Rare earth metals are irreplaceable in electronics

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The most recently discovered promethium is radioactive with a half-life of 17.7 years. Although trace amounts of it have been detected in radioactive ores, significant amounts must be artificially produced as a fission product of uranium. Its economic importance is therefore low.

The elements gadolinium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium and terbium are noteworthy. Along with iron, nickel and cobalt, they are the only elements that are ferromagnetic.

All 17 elements are briefly presented below.

1. Scandium
Scandium lights up in high-performance high-pressure mercury vapor lamps, for example in stadium lighting. Together with holmium and dysprosium, a light color can be mixed that is very close to daylight. It is also used in magnetic data storage devices and in the production of laser crystals. One percent scandium is added to high-quality aluminum bicycle frames to increase the tensile strength of the alloy. The name scandium comes from Scandinavia, where it was discovered.

2. Yttrium
Yttrium is used mainly in combination with europium and thulium in phosphors for fluorescent lamps and cathode ray tubes. It is also used in lambda sensors, superconductors and spark plugs. In alloys with cobalt it serves as a permanent magnet. Like ytterbium, terbium and erbium, it is named after the place where it was discovered, Ytterby in Sweden.

3. Lanthan
Lanthanum is needed to make glasses with a high refractive index, such as those used in camera or telescope lenses and spectacle lenses. It is also used in cathodes for fuel cells. Lanthanum nickel is used as a hydrogen belgium consumer email list storage medium in nickel-metal hydride accumulators. It also replaces toxic lead compounds in crystal glass and porcelain glazes. The name is derived from the Greek “lanthanein”, which means “to be hidden”.

4. Cerium (Cerium)
Cerium-containing phosphors are used in screens and fluorescent lamps. In glass production, it enables the selective blocking of UV light. Most cerium is used as a polishing agent, cerium oxide, for polishing precision optical components and silicon wafers for microchips. It is also used as a catalyst in motor vehicles, in petroleum refining and in fuel cells. It was named after the recently discovered dwarf planet Ceres.

5. Praseodym
Praseodymium-magnesium alloys are used to produce high-strength metal for aircraft engines. In alloys with cobalt or iron, it produces strong permanent magnets. Praseodymium compounds are used to color glass green, for example in green headlight lenses in lighting technology and in eye protection glasses for welding.

This is where the name comes from: The Greek word “prasinos” means “leek green”, “didymos” means “twin”. Praseodymium is therefore the green shimmering twin of lanthanum.

6. Neodym
Extremely strong magnets for magnetic resonance imaging machines, micromotors and hard drives are made from neodymium-iron-boron compounds. They are also used in permanent magnet rotors for stepper and servo motors, in certain types of wind turbines and for driving electric vehicles. They can also be found in linear motors for CNC machines or in high-quality loudspeakers and headphones. The name of the element is derived from the Greek “neos” for “new” and “didymos” for “twin”. It simply means “new twin of lanthanum”.