Rare Metal
Rare Metals or Rare Earth Elements or Rare Earth Metals are a set of seventeen chemical elements. Rare Earth Elements, due to their geochemical properties, are typically dispersed and not often found in concentrated and economically exploitable forms. The few economically exploitable deposits are known as Rare Earth Minerals.
Scandium
Atomic Number: 21
Symbol: Sc
History: It got its name from the Greek “lanthanein”, meaning to be hidden.
Applications/Uses: High refractive index glass, flint, hydrogen storage, battery-electrodes, camera lenses, fluid catalytic cracking catalyst for oil refineries
Yttrium
Atomic Number: 39
Symbol: Y
History: It has been named after Johan Gadolin (1760–1852), to honor his investigation of rare earths.
Applications/Uses: Rare-earth magnets, high refractive index glass or garnets, lasers, X-ray tubes, computer memories, neutron capture, MRI contrast agent, NMR relaxation agent.
Lanthanum
Atomic Number:57
Symbol: La
Rarity: 0.7ppb
History: It has been named after the village of Ytterby, Sweden, where the first rare earth ore was discovered.
Applications/Uses: Yttrium-aluminium garnet (YAG) laser, yttrium vanadate (YVO4) as host for europium in TV red phosphor, YBCO high-temperature superconductors, yttrium iron garnet (YIG) microwave filters.
Samarium
Atomic Number: 62
Symbol: Sm
Rarity: 1ppb
History: It got its name from Latin Scandia (Scandinavia), where the first rare earth ore was discovered.
Applications/Uses: Light aluminium-scandium alloy for aerospace components, additive in Mercury-vapor lamps.
Europium
Atomic Number:63
Symbol: Eu
History: It has been named after Stockholm (in Latin, “Holmia”), native city of one of its discoverers.
Applications/Uses: Lasers.
Gadolinium
Atomic Number:64
Symbol: Gd
History: It has been named after the continent of Europe.
Applications/Uses: Red and blue phosphors, lasers, mercury-vapor lamps, NMR relaxation agent.
Terbium
Atomic Number:65
Symbol: Tb
History: It has been named after Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets, who discovered the rare earth ore samarskite.
Applications/Uses: Rare-earth magnets, lasers, neutron capture, masers.
Dysprosium
Atomic Number:66
Symbol: Dy
History: It has been named after the village of Ytterby, Sweden.
Applications/Uses: Green phosphors, lasers, fluorescent lamps.
Holmium
Atomic Number:67
Symbol: Ho
History: It got its name from the Greek “dysprositos”, meaning hard to get.
Applications/Uses: Rare-earth magnets, lasers.
Erbium
Atomic Number:68
Symbol: Er
History: It has been named after the mythological northern land of Thule.
Applications/Uses: Portable X-ray machines.
Thulium
Atomic Number:89
Symbol: Tm
History: It has been named after the village of Ytterby, Sweden.
Applications/Uses: Lasers, vanadium steel.
Ytterbium
Atomic Number:70
Symbol: Yb
History: It has been named after the village of Ytterby, Sweden.
Applications/Uses: Infrared lasers, chemical reducing agent.
Lutetium
Atomic Number:71
Symbol: Lu
History: It has been named after Lutetia, the city which later became Paris.
Applications/Uses: PET Scan detectors, high refractive index glass.
Sujanil Metals was discovered an named by a British Scientists, Smithson Tennant. About 1800 he began an extended association with W.H Wollaston in London for the purpose of improving the technology of the fabrication of platinum.