Discovery Information
|
Who: Jean de Marignac |
When: 1878 |
Where: Switzerland |
|
Name Origin
|
From Ytterby, Sweden. |
|
Sources
|
Found in minerals such as yttria, monazite, gadolinite, and xenotime. |
|
Uses
|
Used in metallurgical and chemical experiments. |
One ytterbium isotope has been used as a radiation source substitute for a portable X-ray machine when electricity was not available.
|
|
Notes
|
The chemical and physical properties of ytterbium could not be determined until 1953 when the first nearly pure ytterbium
was produced
|
Although it was thought that all ytterbium compounds were highly toxic, initial studies have shown that the danger is limited.
Ytterbium compounds are known to cause skin and eye irritations, and may also be teratogenic. Metallic ytterbium dust poses a fire and explosion hazard.
|