Trends ofstrontium
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strontium in British English
(ˈstrɒntɪəm)
noun
a soft silvery-white element of the alkaline earth group of metals, occurring chiefly in celestite and strontianite. Its compounds burn with a crimson flame and are used in fireworks. The radioisotope strontium-90, with a half-life of 28.1 years, is used in nuclear power sources and is a hazardous nuclear fall-out product. Symbol: Sr; atomic no: 38; atomic wt: 87.62; valency: 2; relative density: 2.54; melting pt: 769°C; boiling pt: 1384°C
Word origin
C19: from New Latin, from strontianstrontium in American English
(ˈstrɑnʃəm; ˈstrɑnʃiəm; ˈstrɑntiəm)
noun
a pale-yellow, metallic chemical element, one of the alkaline-earth metals, resembling calcium in properties and found only in combination: strontium compounds burn with a red flame and are used in fireworks: symbol, Sr;at. no., 38: a deadly radioactive isotope (strontium 90) is present in the fallout of nuclear explosions
Word origin
ModL: so named (1808) by Davy, who first isolated it < strontia + -iumImage ofstrontium
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