Coster and von Hevesey, and was created from the Latin name Hafnia which means Copenhagen, in honor of the capital city of Denmark."
• "Intel is building key portions of transistors in the chips from a material called hafnium instead of silicon dioxide, an industry mainstay since the 1960s."
• "And some of them have to do with my age, so that when I was 72, I got this metal, hafnium, which is element 72."