strong magnetic fields. These superconducting magnets are used in magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance instruments as well as in particle accelerators. For example, the Large Hadron Collider uses 600 metric tons of superconducting strands, while the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is estimated to use 600 metric tonnes of Nb3Sn strands and 250 metric tonnes of NbTi strands. In 1992 alone, niobium-titanium wires were used to construct more than 1 billion US dollars worth of clinical magnetic resonance imaging systems.is used as a precious metal in commemorative coins, often with silver or gold. For example, Austria produced a series of silver niobium euro coins starting in 2003; the color in these coins is created by diffraction of light by a thin oxide layer produced by anodizing. In 2008, six coins are available showing a broad variety of colors in the centre of the coin: blue, green, brown, purple, violet, or yellow. Two more examples are the 2004 Austrian 25 euro 150 Years Semmering Alpine Railway commemorative coin, and the 2006 Austrian 25 euro European Satellite Navigation commemorative coin. Latvia produced a similar series of coins starting in 2004, with one following in 2007.and some niobium alloys are used in medical devices such as pacemakers, because they are physiologically inert (and thus hypoallergenic). Niobium treated with sodium hydroxide forms a porous layer that aids osseointegration. Along with titanium, tantalum, and aluminum, niobium can also be electrically heated and anodized, resulting in a wide array of colors using a process known as reactive metal anodizing which is useful in making jewelry. The fact that niobium is hypoallergenic also benefits its use in jewelry.arc-tube seals of high pressure sodium vapor lamps are made from niobium, or niobium with 1% of zirconium, because niobium has a very similar coefficient of thermal expansion to the sintered alumina arc tube ceramic, a translucent material which resists chemical attack or reduction by the hot liquid sodium and sodium vapor contained inside the operating lamp. The metal is also used in arc welding rods for some stabilized grades of stainless steel.was evaluated as a cheaper alternative to tantalum in capacitors, but tantalum capacitors are still predominant. Niobium is added to glass in order to attain a higher refractive index, a property of use to the optical industry in making thinner corrective glasses. The metal has a low capture cross-section for thermal neutrons; thus it is used in the nuclear industries.Superconducting Radio Frequency (RF) cavities used in the free electron lasers TESLA and XFEL are made from pure niobium.high sensitivity of superconducting niobium nitride bolometers make them an ideal detector for electromagnetic radiation in the THz frequency band. These detectors were tested at the Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope, the South Pole Telescope, the Receiver Lab Telescope, and a...
