Answer:
Uses
Zirconium is used in a number of industrial applications because it is so resistant to corrosion. It is used in pumps and valves and the cores of nuclear reactors. Zirconium oxide is used to make laboratory crucibles and to line furnaces.
When zirconium is alloyed (mixed) with the element niobium, it becomes superconductive. This means that it is able to conduct electricity with very little loss of energy to electric resistance. Superconductivity is possible only at very low temperatures.
Another feature of zirconium is that it does not absorb neutrons (unlike hafnium, which absorbs neutrons, and is also found in zirconium deposits). This makes it useful in nuclear applications, where it is used as fuel cladding in nuclear reactors, and as a coating on nuclear fuel parts.
Zirconium is also used in everyday home products. Zirconium compounds are used in deodorants, flashbulbs, lamp filaments, and in artificial gemstones. Cubic zirconia is a hard, clear, gem-like material that is marketed as an inexpensive diamond-like gemstone. Colored cubic zirconia is sold as simulants of many different gemstones.