coronium

[ kuh-roh-nee-uhm ]

noun

, Astronomy.

1. a hypothetical element once thought to exist because certain spectral lines in the emission spectrum of the solar corona could not be identified by known elements. These lines were subsequently found to be emitted by certain highly ionized metals.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coronium¹

First recorded in 1885–90; coron(a) + -ium

Example Sentences

But Young and Harkness’s discovery was taken down in the 1930s, when scientists found out that the coronium line was actually produced by iron at extremely high temperatures.

From Science Magazine

They dubbed the new substance “coronium.”

From Science Magazine

In 1869 bright lines were found in the spectrum of the corona, one line in the green indicating the presence of an element not then known on the earth and hence called coronium.

From Project Gutenberg

One blank space, it is thought, may be filled some day by the gas coronium, which like helium has been discovered in the sun, but unlike it has not yet been detected here.

From Project Gutenberg

The name “coronium” has therefore been given to the supposed gas which forms it.

From Project Gutenberg