Page 5 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Ga see Gallium Gadolinium (Gd)
Element 64.A silvery-white
and easily bent rare-earth metal (lanthanide) in the Periodic Table. It was named after John Gadolin, a Finnish chemist.
Gadolinium is easily worked,
but it is not very reactive in dry
air; it quickly tarnishes in damp air.The oxide forms a loose film, which readily flakes or chips off, exposing more surface to oxidation. It is strongly magnetic. It reacts slowly with water but is soluble
in dilute acids.
Discovery
Discovered by Jean-Charles Galinard
de Marignac and Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in Switzerland 1880 as new spectral lines in the mineral gadolinite.
Technology
Gadolinium is used for electronic components such as capacitors and for making phosphors on TV tubes. It also goes into alloys, CDs and control rods in nuclear reactors. Synthetic gadolinium–yttrium garnets are
used for generating the microwaves in some microwave ovens.
Geology
Not found as a native element, but in gadolinite and monazite ores.
Biology
It does not occur in the body and has no biological role. It is not thought to be harmful.
Key facts...
Name: gadolinium
Symbol: Gd
Atomic number: 64
Atomic weight: 157.25
Position in Periodic Table: inner transition metal;
period 6 (lanthanide series)
State at room temperature: solid
Colour: silvery-white
Density of solid: 7.90 g/cc
Melting point: 1,311°C
Boiling point: 3,233°C
Origin of name: named after the Finnish chemist
Johan Gadolin
Shell pattern of electrons: 2–8–18–25–9–2
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