Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Cobalt |
CobaltNoun1. A hard ferromagnetic silver-white bivalent or trivalent metallic element; a trace element in plant and animal nutrition. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "cobalt" was first used: 1683. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Chemistry | Chemical element:atomic number 27. Source: European Union. (references) |
Health | A trace element that is a component of vitamin B12. It has the atomic symbol Co, atomic number 27, and atomic weight 58.93. It is used in nuclear weapons, alloys, and pigments. Deficiency in animals leads to anemia; its excess in humans can lead to erythrocytosis. (references) |
Literature | Cobalt From the German Kobold (a gnome). The demon of mines. This metal was so called by miners, because it was long thought to be useless and troublesome. It was consequently attributed to the ill offices of the mine demon. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Mining | A tough, lustrous, nickel-white or silvery-gray, metallic element. Symbol, Co. Occurs in the minerals cobaltite, smaltite, and erythrite; often associated with nickel, silver, lead, copper, and iron ores, from which it is most frequently obtained as a byproduct. Its alloys have unusual magnetic strength and are used for high-speed, heavy-duty, high-temperature cutting tools, and for dies, in jet turbines and gas turbine generators. Its salts are used in porcelain, glass, pottery, tiles, and enamels to produce brilliant blue colors. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Cobalt is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Co and atomic number 27.
Iron - Cobalt - Nickel Co
Rh
Full tableGeneral Name, Symbol, Number Cobalt, Co, 27 Chemical series Transition metals Group, Period, Block 9 , 4 , d Density, Hardness 8900 kg/m3, 5.0 Appearance metallic with grey tinge Atomic Properties Atomic weight 58.933200 amu Atomic radius (calc.) 135 (152) pm Covalent radius 126 pm van der Waals radius n/a pm Electron configuration [Ar]3d3d74s2 e- 's per energy level 2, 8, 15, 2 Oxidation states (Oxide) 2,3 (amphoteric) Crystal structure hexagonal Physical Properties State of matter solid (ferromagnetic) Melting point 1768 K (2723 °F) Boiling point 3200 K (5301 °F) Molar volume 6.67 ×1010-3 m3/mol Heat of vaporization 376.5 kJ/mol Heat of fusion 16.19 kJ/mol Vapor pressure 175 Pa at 1768 K Velocity of sound 4720 m/s at 293.15 K Miscellaneous Electronegativity 1.88 (Pauling scale) Specific heat capacity 420 J/(kg*K) Electrical conductivity 17.2 106/m ohm Thermal conductivity 100 W/(m*K) 1st ionization potential 760.4 kJ/mol 2nd ionization potential 1648 kJ/mol 3rd ionization potential 3232 kJ/mol 4th ionization potential 4950 kJ/mol Most Stable Isotopes
iso NA half-life DM DE MeV DP 56Co {syn.} 77.27 days e capture 4.566 56Fe 57Co {syn.} 271.79 days e capture 0.836 57Fe 58Co {syn.} 70.86 days e capture 2.307 58Fe 59Co 100% Co is stable with 32 neutrons 60Co {syn.} 5.2714 years β- 2.824 60Ni SI units & STP are used except where noted.
Notable Characteristics
Cobalt is a hard ferromagnetic silver-white element. The Curie temperature is of 1388 K with 1.6~1.7 Bohr momentums per atom. It is frequently associated with nickel, and both are characteristic ingredients of meteoric iron. Mammals require small amounts of cobalt salts. Cobalt-60, an artificially produced radioactive isotope of cobalt, is an important radioactive tracer and cancer-treatment agent. Cobalt has a relative permeability two thirds that of iron. Metallic cobalt commonly presents a mixture of two cristallographic structures hcp and fcc with a transition temperature hcp->fcc of 722 K.
Common oxidation states of cobalt include +2, and +3, though +1 is also seen.
Applications
- Alloys, such as:
- Superalloys, for parts in gas turbine aircraft engines.
- Corrosion- and wear-resistant alloys.
- High-speed steels.
- Cemented carbides (also called hardmetals) and diamond tools.
- Magnets and magnetic recording media.
- Catalysts for the petroleum and chemical industries.
- electroplating because of its appearance, hardness, and resistance to oxidation.
- Drying agents for paints, varnishes, and inks.
- Ground coats for porcelain enamelss.
- Pigments (cobalt blue and cobalt green).
- Battery electrodes.
- Steel-belted radial tires.
- Cobalt-60 has multiple uses as a gamma ray source:
- It is used in radiotherapy.
- It is used in radiation treatment of foods for sterilization (cold pasteurization).
- It is used in industrial radiography to detect structural flaws in metal parts.
Use in Medicine
Cobalt-60 (Co-60 or 60Co) is a radioactive metal that is used in radiotherapy. It produces two gamma X-rays with energies of 1.17 MeV and 1.33 MeV. The cobalt-60 source is about 2cm in diameter and as a result produces a geometric penumbra, making the edge of the radiation field fuzzy. The metal has the unfortunate habit of producing a fine dust, causing problems with radiation protection. The Co-60 source is useful for about 5 years but even after this point is still very radioactive, and so cobalt machines have fallen from favour in the Western world where linacs are common. The first Co-60 therapy machine (the "cobalt bomb") was built and first used in Canada. In fact the first machine is on display in the Saskatoon Cancer Centre - look up when entering the lobby. The second machine is out beside the walkway into the Centre.
History
Cobalt was known in ancient times through its compounds, which would color glass a rich blue.George Brandt (1694-1768) is credited with the discovery of cobalt. The date of discovery varies depending on the source, but is between 1730 and 1737. He was able to show that cobalt was the source of the blue color in glasses, which previously had been attributed to the bismuth found with cobalt.
During the 19th century, cobalt blue was produced at the Norwegian Blaafarveværket (70-80 % of world production), lead by the Prussian industrialist Benjamin Wegner.
In 1938, John Livingood and Glenn Seaborg discovered cobalt-60.
The word cobalt comes from the German kobalt or kobold, meaning evil spirit, the metal being so called by miners, because it was poisonous and troublesome (it polluted and degraded the other mined elements, like nickel).
Biological Role
Cobalt in small amounts is essential to many living organisms, including humans. Having 0.13 to 0.30 ppm of cobalt in soils markedly improves the health of grazing animals. Cobalt is a central component of the vitamin cobalamin, or vitamin B-12.
Occurrence
Cobalt is not found as a free metal and is generally found in the form of ores. Cobalt is usually not mined alone, and tends to be produced as a by-product of nickel and copper mining activities. The main ores of cobalt are cobaltite, erythrite, glaucodot, and skutterudite. The world’s major producers of cobalt are mainland China, Zambia, Russia and Australia.
Compounds
Due to the various oxidation states, there is an abundant number of compounds. Oxides are both antiferromagnetic at low temperature] CoO (Neel temperature: 291 K) and Co3O4 (Neel temperature: 40 K).
Isotopes
Naturally occurring cobalt is composed of 1 stable isotope, 59-Co (59Co). 22 radioisotopes have been characterized with the most stable being 60-Co with a half-life of 5.2714 years, 57-Co (57Co) with a half-life of 271.79 days, and 56-Co (56Co) with a half-life of 77.27 days, and 58-Co (58Co) with a half life of 70.86 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lifes that are less than 18 hours and the majority of these have half lifes that are less than 1 second. This element also has 4 meta states, all of which have half lives less than 15 minutes.The isotopes of cobalt range in atomic weight from 50 amu (50-Co) to 73 amu (73-Co). The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, 59-Co, is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta emission. The primary decay products before 59-Co are element 26 (iron) isotopes and the primary products after are element 28 (nickel) isotopes.
Precautions
Powdered cobalt in metal form is a fire hazard. All cobalt compounds should be regarded as toxic, unless there is evidence to the contrary. Most cobalt compounds are probably not very toxic.Cobalt-60 is a powerful gamma ray emitter and exposure to 60-Co is therefore a cancer risk. Ingestion of 60-Co will lead to incorporation of some cobalt into tissues, and this incorporated cobalt is released very slowly. Cobalt 60 is a risk factor in a nuclear confrontation because neutron emissions will convert some iron into this radioactive isotope. Some nuclear weapon designs could intentionally increase the amount of Cobalt-60 dispersed as nuclear fallout - this is sometimes called a dirty bomb or cobalt bomb. The risk in the absence of a nuclear war comes from improper handling (or theft) of medical radiotheraputic units.
External Links
- WebElements.com - Cobalt
- EnvironmentalChemistry.com - Cobalt
- People affected by Cobalt 60 radiation to sue for compensation
- London celebrates 50 years of Cobalt-60 Radiotherapy
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Cobalt."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Cobalt is a village located in Madison County, Missouri. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 189.Geography
Cobalt is located at 37°32'44" North, 90°17'19" West (37.545564, -90.288726)1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²). 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 189 people, 79 households, and 54 families residing in the village. The population density is 486.5/km² (1,300.8/mi²). There are 89 housing units at an average density of 229.1/km² (612.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 100.00% White, 0.00% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 0.00% from two or more races. 0.00% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 79 households out of which 27.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% are married couples living together, 13.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% are non-families. 24.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.39 and the average family size is 2.91. In the village the population is spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.3 males. The median income for a household in the village is $20,962, and the median income for a family is $21,923. Males have a median income of $19,792 versus $12,500 for females. The per capita income for the village is $9,361. 8.4% of the population and 1.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 0.0% are under the age of 18 and 7.1% are 65 or older.Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Cobalt, Missouri."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| Co | English | Cobalt | Chemistry |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonym: CobaltSynonym: atomic number 27 (n). (additional references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Is the atomic weight of cobalt 58.9 (Ghostbusters II; writing credit: Dan Aykroyd; Harold Ramis) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Cobalt au Katanga (1956) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books |
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Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Shows photo of person receiving Cobalt 60 cancer therapy. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | Figure 22. Chemical elements that are dissolved in sea water. Major elements are sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, silicon, carbon, sulfur, oxygen, chlorine, bromine, and iodine. Minor elements are titanium, nitrogen, phosphorus , arsenic, boron, rubidium, cesium, lithium, strontium, barium, zinc, copper, silver, gold, aluminum, lead, manganese, iron, cobalt, and nickel. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |
 | Caption: Cobalt Search at Darby Mine, Open Cut in Vein No. 1, Looking East; G.H. Harris, Foreman, in Background; Canada; February, 1906; {06.050/3} (jpg). |  | Caption: "Edison Is in Town," Crowd Gathered on Street of Shelby, North Carolina, to Greet Cobalt Prospectors and to See Edison, Who Was One of the Prospectors; Shelby, NC; June 1, 1906; {06.050/6} (jpg). |
 | Caption: Edison Asleep by the Roadside During an Automobile Trip Through North Carolina in Search of Cobalt, Fred Ott, Right of Automobile; North Carolina (NC); [1906?]; {14.225/173} (jpg). |  | Caption: Surveying Trip to Canada in Search of Nickel and Cobalt, Men with Freshly-killed Deer; Sudbury, Ontario, Canada; 1901; {26.151/10} (jpg). |
 | A cancer patient receives cobalt therapy at the Tirana Cancer Institute. / WHO p. Credit: National Library of Medicine; photo by D. Henrioud.. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Cobalt server in cfm 2" by Balázs Kovács Commentary: "Our sun cobalt server in cfm." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Cobalt 60 may also be disposed of as a radioactive waste. (references) | |
In contrast to metallic cobalt, cesium is a salt, which means it can dissolve in water. (references) | ||
Cobalt is a solid metal, and even if somehow something should break, it will not spread through the environment. (references) | ||
Business | Sales of linear accelerators, gamma cameras, cobalt therapy systems, nuclear and non-nuclear diagnostic equipment, such as magnetic resonance imaging are generally limited to large medical centers specializing in radiology. (references) | |
There is a need in the public health sector for high technology equipment, such as tomographers, ophthalmologic and optical instruments, cobalt pumps (nuclear medicine), magnetic resonance chambers, X-ray apparatus, laboratory and hematology testing equipment, infusion and transfusion equipment, cancer diagnostic and therapy equipment, hemodialysis equipment, electrocardiographs, electroencephalographs, linear accelerators, equipment for heart disease, apparatus for intensive care units and dental equipment. (references) | ||
Economic History | Democratic Republic of Congo | Products--diamonds, cobalt, copper, coffee, petroleum. (references) |
Zambia | Trade (2000): Exports--$928 million: copper, cobalt, lead, and zinc. (references) | |
Zambia | Mining centers on copper and cobalt (cobalt is often found alongside copper). (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Cobalt" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 59.46% of the time. "Cobalt" is used about 111 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 59.46% | 66 | 41,290 |
| Noun (proper) | 29.73% | 33 | 60,273 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 10.81% | 12 | 101,599 |
| Total | 100.00% | 111 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name |
| USA | Cobalt Networks, Inc. |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "cobalt": cobalt 60 ♦ cobalt bloom ♦ cobalt blue ♦ cobalt bomb ♦ cobalt City ♦ Cobalt crust ♦ Cobalt glance ♦ Cobalt green ♦ Cobalt Isotopes ♦ cobalt itch ♦ cobalt ocher ♦ cobalt oxide ♦ Cobalt Radioisotopes ♦ cobalt ultramarine ♦ Cobalt yellow ♦ Glance cobalt ♦ Gray cobalt ♦ red cobalt. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "cobalt": cobalt-60, cobalt-bleomycin, cobalt-blue, cobalt-free. | |
Ending with "cobalt": platinum-cobalt. | |
Containing "cobalt": nickel-cobalt-iron. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
cobalt | 534 | cobalt club | 17 |
cobalt boat | 442 | samarium cobalt magnet | 16 |
chevrolet cobalt | 110 | samarium cobalt | 15 |
cobalt blue | 71 | sun cobalt | 13 |
chevy cobalt | 57 | cobalt boat for sale | 12 |
cobalt blue glass | 40 | cobalt gm | 12 |
cobalt raq | 38 | cobalt blue glassware | 12 |
cobalt corporation | 36 | bomb cobalt | 12 |
used cobalt boat | 33 | cobalt and qube | 12 |
cobalt cafe | 30 | 2005 chevy cobalt | 11 |
2005 chevrolet cobalt | 25 | cobalt cable | 11 |
the cobalt group | 23 | cobalt blue bottle | 11 |
cobalt 60 | 22 | cobalt glasses margarita rim | 10 |
cobalt server | 21 | cobalt raq server | 10 |
cobalt element | 19 | dedicated server cobalt | 9 |
cobalt ontario | 19 | cobalt chloride | 9 |
cobalt blue tarantula | 19 | cobalt oxide | 9 |
cobalt drill bit | 19 | orion cobalt | 9 |
cobalt corp | 18 | cobalt price | 8 |
cobalt glass | 18 | 1978 cobalt | 7 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "cobalt"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | kobalt. (various references) | |
Albanian | kobalt. (various references) | |
Arabic | فضي البياض, كوبالت عنصر. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | кобалтово синя боя, кобалт. (various references) | |
Chinese | 钴, 鈷 . (various references) | |
Czech | kobalt. (various references) | |
Danish | kobolt. (various references) | |
Dutch | kobalt. (various references) | |
Esperanto | kobalto. (various references) | |
Farsi | فلزلاجورد, کبالت . (various references) | |
Finnish | koboltti-ihottuma (cobalt itch), kobolttihoito (cobalt radiation therapy), koboltinsininen (cobalt blue), koboltin aiheuttama ihottuma (cobalt itch), koboltin aiheuttama ekseema (cobalt itch), erytriini (cobalt bloom, cobalt ocher, erythrine, erythrite, peachblossom ore, red cobalt). (various references) | |
French | cobalt. (various references) | |
German | kobalt. (various references) | |
Greek | κοβάλτιο. (various references) | |
Hungarian | kobalt. (various references) | |
Irish | cóbalt. (various references) | |
Italian | cobalto. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | コップの中の嵐 (clicking, cobalt blue, cobalt green, cognac, cohabitation, connect, Connecticut, connection, connectionism, connectionist, connectionist-model, connector, connotation, cottage, cottage cheese, drumming, Fujiyama-shaped volcano, laboriously, oven, pull, steadily, storm in a teacup, unflaggingly, untiringly). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | コバルト . (various references) | |
Manx | cobalt. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | obaltcay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | cobalto. (various references) | |
Romanian | cobalt. (various references) | |
Russian | кобальт кобальтовый, кобальт. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | kobalt. (various references) | |
Spanish | cobalto. (various references) | |
Swedish | kobolt. (various references) | |
Thai | โคบอลต์. (various references) | |
Turkish | kobalt. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | кобальт. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | cobaltum. (various references) |
| German | 100 BCE-Modern | kobold. (various references) |
| Middle High German | 1100-1500 | kobe. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "cobalt": cobaltic, cobaltine, cobaltines, cobaltite, cobaltites, cobaltous, cobalts. (additional references) | |
| |
"Cobalt" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: cabat, cealt, cobal, cobault, cobba, cobel, Cobella, cobet, cobil, cobla, Coblentz, coblet, cobolt, colbalt, colbart, Corbala, Cosalt, Ecgbald, Noblat. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "cobalt" (pronounced kō"bô'lt) |
| 4 | -b ô' l t | thunderbolt. |
| 3 | -ô' l t | asphalt, somersault. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-c-l-o-t" | |
-1 letter: bloat, octal. | |
-2 letters: alto, blat, bloc, blot, boat, bola, bolt, bota, calo, clot, coal, coat, cola, colt, loca, lota, taco, talc, tola. | |
-3 letters: abo, act, alb, alt, bal, bat, boa, bot, cab, cat, cob, col, cot, lab, lac, lat, lob, lot, oat, oca, tab, tao. | |
-4 letters: ab, al, at, ba, bo, la, lo, ta. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-c-l-o-t" | |
+1 letter: cobalts. | |
+2 letters: biotical, blackout, blacktop, bluecoat, bootlace, brocatel, cobaltic, obstacle, slotback. | |
+3 letters: albinotic, backcloth, bicoastal, blackouts, blacktops, bluecoats, bootblack, bootlaces, botanical, bracteole, brocatels, cabriolet, catabolic, cobaltine, cobaltite, cobaltous, cogitable, constable, countable, countably, covetable, locatable, metabolic, obstacles, slotbacks, touchable. | |
+4 letters: actionable, actionably, backcloths, bilocation, bioethical, blackthorn, blastocoel, blastocyst, blastodisc, bootblacks, botanicals, bracteoles, broadcloth, brocatelle, cabriolets, calibrator, catabolism, catabolite, catabolize, celebrator, clofibrate, cobaltines, cobaltites, colobomata, commutable, compatible, compatibly, computable, conglobate, constables, factorable, lubricator, noticeable, noticeably, orbiculate, outbalance, pocketable, tablecloth. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Usage Frequency 11. Names: Company Usage 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Abbreviations | 17. Acronyms 18. Derivations 19. Rhymes 20. Anagrams | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
