Name: Anonymous 2010-04-04 23:11
#37: Rubidium, Rb. The name derives from rubidus, the Latin word for the deepest red (ruber means red). The discovery of the element involved the method of flame emission spectroscopy, and its spectrum includes two bands at the extreme red end.
One of rubidium’s few commericial uses is for devices that require a very high frequency oscillator (for very precise timing as with atomic clocks) and a relatively small size. It is a less expensive alternative to equipment using cesium (best accuracy) or hydrogen (best stability) atoms, and is sold for uses such as synchronizing of signals in computer networks and GPS (global positioning systems). Rubidium’s use in research includes radiometric dating of rocks (rubidium-strontium dating – figuring age based on ratios of rubidium and strontium isotopes) and the first Bose-Einstein condensate (an unusual state of matter).
One of rubidium’s few commericial uses is for devices that require a very high frequency oscillator (for very precise timing as with atomic clocks) and a relatively small size. It is a less expensive alternative to equipment using cesium (best accuracy) or hydrogen (best stability) atoms, and is sold for uses such as synchronizing of signals in computer networks and GPS (global positioning systems). Rubidium’s use in research includes radiometric dating of rocks (rubidium-strontium dating – figuring age based on ratios of rubidium and strontium isotopes) and the first Bose-Einstein condensate (an unusual state of matter).