Page 116 - The Periodic Table Book

64
Gd Gadolinium

Discovery: 1880
64 64 93 State: Solid
Gadolinium, and its mineral ore gadolinite,
Lanthanides This soft, silvery are named after the Finnish chemist
Johan Gadolin, who discovered the
metal darkens when
exposed to air.
element. Gadolinium compounds are used
to obtain clear MRI scans. It is also used in
electronics, and to make rust-resistant steel.

Gadolinite This mineral contains tiny
amounts of gadolinium.

This image of the
brain is clear because a
gadolinium compound
was injected into the
patient’s blood.

Laboratory sample of pure gadolinium

MRI scan of the
human brain

65
Tb Terbium

State: Solid
Terbium is named after the village of Ytterby in Sweden. 65 65 94 Discovery: 1843
It is a silvery metal that can be obtained from the ore monazite. This device uses
This element has only a few uses. Pure terbium is added magnets to turn
to other metals to make powerful magnets used in sound- SoundBug™ device any flat surface,
like a window, into
producing devices, such as the SoundBug™. Its a loudspeaker.
compounds are used to line mercury lamps. The mercury
vapour in this
lamp produces
ultraviolet light when
electrified, and this
is turned into a
bright yellow glow
by terbium.

Mercury lamp

The pure metal is soft
enough to be cut with a knife.
114 Laboratory sample of pure terbium

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