^ £6 TANTALUM. It is faintly translucent on the thinnest edges, and the« it appears blackish green. It scratches glass, and affords very few sparks with steel. It is brittle. It is difficultly frangible. , When pure, it does not appear to affect the magnet. Specific gravity, 4.2230, Gtyer. 4.0280, Gadolin. 4.2370, Klaproth. 4.0497, Ha up. Chemical Characters. It intumesces very much before the blowpipe, and at length melts into an imperfect slag, which is magnetical. It loses its colour in nitric acid, and gelatinises. Y ttria, 59.75 Silica, 21.25 Oxide of Iron, 17.50 Glucina, Alumina, 0.50 Lime, Ox.de of man ganese, Water or ot^ier volatile mat ters, 0.50 Constituent Parts. 3.5.0 25.5 25.0 2.0 2.0 55.5 23.0 10.5 4.5 99.50 Klaproth, Beit, b. iii. s. 0.5. 60.0 22.0 16 5 a trace. 10.5 0.5 05 100 ioo 99 Vauquelin, Klee berg, Klaproth, Ann. d. K. Vet. Beit. Oh. xxxvi. Acad. n. b. v. P- 143. II. 1802. s. 175. s. 76. • Geognostic