Dysprosium

Dysprosium is a chemical element with the symbol Dy and atomic number 66. It is a rare earth element with a metallic silver luster. Dysprosium is never found in nature as a free element, though it is found in various minerals, such as xenotime.

Characteristics

Dysprosium has a high melting point and is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It is a rare earth element, and it is found in several minerals, including xenotime and monazite. Dysprosium is used for its high thermal neutron absorption cross-section in making control rods in nuclear reactors, for its high magnetic susceptibility in data storage applications.

History

Dysprosium was first identified in Paris in 1886 by French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran. He separated dysprosium oxide from holmium oxide. The element was named for the Greek dysprositos, meaning "hard to get at" due to the difficulty of separating it from other elements.

Applications

Dysprosium is used in a variety of applications. It is used in the production of lasers and commercial lighting. Because of its high susceptibility to magnetization, dysprosium is also used in data storage applications such as hard disks.

Health effects

Dysprosium compounds are mildly toxic when ingested, but they are much less dangerous when inhaled. The element has no known biological role, but it is not particularly dangerous either.

See also

• List of chemical elements
• Periodic table

External links

• WebElements.com – Dysprosium

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