What does rhenium mean?
Rhenium is a rare chemical element and a member of the transition metals. Its symbol is Re, and its atomic number is 75. In its pure form, it is a hard, silvery-white metal with a high melting point, making it valuable in materials designed to withstand extreme temperatures. It is used particularly in nickel-based superalloys for jet-engine and gas-turbine components, as well as in electrical contacts and industrial catalysts. Because rhenium occurs only in very small concentrations in Earth’s crust and is difficult to obtain, it is comparatively expensive and is often recovered from spent industrial materials. The element’s name comes from the Rhine River, reflecting the work of the German chemists who discovered it in the early twentieth century. Rhenium is therefore both a scientific term and a useful example of how geographical names can become embedded in the vocabulary of chemistry.
nounRhenium is a chemical element with the symbol Re and atomic number 75. It is a rare, hard, silvery-white transition metal used especially in high-temperature alloys, electrical contacts, and catalysts.
- A chemical element, symbol Re, atomic number 75, classified as a transition metal; also, the material of this element.
"The turbine blades were strengthened with a superalloy containing rhenium."
"Rhenium is added to nickel-based superalloys used in jet engines."
"The laboratory measured the rhenium content of the recovered catalyst."
The plural is uncommon; writers usually discuss amounts or samples of the element using the singular mass noun or referring to individual atoms.
"The researchers compared rheniums recovered from two different industrial catalysts."
Rhenium takes its name from the Rhine, one of Europe’s great rivers; the metal itself is among the rarest elements in Earth’s crust.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rhenium come from?
The name rhenium comes from Latin Rhenus, the Roman name for the Rhine River. It was given to the newly identified element in the early twentieth century because the German chemists who discovered it initially found it in minerals associated with the Rhine region. The element’s chemical terminology, including forms such as rhenate and rhenic, continues this association with the same root.
Related word forms
How rhenium is actually used
In technical and scientific writing, the lowercase form “rhenium” normally denotes the chemical element, while the element’s symbol is written “Re.” The word is relatively uncommon outside chemistry, metallurgy, and materials science.
Easily confused with rhenium
Rhenium is the chemical element, whereas rhenish means relating to the Rhine or its region.