chromium

chromium (krō`mēəm) [Gr.,=color], metallic chemical element; symbol Cr; at. no. 24; at. wt. 51.996; m.p. about 1,857°C;; b.p. 2,672°C;; sp. gr. about 7.2 at 20°C;; valence +2, +3, +6. Chromium is a silver-gray, lustrous, brittle, hard metal that can be highly polished. It is found in Group 6 of the periodic table. It does not tarnish in air, but burns when heated, forming the green chromic oxide. When combined with oxygen, besides yielding chromic oxide, which is used as a pigment, it forms chromic anhydride (the red trioxide and anhydride of chromic acid). With other metallic elements, e.g., lead and potassium, together with oxygen, it forms the chromates and dichromates. These compounds are salts of chromic acid and are used as pigments in paints, in dyeing, and in the tanning of leather. Chrome yellow, a pigment, consists largely of lead chromate. Other chrome colors are black, red, orange, and green. In the chrome process for tanning leather, a dichromate is used, and chromium hydroxide, a basic compound of chromium, hydrogen, and oxygen, is precipitated and held in the leather. The hydroxide is used also as a mordant in dyeing cloth. A mixture of potassium dichromate and sulfuric acid is used as a powerful agent for cleaning laboratory glassware. Chromium is a comparatively rare element, never occurring by itself in nature but always in compounds. Its chief source is the mineral chromite, which is composed of iron, chromium, and oxygen and is found principally in the nations of the former Soviet Union, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Turkey, and the Philippines. The element, in the form of chromic oxide, gives the greenish tint to the emerald and the aquamarine. Metallic chromium is prepared by reduction of the oxide by aluminum or by carbon. It is used in plating other metals because of its hardness and nontarnishing properties. In alloys with other metals it contributes hardness, strength, and heat resistance. Its most important use is in the steel industry, where it is a constituent of several alloy steels, e.g., chromium steel or chrome steel. Stainless steel contains from 11% to 18% chromium. An alloy of nickel and chromium, often called Nichrome, is widely used as a heating element in electric toasters, coffeepots, and other appliances. Stellite is an extremely hard alloy of cobalt, chromium, and tungsten, with small amounts of iron, silicon, and carbon; it is used in metal cutting tools and for wear-resistant surfaces. A similar alloy, with molybdenum instead of tungsten, is used in surgical tools since it does not react with body fluids. Chromium was discovered in 1797 by L. N. Vauquelin.

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chromium

Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Cr, atomic number 24. A hard, steel-gray metal that takes a high polish, it is used in alloys (e.g., ferrochromium, steel, stainless steel) to increase strength and corrosion resistance. It usually has valence 2, 3, or 6 and always occurs combined with other elements, especially oxygen; chromite is its only commercial source. Various coloured gemstones (e.g., ruby, emerald, serpentine) owe their colour to chromium. Sodium chromate and dichromate are used in leather tanning, in metal surface treatment, and as catalysts. Chromium trioxide is used in chrome plating and as a colorant for ceramics. Chromium oxide, lead chromate, and various other chromium compounds are used as pigments. Chromium dioxide, strongly magnetic, is used in recording tapes and as a catalyst.

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Chromium

An open source Web browser for Windows, Mac and Linux that separates processing of the Web page into two modules, each running in their own protection domain for added security. The rendering engine, which is the most complex module, displays and executes the Web page and deals with untrusted content. It runs in a sandbox that prevents certain system calls to be executed from the Web page.

Via interprocess communications, it interfaces with the browser kernel, which interacts with the operating system. If one Web application crashes, Chromium is able to cancel that operation without bringing down the entire browser and possibly the operating system. Google's Chrome browser is based on Chromium. For more information, visit http://dev.chromium.org. See Google Chrome.

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chromium

a hard grey metallic element that takes a high polish, occurring principally in chromite: used in steel alloys and electroplating to increase hardness and corrosion-resistance. Symbol: Cr; atomic no.: 24; atomic wt.: 51.9961; valency: 2, 3, or 6; relative density: 7.18--7.20; melting pt.: 1863±20°C; boiling pt.: 2672°C

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chromium [′krō·mē·əm]

(chemistry)

A metallic chemical element, symbol Cr, atomic number 24, atomic weight 51.996.

(metallurgy)

A blue-white, hard, brittle metal used in chrome plating, in chromizing, and in many alloys.