ʻO ka Tantalum kahi mea kemika me ka hōʻailona Ta a me ka helu atomika 73. Ma mua i kapa ʻia ʻo tantalium, ua loaʻa mai kona inoa mai Tantalus, he kanaka ʻino mai ka moʻolelo Helene. ʻO ka Tantalum kahi metala hoʻololi kakaʻikahi, paʻakikī, ʻulaʻula-hina, ʻālohilohi i kū i ka corrosion. He ʻāpana ia o ka hui metala refractory, i hoʻohana nui ʻia e like me nā ʻāpana liʻiliʻi i nā alloys. ʻO ka inertness kemika o ka tantalum e lilo ia i mea waiwai no nā mea hana lab a me kahi pani no ka platinum. ʻO kāna hoʻohana nui i kēia lā i nā capacitors tantalum i nā lako uila e like me nā kelepona paʻalima, nā mea pāʻani DVD, nā ʻōnaehana wikiō a me nā kamepiula. Loaʻa ka Tantalum, me ka niobium like me ke kemika, i loko o nā pūʻulu mineral tantalite, columbite a me coltan (he hui o columbite a me tantalite, ʻaʻole naʻe i ʻike ʻia he ʻano mineral kaʻawale). Manaʻo ʻia ʻo Tantalum he mea koʻikoʻi ʻenehana.

Nā waiwai kino
ʻO ka Tantalum he pōʻeleʻele (uliuli-hina), ʻoʻoleʻa, ductile, paʻakikī loa, hana maʻalahi, a me ka lawe ʻana i ka wela a me ka uila. Kaulana ʻia ka metala no kona kū kūʻē ʻana i ka ʻinoʻino e nā waikawa; ʻOiaʻiʻo, ma nā mahana ma lalo o 150 °C ʻaneʻane pale ʻia ka tantalum i ka hoʻouka ʻana e ka aqua regia maʻamau. Hiki ke hoʻoheheʻe ʻia me ka waika hydrofluoric a i ʻole nā ​​​​mea ʻawaʻawa i loaʻa i ka fluoride ion a me ka sulfur trioxide, a me ka hopena o ka potassium hydroxide. ʻOi aku ka helu hoʻoheheʻe kiʻekiʻe o Tantalum o 3017 °C (kahi paila 5458 °C) ma waena o nā mea wale nō e ka tungsten, rhenium a me ka osmium no nā metala, a me ke kalapona.

Aia ʻo Tantalum i ʻelua ʻāpana crystalline, alpha a me beta. ʻO ka māhele alpha he ductile a palupalu; Loaʻa iā ia ke kino-centered cubic structure (space group Im3m, lattice constant a = 0.33058 nm), Knoop hardness 200–400 HN a me ka uila resistivity 15–60 µΩ⋅cm. He paʻakikī a palupalu ka pae beta; he tetragonal kona symmetry aniani (hui P42/mnm, a = 1.0194 nm, c = 0.5313 nm), ʻo 1000–1300 HN ka paʻakikī Knoop a ʻoi aku ka kiʻekiʻe o ka resistivity uila ma 170-210 µΩ⋅cm. Hiki ke hoʻololi ʻia ka māhele beta i ka māhele alpha ma ka hoʻomehana ʻana i 750–775 °C. ʻO ka tantalum nui ʻaneʻane holoʻokoʻa alpha phase, a ʻo ka māhele beta ma ke ʻano he kiʻi ʻoniʻoni lahilahi i loaʻa ma ka magnetron sputtering, ka hoʻoheheʻe ʻana i ka mahu a i ʻole ka hoʻoheheʻe electrochemical mai kahi hopena paʻakai hoʻoheheʻe eutectic.