Niobium has a low capture cross-section for thermal neutrons and is therefore quite useful in the nuclear industry. Tantalum can be used to make evaporating vessels and so on, as well as electrodes for electronic tubes, rectifiers and electrolytic capacitors. Medically it is used to make thin sheets or fine threads to mend damaged tissues. Tantalum-niobium ore is a general term for minerals containing tantalum and niobium ground. It is used for the preparation of tantalum oxide and oxidized.
C-103 is a niobium alloy containing 89 percent niobium, 10 percent hafnium and 1 percent titanium that is used in liquid rocket propulsion nozzles, such as the main engine of the Apollo lunar module. The Apollo Service Module used another niobium alloy. Because niobium begins to oxidize above 400°C, a protective coating is applied to its surface to prevent it from becoming brittle.
Sheets of niobium can be used to compensate for damage to the skull, niobium wire can be used to suture nerves and tendons, niobium strips can replace broken bones and joints, and niobium yarn, or niobium mesh made from niobium wire, can be used to compensate for muscle tissue.
Expanded Information
Tantalum has properties that give it a wide range of applications. In the preparation of a variety of inorganic acid equipment, tantalum can be used to replace stainless steel, life than stainless steel can be increased dozens of times. In addition, in the chemical, electronics, electrical and other industries, tantalum can replace the past need to be borne by the precious metal platinum task, so that the required cost is greatly reduced.
Tantalum is manufactured into capacitors equipped to military equipment. The United States has an exceptionally developed military industry and is the world's largest arms exporter. Half of the world's production of tantalum metal is used in the production of tantalum capacitors, and the U.S. Department of Defense Logistics Agency is the largest owner of tantalum metal, having at one time bought out one-third of the world's tantalum powder.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Niobium
Baidu Encyclopedia - Tantalum