zirconium

Lustrous, greyish-white, strong, ductile, metallic element, atomic number 40, relative atomic mass 91.22. It occurs in nature as the mineral zircon (zirconium silicate), from which it is obtained commercially. It is used in some ceramics, alloys for wire and filaments, steel manufacture, and nuclear reactors, where its low neutron absorption is advantageous.

It was isolated in 1824 by Swedish chemist Jöns Berzelius. The name was proposed by English chemist Humphry Davy in 1808.