S. Venetskii
Feb 1, 1865
Citations
1
Influential Citations
17
Citations
Journal
Confederate States Medical and Surgical Journal
Abstract
Domestic Production and Use: Rubidium may occur with the cesium or lithium minerals, pollucite or lepidolite, respectively, in zoned pegmatites. There are such rubidium occurrences in Maine and South Dakota, and with some evaporite minerals in other States; however, rubidium is not mined in the United States. Rubidium concentrate is imported from Canada for processing in the United States. Overall, uses for rubidium and its compounds are limited; however, applications include DNA separation, fiber optics, inorganic chemicals, lamps, night vision devices, and as standards for atomic absorption analysis. High-purity rubidium (>98%) is used in vapor cells as a wavelength reference. Atomic clocks mainly use cesium as a frequency standard; however, rubidium may also be substituted. Rubidium-82 is used clinically as a tracer of blood flow in the heart. Rubidium-87, a natural decay product of strontium-82, which may be extracted from potassium-bearing minerals such as micas, is used for dating episodes of heating and deformation in rocks.