it stands for niobium which was discovered in 1801 by Charles Hatchett of Brittan. It is ussed in welding rods, air fraim systems, superconductive magnets. It gets its name from iobe, the daughter of King Tantalus of the Greek myth. Niobium was considered identical to Tantalum, named after Tantalus, until 1884. Resists corrosin due to an oxide film. It is used in aviation industry