noun
pitchblende
PITCH-blend/pˈɪtʃblˌɛnd/
A dark, uranium-rich mineral ore.
The museum displays a dark sample of pitchblende behind glass.
Etymology
Pitch evokes the ore's pitch-black masses. Blende comes from “to deceive,” reportedly because ores bearing that name resembled lead but yielded none.
In context
when she observed the mineral pitchblende which primarily contains uranium - she noticed it was far more radioactive than uranium could explain.
More examples
- Miners once extracted uranium from pitchblende.
- A Geiger counter detects radiation from the pitchblende.
- This piece of pitchblende feels unusually heavy for its size.
Forms
pitchblende
Similar words
- uraninite
- Names the mineral more broadly, including well-formed crystals.