Table of Contents
What is yttrium used for?
Yttrium is often used as an additive in alloys. It increases the strength of aluminium and magnesium alloys. It is also used in the making of microwave filters for radar and has been used as a catalyst in ethene polymerisation. Yttrium-aluminium garnet (YAG) is used in lasers that can cut through metals.
Who discovered yttrium?
Johan Gadolin
Yttrium/Discoverers
What is the melting point of yttrium?
1,526 °C
Yttrium/Melting point
How much does yttrium cost?
Yttrium is currently worth $3,400 per pound, europium costs $20,000 per 100 grams and terbium sells for $1,800 per 100 grams. Dysprosium, the cheapest of the rare-earth elements discovered, only costs $450 per 100 grams.
Is yttrium rare?
Yttrium is also one of the rare-earth elements. Despite their name, rare-earth elements are rather plentiful around the world. The 17 rare-earth elements include yttrium, scandium and 15 lanthanides (the metallic elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71).
How is yttrium used in phones?
Yttrium is widely used to produce phosphors that are used in cell phones and larger display screens as well as general lighting.
What does yttrium smell like?
Properties of Yttrium
| General Properties | |
|---|---|
| Relative Atomic Mass | 88.906 |
| Color | Silver white |
| Luster | Metallic silver |
| Odor | Unknown |
Which element is most costly?
The most expensive natural element is francium. Although francium occurs naturally, it decays so quickly that it cannot be collected for use. Only a few atoms of francium have been produced commercially, so if you wanted to produce 100 grams of francium, you could expect to pay a few billion U.S. dollars for it.
Why is yttrium used in microwaves?
If you use a microwave to heat food, you’re using yttrium! Yttrium is also used to make white LED lights and lasers that are strong enough to cut through metal. Garnets created from yttrium, iron, aluminum and gadolinium are used in transducers and transmitters for sound because of their magnetic properties.