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Erbium
Erbium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Er and atomic number 68. A rare silvery metallic lanthanide rare earth element, erbium is associated with several other rare elements in the mineral gadolinite from Ytterby in Sweden.
Notable characteristics
A trivalent element, pure erbium metal is malleable, soft, somewhat stable in air and does not oxidize as quickly as some other rare-earth metals. Its salts are rose-colored and the element gives a characteristic sharp absorption spectra in visible light, ultraviolet, and near infrared. Otherwise it looks pretty much like the other rare earths. Its sesquioxide is called erbia. Erbium's properties are a to a degree dictated by the kind and amount of impurities present. Erbium does not play any known biological role but is thought by some to be able to stimulate metabolism.
Applications
Erbium's everyday uses are varied; commonly it is used as a photographic filter and because of its resilience it is useful as an metallurgical additive.
History
Erbium (for Ytterby, a town in Sweden) was discovered by Carl Gustaf Mosander in 1843. Mosander separated "yttria" from the mineral gadolinite into three fractions which he called yttria, erbia, and terbia. He named the new element after the town of Ytterby where large concentrations of yttria and erbium are located. Erbia and terbia, however, were confused in at this time. After 1860, what had been known as terbia was renamed erbia and after 1877 what had been known as erbia was renamed terbia. Fairly pure Er2O3 was independently isolated in 1905 by Georges Urbain and Charles James. Reasonably pure metal wasn't produced until 1934 when workers reduced the anhydrous chloride with potassium vapor.
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