Ytterbium has few uses. It can be alloyed with stainless steel to improve some of its mechanical properties and used as a doping agent in fiber optic cable where it can be used as an amplifier. One of ytterbium's isotopes is being considered as a radiation source for portable X-ray machines.

What are the main uses of ytterbium?

Uses of Ytterbium

• Ytterbium clocks are the World's most stable atomic clock. ...
• It is used as a doping agent to improve the strength, grain refinement and mechanical properties of stainless steel.
• It also acts as an industrial catalyst.
• Few alloys of Ytterbium are used in dentistry.

Is ytterbium toxic?

All compounds of ytterbium are treated as highly toxic, although studies appear to indicate that the danger is minimal. However, ytterbium compounds cause irritation to human skin and eyes, and some might be teratogenic. Metallic ytterbium dust can spontaneously combust, and the resulting fumes are hazardous.

What are 3 uses of europium?

Europium is excellent at absorbing neutrons, making it valuable in control rods for nuclear reactors. Europium-doped plastic has been used as a laser material. It is also used in making thin super-conducting alloys.

Is ytterbium magnetic?

Ytterbium is weakly paramagnetic, having the lowest magnetic susceptibility of all the rare-earth metals. The periodic table is made up of 118 elements. ... Ytterbium is among the less-abundant rare earths.

What is YTTERBIUM? What does YTTERBIUM mean? YTTERBIUM meaning, definition & explanation

16 related questions found

What happens when europium shows +2 oxidation state?

Europium is usually separated from the other rare earths by reducing it to the +2 oxidation state and precipitating it with sulfate ions.

Is ytterbium a noble gas?

The ground state electronic configuration of Neutral Ytterbium atom is [Xe] 4f14 6s2. The portion of Ytterbium configuration that is equivalent to the noble gas of the preceding period, is abbreviated as [Xe].

What is an interesting fact about ytterbium?

Ytterbium has a bright silvery luster, is soft, malleable, and quite ductile. One of the lanthanides, it is fairly stable in air but is readily attacked and dissolved by dilute and concentrated mineral acids and reacts slowly with water. Ytterbium occurs along with other rare earths in a number of rare minerals.

What does ytterbium look like?

Ytterbium is a bright, soft, silvery-white metal that is both ductile and malleable. It is a one of the rare earth metals. The metal tarnishes quickly in air and reacts slowly with water.

Is ytterbium radioactive?

Ytterbium also has ten radioactive isotopes. Ytterbium-169 is one such radioactive isotope that gives off gamma radiation similar to X rays.

What is the 70th element?

Ytterbium is a chemical element with symbol Yb and atomic number 70.

Is ytterbium flammable?

Specific Hazards Arising from the Material: Flammable in the form of dust when exposed to heat, spark or flame. May react with water under fire conditions liberating flammable hydrogen gas. May emit fumes of ytterbium oxide under fire conditions. ... Use only non-sparking tools and natural bristle brushes.

What is ytterbium element family?

Ytterbium belongs to the lanthanide family. The lanthanides make up Row 6 of the periodic table. The periodic table is a chart that shows how the chemical elements are related to each other. The lanthanides are also known as the rare earth elements.

What is the cost of ytterbium?

It is expected that the price of ytterbium oxide will reach some 69 U.S. dollars per kilogram in 2017.

What does ytterbium react with?

Chemical properties

Ytterbium tends to be more reactive than other lanthanide elements. It is usually stored in sealed containers to keep it from reacting with oxygen in the air. It also reacts slowly with water and more rapidly with acids and liquid ammonia.

Is ytterbium natural or synthetic?

It is a rare earth metal, which despite its name, does not mean that it is hard to find. Rare earth metals are really hard to separate from each other. That's why it took over 70 years to obtain a pure sample! Ytterbium has seven natural isotopes and twenty seven artificial isotopes.

What is the difference between yttrium and ytterbium?

As nouns the difference between ytterbium and yttrium

is that ytterbium is a metallic chemical element (symbol yb) with an atomic number of 70 while yttrium is a metallic chemical element (symbol y) with an atomic number of 39.

What are some compounds that are made from ytterbium?

The only ytterbium compound of historical commercial use is ytterbium oxide (Yb2O3); this is used to make alloys and special types of glass and ceramics.

Why is europium named Europe?

Europium was discovered in 1901 by French chemist Eugene-Anatole Demarcay (1852-1904). Demarcay named the element after the continent of Europe. ... This name comes from the first element in Row 6, lanthanum. Rare earth elements are not especially rare, but were originally very difficult to separate from one another.