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terbium
Columbia Encyclopedia entry: terbium
Terbiumtûr'bēəm [from Ytterby, a village in Sweden], metallic chemical element; symbol Tb; at. no. 65; at. wt. 158.9254; m.p. 1,356°C; b.p. 3,123°C; sp. gr. about 8.25; valence +3 or +4. Terbium is a soft, malleable, ductile, silver-gray metal. It is one of the rare-earth metals of the lanthanide series in Group 3 of the periodic table. It does not tarnish rapidly in air. Its oxide, terbia, Tb2O3, is white; its peroxide, Tb4O7, is dark brown to black. Most of the salts are colorless or white and all contain trivalent terbium. The element and its compounds have limited commercial importance; some minor uses are in lasers, semiconductor devices, and phosphors for color television picture tubes. Terbium is found in gadolinite, cerite, and other rare-earth minerals and is recovered from euxenite, monazite, and zenotime. It is difficult to separate it from the other rare-earth metals; several methods are used. The pure metal may be produced by chemical reduction of the halide with calcium. The element was discovered in 1843 by C. G. Mosander as its oxide, which he called erbia. The element has been known as terbium since 1877.

The Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2001-09 Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Wikipedia search results for: Terbium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Terbium is a chemical element with the symbol Tb and atomic number 65. It is a silvery-white rare earth metal that is malleable, ductile and soft enough to be cut with a knife. Terbium is never found in nature as a free element, but it is contained in many minerals, including cerite, gadolinite, monazite, xenotime and euxenite. Terbium is used to dope calcium fluoride, calcium tungstate and strontium molybdate, materials that are used in solid-state devices, and as a crystal stabilizer of fuel cells which operate at elevated temperatures. As a component of Terfenol-D, terbium is of use in actuators, in naval sonar systems and sensors. Terbium oxide...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: terbium
Results 1 - 5  of 5
  • Periodic Table of the Elements: Terbium

    Periodic Table of the Elements: TerbiumAtomic Number:65Atomic Symbol:TbTerbiumAtomic Weight:158.9254ElectronConfiguration:2 · 8 · 1827 · 8 · 2

  • Tb, chemical symbol

    Tb, symbol for the element terbium.

  • berkelium

    Berkelium [from Berkeley], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Bk; at. no. 97; mass no. of most stable isotope 247; m.p. about 1,050°C; b.p. about 2,590°C; sp. gr. 14 (e...

  • lanthanide series

    Lanthanide series, a series of metallic elements, included in the rare-earth metals, in Group 3 of the periodic table. Members of the series are often called lanthanides, although lanthanum (a...

  • Elements (table)

    ElementsElementSymbolAtomic NumberAtomic Weight1Melting Point(Degrees Celsius)Boiling Point(Degrees Celsius)1 Parentheses indicate most stable isotope.actiniumAc89227.02781050.3200....

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