The element cesium is an element like no other. It has many characteristics that separate it from many of the other elements that most people know. Cesium also has important uses for our society and we can benefit from it a lot. Cesiums story starts way back in 1860 Heidelberg Germany, with two German chemists by the names of Robert Bunsun and Gustav Robert Kirchoff. A year before they discovered the element cesium, they developed a spectroscope. This tool allowed them to see the atomic spectra
INTRODUCTION Gadolinium is a shiny silvery white, malleable, ductile, metallic, rare earth element which is located in group 3, f-block, period 6 and classified in the series of lanthanides in the elements of periodic table and has 27 isotopes whose half-lives are known with mass numbers from 137 to 164. This element is considered a rare earth element because there is such a small amount of it, and it is not found often in its simplest form. It was discovered in 1880 by Jean Charles de Marignac where
The discovery of Ytterbium occurred over the course of a century. It begun with the mineral gadolinite which was discovered in a quarry near the town of Ytterby, Sweden. In 1843, Carl Gustaf Mosander, was able to separate gadolinite into three materials, which he named yttria, erbia and terbia (Emsley). Due to the similarities between their names and properties, scientists confused erbia and terbia and had eventually reversed their names. In 1878, Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac, a Swiss chemist
element that is usually stored in sealed containers to prevent its reacting with oxygen of the air. Ytterbium is one of the more common rare earth metals with an abundance in the Earth 's crust of about 2.7-8 parts per million. Its most common ore is monazite, which is found in beach sands in Brazil, India, and Florida. It is extracted from its ores by heating lanthanum metal with ytterbium oxide (Yb2O3): 2La + Yb2O3 2Yb + La2O3. Ytterbium was "discovered" over a period of more than 20 years by three
Fossil fuels are the predominant energy source in the modern world, mainly consisting of coal, natural gas and oil. Its extensive use can be attributed to the affordability and reliability of fossil fuels, with these factors preventing renewable energy sources like wind and solar power from surpassing its usage, and in the example of Australia, “around 86% of … electricity is generated from [fossil fuels], with renewable energy sources [making] up the remaining 14%” (Origin Energy, 2015). However
batholith. But a more potent unique record can be created by applying detrital zircon analysis to the nearby forearc and foreland basins. Metamorphic history recorded by detrital monazite. In 2011 studies were done to try and reconstruct the metamorphic history of the southern Appalachian Mountains, by using detrital monazites from a Paleozoic foreland basin strata. This record is somewhat different than that created by detrital zircons, which suggest that together they might be able to help reconstruct
Elements that are arranged on the periodic table have a major impact on our everyday lives. In fact, every element has an important use. Many elements can be found in our bodies that are responsible for life functions, others have pioneered innovation and some are used in complex medical procedures. It is interesting to realize that chemistry surrounds us everyday. Holmium is an element that has had a positive impact on the lives of many people. Holmium is the 67th element on the periodic table
The element in its natural form is a shiny, ductile, malleable, soft and silver element. The element is slow to react with water however it dissolves rapidly in acids. Gadolinium is found in an oxidized form in nature. Gadolinium is mainly found in monazite and bastnasite. The biggest gadolinium reserves are in Cina, USA, Brazil, Sri Lanka, India, and Australia. Per year about 400 tons of pure gadolinium is found worldwide. Out of all the rare earth elements, gadolinium is one of the most
a chemical element with symbol Nd and atomic number 60. It is a soft silvery metal that tarnishes in air. Neodymium was discovered in 1885 by the Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach. It is present in significant quantities in the ore minerals monazite and bastnäsite. Neodymium is not found naturally in metallic form or unmixed with other lanthanides, and it is usually refined for general use. Although neodymium is classed as a "rare earth", it is a fairly common element, no rarer than cobalt,
the earth’s crust. Moreover, since rare earths are fractionated during weathering processes, ores tend to be rich in either heavy or light rare earth elements. Rare earth elements are mined from a great variety of ores, principally bastnasite and monazite. Table 3.1 Abundance of REEs in Earth’s Crust Abundance in Earth's crust, mg/kg Atomic Number Element Evans Taylor and McLennan Wedepohl,EPA [50] [51] 21 Sc - 30 16 - - 39 Y 28 20 24 - - 57 La 18 16 30 8,4 – 1,4 33 58 Ce 46 33 60 15,8 –64,4 60
Introduction Could thorium, as a nuclear fuel, be an alternative to fossil fuels as a sustainable energy source? The world’s supply of fossil fuels is rapidly decreasing and it is imperative that new, sustainable sources of energy are utilised. Furthermore, the burning of fossil fuels releases gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. An excess of these gases in the atmosphere has a negative impact on the environment and are possible contributors