cobalt

[ koh-bawlt ]

noun

1. a silver-white metallic element with a faint pinkish tinge, occurring in compounds whose silicates afford important blue coloring substances for ceramics. : Co; : 58.933; : 27; : 8.9 at 20°C.

cobalt

/ ˈkəʊbɔːlt /

noun

1. a brittle hard silvery-white element that is a ferromagnetic metal: occurs principally in cobaltite and smaltite and is widely used in alloys. The radioisotope cobalt-60 , with a half-life of 5.3 years, is used in radiotherapy and as a tracer. Symbol: Co; atomic no: 27; atomic wt: 58.93320; valency: 2 or 3; relative density: 8.9; melting pt: 1495°C; boiling pt: 2928°C

cobalt

/ kō′bôlt′ /

1. A silvery-white, hard, brittle metallic element that occurs widely in metal ores. It is used to make magnetic alloys, heat-resistant alloys, and blue pigment for ceramics and glass. Atomic number 27; atomic weight 58.9332; melting point 1,495°C; boiling point 2,900°C; specific gravity 8.9; valence 2, 3.
2. See Periodic Table

Word History and Origins

Origin of cobalt¹

1675–85; < German Kobalt, variant of Kobold kobold

Word History and Origins

Origin of cobalt¹

C17: German Kobalt, from Middle High German kobolt goblin; from the miners' belief that malicious goblins placed it in the silver ore

Example Sentences

Unless you’re in the lithium battery or paint business, you’re probably not familiar with cobalt.

From Singularity Hub 

Without cobalt, there may be little financial incentive to recycle the massive batteries used to power the cars—and that could lead to an environmental disaster.

From Quartz

Past attempts to convert carbon dioxide into fuel have relied on catalysts made of relatively expensive materials, like cobalt, and required multiple chemical processing steps.

From Science News

That means batteries that can be charged in seconds, a million times over, with no need for scarce materials such as lithium and cobalt.

From Fortune

Groundwater testing at Plants Bowen and Arkwright have revealed levels of cobalt and molybdenum, toxins linked to higher risk of liver damage and other health ailments, that exceed state groundwater protection standards.

From ProPublica

Ultimately Cobalt housed, at one point or another, nearly half of the 119 detainees identified by the report.

From The Daily Beast

Ridha al-Najjar was the first to be held at detention site Cobalt.

From The Daily Beast

Self-described 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was also kept at Cobalt after his March 2003 in Pakistan.

From The Daily Beast

In fact, four of 20 cells at Cobalt were found to have bars across the cell to allow this.

From The Daily Beast

In Aug. 2003, Muller said he believed Cobalt was merely a holding facility.

From The Daily Beast

Three are mentioned by Cennino—indigo, a cobalt, and ultramarine.

From Project Gutenberg

Our scientists say the gases of the comet in some unexplained way altered the iron in the hmoglobin of our blood to cobalt.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he did his job: he pressed a button which released two shards of fire metal in a housing of cobalt.

From Project Gutenberg

The ore of cobalt, called zaffre, is found in several parts of Europe, but chiefly in Saxony.

From Project Gutenberg

The calx of cobalt is of a deep blue colour, which, when fused, makes the blue glass called smalt.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• blue-green