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Rare Metals

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Pearlyn Low

Rare earth metals are a collection of 17 chemical elements that rarely exist in pure form. Three important rare earth metals are scandium, gadolinium, and ytterbium. Scandium is mainly used for research and in mercury vapor lamps. Gadolinium is used in alloys for high temperature resistance and oxidation resistance, and in gadolinium yttrium garnets for microwave applications. Ytterbium is used in stress gauges to monitor ground deformations and in alloys to improve strength. Neodymium plays an essential role in miniaturizing devices by creating powerful permanent magnets used in motors, phones, and turbines.

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Rare Earth Metals nature¡¯s little ways of helping us in our daily lives
Definition of ¡°Rare Earth Metal¡±
Definition of Rare Earth metals ¡ñ Name alludes to their elusive nature as they rarely exist in their pure form ¡ñ Collection of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table (15 lanthanides, Scandium and Yttrium) ¡ñ Scandium and Yttrium are considered rare earth elements as they tend to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibit similar chemical properties
Rare Earth Metal #1 - scandium - A silvery metal that tarnishes in air, burns easily and reacts with water - Mainly used for research purposes - Scandium Iodide is added to mercury vapour lamps to produce a highly efficient light source resembling sunlight, which is important for indoor lighting and night-time colour television screens - Also used as a tracing agent in refinery crackers for crude - Has a great potential as its¡¯ density is almost as low as aluminium, but has a much higher melting point, thus attracting the interest of spacecraft designers.
Rare Earth Metal #2 - Gadolinium ¡ñ Gadolinium is a bright, soft, silvery-white metal that is both ductile and malleable. USES: ¡ñ ¡ñ ¡ñ Gadolinium is used in alloys of iron and chromium to improve resistance to high temperatures and oxidation. Gadolinium is used to make gadolinium yttrium garnets which have microwave applications. Gadolinium compounds are used as green phosphors in color television picture tubes.
Rare Earth Metal #3 - Ytterbium ¡ñ ¡ñ ¡ñ ¡ñ ¡ñ Bright, soft, silvery-white metal that is both ductile and malleable Tarnishes quickly in air Reacts slowly with water Dissolves rapidly in mineral acids Extracted from mineral monazite by different extraction methods such as ion exchange and solvent extraction Uses of Ytterbium ¡ñ Radioactive isotope of ytterbium is used in portable x-ray machines that need no electricity ¡ñ Used in stress gauges to monitor ground deformations caused by earthquakes or underground explosions ¡ú Ytterbium¡¯s electrical resistance increases by order of magnitude under very high physical stress ¡ñ Used in alloys and added to stainless steel to improve grain refinement and strength
Rare earth metal #4 -Neodymium ? ? 1. Neodymium is a silvery-white metal. It is one of the more reactive earth metals and tarnishes in air, forming an oxide layer that falls off and exposes more metal to oxidation. -stored in light mineral oil or sealed in plastic Used with iron and boron to create powerful permanent magnets (NIB magnets). -used in motors, computer disk drives, handphones, cell phones and wind turbines. -->plays an essential role in the miniaturisation of gadgets (before, producing strong magnetic fields for motors required big and heavy magnets) 2. 3. Used as a colourant for glasses and enamels Used as a crystal in ND:YAG lasers- to treat skin cancers, for laser hair removals and to cut and weld steels.
Rare Metals
References http://www.periodni.com/rare_earth_elements.html http://www.chemicool.com/elements/gadolinium.htm http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/70/ytterbium http://www.chemicool.com/elements/ytterbium.html http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele070.html http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/news/importantrare-earth-elements#slide-4 http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1595#_Key_Properties http://www.chemicool.com/elements/neodymium.html

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Rare Metals

  • 1. Rare Earth Metals nature¡¯s little ways of helping us in our daily lives
  • 2. Definition of ¡°Rare Earth Metal¡±
  • 3. Definition of Rare Earth metals ¡ñ Name alludes to their elusive nature as they rarely exist in their pure form ¡ñ Collection of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table (15 lanthanides, Scandium and Yttrium) ¡ñ Scandium and Yttrium are considered rare earth elements as they tend to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibit similar chemical properties
  • 4. Rare Earth Metal #1 - scandium - A silvery metal that tarnishes in air, burns easily and reacts with water - Mainly used for research purposes - Scandium Iodide is added to mercury vapour lamps to produce a highly efficient light source resembling sunlight, which is important for indoor lighting and night-time colour television screens - Also used as a tracing agent in refinery crackers for crude - Has a great potential as its¡¯ density is almost as low as aluminium, but has a much higher melting point, thus attracting the interest of spacecraft designers.
  • 5. Rare Earth Metal #2 - Gadolinium ¡ñ Gadolinium is a bright, soft, silvery-white metal that is both ductile and malleable. USES: ¡ñ ¡ñ ¡ñ Gadolinium is used in alloys of iron and chromium to improve resistance to high temperatures and oxidation. Gadolinium is used to make gadolinium yttrium garnets which have microwave applications. Gadolinium compounds are used as green phosphors in color television picture tubes.
  • 6. Rare Earth Metal #3 - Ytterbium ¡ñ ¡ñ ¡ñ ¡ñ ¡ñ Bright, soft, silvery-white metal that is both ductile and malleable Tarnishes quickly in air Reacts slowly with water Dissolves rapidly in mineral acids Extracted from mineral monazite by different extraction methods such as ion exchange and solvent extraction Uses of Ytterbium ¡ñ Radioactive isotope of ytterbium is used in portable x-ray machines that need no electricity ¡ñ Used in stress gauges to monitor ground deformations caused by earthquakes or underground explosions ¡ú Ytterbium¡¯s electrical resistance increases by order of magnitude under very high physical stress ¡ñ Used in alloys and added to stainless steel to improve grain refinement and strength
  • 7. Rare earth metal #4 -Neodymium ? ? 1. Neodymium is a silvery-white metal. It is one of the more reactive earth metals and tarnishes in air, forming an oxide layer that falls off and exposes more metal to oxidation. -stored in light mineral oil or sealed in plastic Used with iron and boron to create powerful permanent magnets (NIB magnets). -used in motors, computer disk drives, handphones, cell phones and wind turbines. -->plays an essential role in the miniaturisation of gadgets (before, producing strong magnetic fields for motors required big and heavy magnets) 2. 3. Used as a colourant for glasses and enamels Used as a crystal in ND:YAG lasers- to treat skin cancers, for laser hair removals and to cut and weld steels.