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- Name : Dysprosium
- Symbol : Dy
- Atomic # : 66
- Atom weight: 162.50
- Melting P. : 1412
- Boiling P. : 2567
- Oxidation : +3
- Pronounced : dis-PRO-si-em or dis-PRO-shi-em
- From : Greek dysprositos, "hard to get at"
- Identified : Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1886
- Appearance : Soft. lustrous, silvery metal
- Note : Applications limited to experimental and the esoteric
-
- [Properties]
-
- Dysprosium is a fairly dense, soft, and silvery metal. It oxidizes fairly
- rapidly in air, continuously flaking off the white disprosium oxide.
- Dysprosium is a member of the lanthanide series of metals, beginning with
- lanthanum (La, element 57) and running through consecutive atomic numbers to
- lutetium (Lu, element 71).
- Most dysprosium is obtained from monazite snad, which is a mixture of
- phosphates of calcium, thorium, cerium, and most of the other rare earths.
- This and is often 50% rare earth by weight. Most of the unwanted metals can
- be removed magnetically or by flotation processes. The next step, separating
- dysprosium from the other rare-earth elements, is more difficult.
-