Discovery Information
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Who: Paul emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran |
When: 1886 |
Where: France |
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Name Origin
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Greek: dysprositos (hard to get at). |
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Sources
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Dysprosium is never encountered as the free element. Usually found with erbium, holmium and other rare earths in some minerals (euxenite, fergusonite, gadolinite and xenotime to name a few).
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Uses
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Dysprosium is used for manufacturing compact discs, and in conjunction with vanadium and other elements is used in making laser materials.
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As control-rods for nuclear reactors because it readily absorbs neutrons. |
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Notes
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It is soft enough to be cut with a knife, and can be machined without sparking if overheating is avoided. Dysprosium's characteristics
can be greatly affected even by small amounts of impurities.
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It wasn't until the 1950s that the element was isolated in a relatively pure form. |
As with the other lanthanides, dysprosium compounds are of low to moderate toxicity, although their toxicity has not been investigated in detail. Dysprosium
does not have any known biological properties.
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