What is special about thulium?

What is special about thulium?

Thulium actually is the least abundant of the rare earths. Thulium metal is soft enough that it can be cut with a knife. Like other rare earths, it is malleable and ductile. Thulium has a silvery appearance.

What are 3 uses for thulium?

Thulium is used as a source of radiation from portable X-ray devices and in nuclear reactions. Despite being slightly expensive, superconductors of high temperature use thulium. It is used for manufacturing ferrites, ceramic magnetic materials for microwave items.

How did thulium get its name?

Thulium was discovered in 1879, along with holmium, by Per Teodor Cleve, who named the oxide thulia after an ancient name for Scandinavia….thulium.

Is thulium flammable?

Specific Hazards Arising from the Material: Flammable in the form of dust or very thin foil when exposed to heat, spark or flame. May react with water under fire conditions liberating flammable hydrogen gas. May emit fumes of thulium oxide under fire conditions.

Is thulium explosive?

Thulium has a low-to-moderate acute toxic rating and should be handled with care. Metallic thulium in dust form presents a fire and explosion hazard.

Does thulium have an odor?

Appearance and Odor: Green-white powder and pieces, no odor. Extinguishing Media: Use suitable extinguishing agent for surrounding materials and type of fire.

Is thulium poisonous?

It is non-toxic. Thulium is found principally in the mineral monazite, which contains about 20 parts per million. It is extracted by ion exchange and solvent extraction. The metal is obtained by reducing the anhydrous fluoride with calcium, or reducing the oxide with lanthanum.

Is thulium rare or common?

Natural thulium is stable. While it is the least abundant of all the lanthanides, or rare earth elements, new sources have been recently discovered, putting it on par with cadmium, silver and gold in terms of supply. Like other rare earth elements, thulium occurs in small quantities in a number of minerals.

Is thulium toxic?

What is thulium used for in everyday life?

Thulium has been used to create lasers. When stable thulium (Tm-169) is bombarded in a nuclear reactor it can later serve as a radiation source in portable X-ray devices. It also has potential use in ceramic magnetic materials called ferrites, which are used in microwave equipment.

How much does thulium cost?

$50/g.
Thulium metal costs $50/g. Thulium can be isolated by reduction of the oxide with lanthanum metal or by calcium reduction of a closed container. The element is silver-gray, soft, malleable, and ductile, and can be cut with a knife.

How many shells does thulium have?

Thulium is a chemical element with the symbol Tm and atomic number 69….

What are the characteristics of thulium?

Characteristics: Thulium is a bright, soft, malleable, silvery-gray metal. It is a rare earth metal and is one of the least abundant. The metal tarnishes slowly in dry air to form the oxide and reacts with water to form the hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Tm 3+ ions emit a strong blue luminescence when excited.

Where does thulium come from?

The main deposits of thulium main deposits are present in China; however, it is also present in Australia, Brazil, Greenland, India, Tanzania and the United States. Thulium in pure form has silvery luster and is a bright metal.

How much Thulium is there in the Earth’s atmosphere?

It makes up to 0.5 parts per million of soil and 250 parts per quadrillion of seawater. Thulium is about 200 parts per trillion by weight in the solar system and 1 part per trillion by moles [2]. Naturally thulium is not present in pure form but it is present in small quantities in minerals along with other rare earth elements.