Rare Earth Metals and Their Applications
In order of increasing atomic mass, the rare earth metals and some of their common applications are given below.
- Scandium: Atomic weight 21. Used to strengthen aluminum alloys.
- Yttrium: Atomic weight 39. Used in superconductors and exotic light sources.
- Lanthanum: Atomic weight 57. Used in specialty glasses and optics, electrodes and for hydrogen storage.
- Cerium: Atomic weight 58. Makes an excellent oxidizer, used in oil cracking during petroleum refining and is used for yellow color in ceramics and glass.
- Praseodymium: Atomic weight 59. Used in magnets, lasers and as green color in ceramics and glass.
- Neodymium: Atomic weight 60. Used in magnets, lasers and as purple color in ceramics and glass.
- Promethium: Atomic weight 61. Used in nuclear batteries.
- Samarium: Atomic weight 62. Used in magnets, lasers and for neutron capture.
- Europium: Atomic weight 63. Makes colored phosphors, lasers, and mercury-vapor lamps.
- Gadolinium: Atomic weight 64. Used in magnets, specialty optics, and computer memory.
- Terbium: Atomic weight 65. Used as green in ceramics and paints, and in lasers and fluorescent lamps.
- Dysprosium: Atomic weight 66. Used in magnets and lasers.
- Holmium: Atomic weight 67. Used in lasers.
- Erbium: Atomic weight 68. Used in steel alloyed with vanadium, as well as in lasers.
- Thulium: Atomic weight 69. Used in portable x-ray equipment.
- Ytterbium: Atomic weight 70. Used in infrared lasers. Also, works as a great chemical reducer.
- Lutetium: Atomic weight 71. Used in specialty glass and radiology equipment.
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