Talk:Tantalum
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Article changed over to new Wikipedia:WikiProject Elements format by maveric149. Elementbox converted 11:03, 14 July 2005 by Femto (previous revision was that of 09:59, 12 July 2005).
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[edit] Information Sources
Some of the text in this entry was rewritten from Los Alamos National Laboratory - Tantalum. Additional text was taken directly from USGS Tantalum Statistics and Information, from the Elements database 20001107 (via dict.org), Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (via dict.org) and WordNet (r) 1.7 (via dict.org). Data for the table was obtained from the sources listed on the subject page and Wikipedia:WikiProject Elements but was reformatted and converted into SI units.
[edit] Congo conflict/ tantalum
Could someone please write some notes about how this element is the cause of quite a bit of fighting in the Congo? This fighting is a huge problem for the Mountain Gorilla and Bonobo Population, which are critically endangered to begin with. It would be good to show this when people are enquiring about Tantalum. (66.43.245.109 14:45, 10 Mar 2005)
"Cellphones fuel Congo conflict" To view this article visit the following website: http://www.seeingisbelieving.ca/cell/kinshasa/ (199.2.103.241 01:52, 26 Mar 2005)
- I have expanded the already existing sentence about coltan, a little bit. I don't think, however, that this article about the element itself should contain more than one or two sentences which link to other articles with further information. Femto 14:35, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Sorry, cell phones are not fueling the conflict, the conflicting parties are a collection of very sorry specimens of humanity and seek any market they can to continue their rape and pillage sprees. Tantalum is just one in a long line of commodities that have been sold from blood drenched hands. TMLutas 18:31, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Capacitance
In case anyone wonders about my "capacitance" edit: it is not correct to say that tantalum has a higher capacitance than other substances (as the pre-edit version did). Capacitance is a property of an electronic component, not of a material; it would be like saying that titanium has a higher velocity than iron. (Sure, if you build a high-performance jet out of it, but...) I substituted what I think the author of that sentence probably meant, which is that tantalum's main electronic application is in capacitors with high capacitance.129.97.79.144 21:11, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Absolutely makes sense even without an explanation. Femto 17:48, 3 Jun 2005 (UTC)
[edit] So, is it toxic or not?
The article makes much of Tantalum's extremely low reactivity with biological substances (to the point of being used in surgical blades and implants), but then says it should be treated as toxic. Could someone with knowledge in this area resolve this inconsistency or clarify my misunderstanding?
Carbon is one of the most ubiquitous elements of life yet you still need to take standard lab precautions around it because, in certain configurations, it can promote disease (breathing in carbon dust is bad for the lungs for instance). Standard lab precautions are standard because just about anything can be dangerous in certain circumstances. TMLutas 18:34, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Bad edit
If this belongs somewhere other than the talk page, my apologies, but someone just pulled a prank here. I figured I'd just mention it instead of changing it myself, since there's a page in wikipedia for pranks and all that and I don't know the procedure behind things being sent there.
209.94.201.124 14:12, 6 November 2006 (UTC) The main point to remember when handling any chemical in the laboratory is the state in which the element is in. The use of acidic flourine compounds is well known to present an immediate health hazard due to decalcification of the bones and corrosive decomposition of the skin (see hydrogen flouride). Refining Tantalum in a laboratory by dissolving it in a water solution may lead to absorption into the skin from spilled liquid. Using a non-soluble form of this element, as with the surgical tools, decreases the chance of absorption into the body. The fact that the element was difficult to isolate in a laboratory (hence it's name) suggests that this is a very stable atom with little chance to absorb into the environment.
