Page 36 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Mt see Meitnerium; N see Nitrogen; Na see Sodium; Nb see Niobium; Ne see Neon Neodymium (Nd)
Element 60.A silvery-white rare-earth metal (lanthanide) in the Periodic Table. It quickly reacts in air to form
a brittle oxide coating that flakes and exposes more metal to the air.Thus, unless it is sealed in plastic or kept under oil, it quickly disintegrates.
Discovery
Discovered in Austria in 1885 by Carl F. Auer von Welsbach using a sample of the mineral samarskite. He found two elements: neodymium and praseodymium.
Technology
Neodymium is used in alloys (especially misch metal, which contains 15% neodymium),
for cigarette lighter flints, and in electronics.
It colours glass a pure violet and in smaller amounts removes the green colouring caused by iron impurities in glass. Neodymium glass can replace a ruby inside a laser. It makes protective glass for welding goggles and shields because it absorbs harmful radiation from
the welding process. Because it absorbs some kinds of light very strongly, in astronomy it helps calibrate spectrometers that explore the chemical make-up of the universe. Neodymium alloyed with iron also
makes a powerful permanent magnet.
Geology
Neodymium is too reactive to be found as a native element. It appears mainly in the minerals xenotime, monazite and bastnasite.
Biology
Neodymium is not found in living things.
Key facts...
Name: neodymium
Symbol: Nd
Atomic number: 60
Atomic weight: 144.2
Position in Periodic Table: inner transition
metal; period 6 (lanthanide series) State at room temperature: solid Colour: silvery-white
Density of solid: 7.00 g/cc
Melting point: 1,021°C
Boiling point: 3,168°C
Origin of name: from the Greek words neos
and didymos, meaning new twin
Shell pattern of electrons: 2–8–18–22–8–2
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