zirconium, Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Zr, atomic number 40. The metal is hard and brittle when impure, soft and ductile when highly purified. It is relatively abundant, occurring as zircon (also marketed as a natural gemstone) and baddeleyite. Highly transparent to neutrons, zirconium became important in the 1940s in nuclear energy applications such as fuel cladding. Other uses are in alloys, fireworks, and flashbulbs and as a scavenger for oxygen and other gases. Its compounds, in most of which it has valence 4, are important industrial materials. Zirconia (the oxide) is used in piezoelectric crystals (see piezoelectricity), high-frequency induction coils, coloured glazes and glasses, and heat-resistant fibres; zirconium carbonate is employed in preparations to treat the rash of poison ivy.
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