The name is derived from the Latin name for Copenhagen, 'Hafnia' where it was discovered.

Hafnium is a chemical element with the symbol Hf and atomic number 72. A lustrous, silvery gray, tetravalent transition metal, hafnium chemically resembles zirconium and is found in zirconium minerals. Its existence was predicted by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869, though hafnium was not identified until 1923, making it the penultimate stable isotope element to be discovered (rhenium was identified two years later).

Hafnium is used in filaments and electrodes. Some semiconductor fabrication processes use its oxide for integrated circuits at 45 nm and smaller feature lengths. Some superalloys used for special applications contain hafnium in combination with niobium, titanium, or tungsten.

Hafnium's large neutron capture cross-section makes it a good material for neutron absorption in control rods in nuclear power plants, but at the same time requires that it be removed from the neutron-transparent corrosion-resistant zirconium alloys used in nuclear reactors.

Physical characteristics

Hafnium is a shiny, silvery, ductile metal that is corrosion-resistant and chemically similar to zirconium (due to its having the same number of valence electrons and being in the same group). The physical properties of hafnium metal samples are markedly affected by zirconium impurities, especially the nuclear properties, as these two elements are among the most difficult to separate because of their chemical similarity.

A notable physical difference between these metals is their density, with zirconium having about one-half the density of hafnium. The most notable nuclear properties of hafnium are its high thermal neutron-capture cross-section and that the nuclei of several different hafnium isotopes readily absorb two or more neutrons apiece. In contrast with this, zirconium is practically transparent to thermal neutrons, and it is commonly used for the metal components of nuclear reactors – especially the claddings of their nuclear fuel rods.

Chemical characteristics

Hafnium reacts in air to form a protective film that inhibits further corrosion. The metal is not readily attacked by acids but can be oxidized with halogens or it can be burnt in air. Like its sister metal zirconium, finely divided hafnium can ignite spontaneously in air, producing an effect similar to that obtained in Dragon's Breath. The metal is resistant to concentrated alkalis.

The chemistry of hafnium and zirconium is so similar that the two cannot be separated on the basis of differing chemical reactions. The melting points and boiling points of the compounds and the solubility in solvents are the major differences in the chemistry of these twin elements.

Hafnium and zirconium are quite difficult to separate, and even very pure zirconium is often sold with the understanding that there is several percent of hafnium contamination, and vice versa. Since they are chemically very similar (which is why they are hard to separate) this is often not a big deal, other than in nuclear applications.

Homeopathy

Key symptoms

These patients are at the beginning of their action, and of taking on authority. But they have not yet determined how others will react to it.

A remedy for headaches and chronic fatigue.

Case History

14 year old B. is brought to see me, in a state of lethargy and fatigue. He’s an active boy, and has been the leader of this gang of friends since he was young. Headstrong and devil-may-care, he’s also mad about rugby. He’d even recently startled a team of his own, with his friends. His father was also keen on the project, so he helped him – even pushed him a little. But in the end it did not come off. B. is full of such ideas, but as soon as they look viable, he seems to lose interest.

“I get the impression, really, that I’m only half-finishing the things I undertake” he says.

It’s the same at school. His teachers admire his enthusiasm, and creativity, but too often they see projects left unfinished.

He’s also been suffering for some months from headaches, localized to the left, which attack him at the end of the day when he’s tired.

He was prescribed Hafnium

Reaction

He loses his fatigue, and seems to have become more prudent, taking on fewer and less grandiose projects.

It’s is clear that B. can lead. The fact that he starts off lots of projects without finishing them leads to Hafnium

General symptoms of Hafnium deficiency

Weakness, nervousness, fatigue.

Penetrating, contracting pains.

Swollen glands, inflamed and hard. Abscesses and necrosis.

Paralysis, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, tonic, colonic and titanic.

Cancer

Headaches. Swollen face. Trembling, aggravated by anger.

Eye problems, inflammation, troubled vision, pterygium.

Heart problems, high blood pressure, infarctus, cardiac arrest.

Pulse: too fast, too slow, strong, weak, and irregular.

Blood Congestion. Cerebral Hemorrhaging.

Testicular problems, inflamed ovaries, cancer, cryptopchism, sterility, amenorrhoea, metrorhagia.

Bone problems, necrosis, and inflammation.

Fearful of dominating, they stay at their staff’s level, which means they are only partly in authority, and lose the respect of others.

They fail because they can’t see things through to the end. Partly because they only half-manage, and partly because they are too headstrong and don’t take time to reflect.

They are close to others and seek equality. This is because they are fundamentally very sociable. They don’t want to emphasize their superior level.

They get depressed when ideas don’t work out. They like to get projects off the ground. The repeated failures can send them into deep depression, which is where Hafnium can help.

In conclusion: Hafnium is helpful for those who are leaders and inventors, very sociable, and who only manage to half realize their objectives or abilities.