coronium

1 9.9

An element once thought to be in the Sun's outer layer but now known not to exist

noun
/kəˈroʊniəm/

Archaic

: coronium

The discovery of coronium was significant at the time, as it suggested the possibility of elements existing under extreme solar conditions.

Examples

The lines were even tentatively given the name of a new element: coronium.

Academic text (1991)
In the early 20th century, astronomers initially believed they had discovered a new element called coronium in the Sun's atmosphere.
A community that, perhaps, had left trees still growing in coronium-rich soil?

Fiction book (1999)
"These were elements not found in nature: scarlet coronium, purple imperex, noble copper, starsilver, among metals.

Fiction book (1999)
This stripping was the major indication that the corona was very hot (and that coronium doesn't exist).

Academic text (1991)
When they didn't recognize it from any known laboratory data, they thought they'd discovered a new, extraterrestrial element -- which, no surprise, they dubbed coronium.

Academic text (2006)
Scientists once named the spectral lines corresponding to temperatures in the solar corona coronium, thinking it was a new chemical element.

Surface Forms

coronium singular

coroniums plural

Morphology

coronium = corona (transparent) = corona + ium

Formed by 'corona' + the chemical-element suffix '-ium', so its intended meaning as an element associated with the solar corona is straightforward.

Etymology

Coronium comes from corona meaning 'crown' and the element ending -ium, as in helium. Because strange lines were seen in the Sun's outer 'crown', early scientists thought a new element lived there and called it coronium, though later they found it was not a real element.