Definition of «cesium»

Cesium is a chemical element with symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal with a melting point of 28°C (82°F), which makes it one of the few metals that can be easily cut with a knife. Cesium was discovered in 1860 by German chemists Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff, who named it after the city of Csömör in Hungary where they first found it. It is widely used in various applications such as electronic devices, batteries, and chemical reactions due to its unique properties like high thermal conductivity, low melting point, and ability to be easily ionized.

Usage examples

  1. Cesium is a highly reactive metal that is often used in the production of atomic clocks.
  2. In the field of geology, cesium can be used as a tracer to determine the age of rocks and minerals.
  3. Cesium vapor is commonly employed in the creation of highly efficient and accurate magnetometers used in scientific research.
  4. Due to its high atomic mass, cesium can absorb and slow down neutrons, making it useful in nuclear reactors as a coolant or control rod material.
  5. Cesium-based compounds, like cesium chloride, have been investigated for potential use in cancer therapy due to their ability to target and kill cancer cells selectively.

Sentences with «cesium»

  • Conventional atomic clocks work by tuning microwaves until they are exactly the right frequency to flip the spins in a beam of cesium atoms. (sciencemag.org)
  • The large orbit of the loosely bound outer electron of cesium atoms would repel the negative charge of the helium atom — overcoming the van der Waals forces that normally help spread superfluid helium over a surface. (sciencemag.org)
  • This situation requires a more potent nutrient treatment such as Cesium Chloride, for example. (cancertutor.com)
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