bismuth

American  

[biz-muhth] / ˈbɪz məθ /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a brittle, grayish-white, red-tinged, metallic element used in the manufacture of fusible alloys and in medicine. Bi; 208.980; 83.

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bismuth British  

/ ˈbɪzməθəl, ˈbɪzməθ /

noun

1. a brittle pinkish-white crystalline metallic element having low thermal and electrical conductivity, which expands on cooling. It is widely used in alloys, esp low-melting alloys in fire safety devices; its compounds are used in medicines. Symbol: Bi; atomic no: 83; atomic wt: 208.98037; valency: 3 or 5; relative density: 9.747; melting pt: 271.4°C; boiling pt: 1564±5°C

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bismuth Scientific  

/ bĭz′məth /

1. A brittle, pinkish-white, crystalline metallic element that occurs in nature as a free metal and in various ores. Bismuth is the most strongly diamagnetic element and has the highest atomic number of all stable elements. It is used to make low-melting alloys for fire-safety devices. Atomic number 83; atomic weight 208.98; melting point 271.3°C; boiling point 1,560°C; specific gravity 9.747; valence 3, 5.

2. See Periodic Table

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Other Word Forms

• bismuthal adjective

Etymology

Origin of bismuth

1660–70; earlier bismutum < New Latin bisemūtum, Latinized form of German Wissmuth (now Wismut ) < ?

Example Sentences

"Our new team members bring exciting ideas to this project, and we're working on new techniques to gain further control over the shape and thickness of the grown bismuth crystals," said Chen.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

The bismuth sheets the team made are only a few nanometers thick.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

"We then made a kind of quesadilla or panini where the bismuth is the cheesy filling and the tortillas are the atomically flat surfaces," said Wu.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

As a side effect of taking bismuth, it is harmless.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 24, 2024

A metal that will melt in hot water.—Melt together eight parts of bismuth, five of lead and three of tin.

From A Select Collection of Valuable and Curious Arts and Interesting Experiments, Which are Well Explained and Warranted Genuine and may be Performed Easily, Safely, and at Little Expense. by Unknown, Various