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gallium

[ gal-ee-uhm ]

noun

, Chemistry.
  1. a rare, steel-gray, trivalent metallic element used in high-temperature thermometers because of its high boiling point (1983°C) and low melting point (30°C). : Ga; : 69.72; : 31; : 5.91 at 20°C.


gallium

/ ˈɡælɪəm /

noun

  1. a silvery metallic element that is liquid for a wide temperature range. It occurs in trace amounts in some ores and is used in high-temperature thermometers and low-melting alloys. Gallium arsenide is a semiconductor. Symbol: Ga; atomic no: 31; atomic wt: 69.723; valency: 2 or 3; relative density: 5.904; melting pt: 29.77°C; boiling pt: 2205°C
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


gallium

/ gălē-əm /

  1. A rare, silvery metallic element that is found as a trace element in coal, in bauxite, and in several minerals. It is liquid near room temperature and expands when it solidifies. It is used in thermometers and semiconductors. Atomic number 31; atomic weight 69.72; melting point 29.78°C; boiling point 2,403°C; specific gravity 5.907; valence 2, 3.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of gallium1

1870–75; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin gall ( us ) cock (translation of French coq, from Lecoq de Boisbaudran, 19th-century French chemist) + New Latin -ium -ium
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Word History and Origins

Origin of gallium1

C19: from New Latin, from Latin gallus cock, translation of French coq in the name of its discoverer, Lecoq de Boisbaudran, 19th-century French chemist
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Example Sentences

He and his colleagues initially placed flecks of diamond on shards of a silicon wafer and added droplets of molten gallium and other liquid metals, then exposed the mix to methane or other carbon-containing gases.

To achieve this, the team focused on an emerging material called iron gallium telluride.

In 1982, scientists discovered the fractional quantum Hall effect in heterostructures of gallium arsenide, where a gas of electrons confined in a two-dimensional plane is placed under high magnetic fields.

The Dortmund physicists led by Dr. Alex Greilich have now designed a special crystal made of indium gallium arsenide, in which the nuclear spins act as a reservoir for the time crystal.

To do this, the researchers replaced a traditional dot projector with a low-power laser and a flat gallium arsenide surface, significantly reducing the imaging device's size and power consumption.

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gallipotgallium arsenide