Dysprosium [Dy] (CAS-ID: 7429-91-6) locate me
An: 66 N: 96 Am: 162.500 (1)
Group Name: Lanthanoid
Block: f-block  Period: 6 (lanthanoid)
State: solid at 298 K
Colour: silvery white Classification: Metallic
Boiling Point: 2835K (2562'C)
Melting Point: 1685K (1412'C)
Density: 8.540g/cm3
Shell Structure diagram | Atomic Radius diagram
Isotopes | More Info
Discovery Information
Who: Paul emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
When: 1886
Where: France
Name Origin
Greek: dysprositos (hard to get at).
Sources
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).
Uses
Dysprosium is used for manufacturing compact discs, and in conjunction with vanadium and other elements is used in making laser materials.
As control-rods for nuclear reactors because it readily absorbs neutrons.
Notes
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.
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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