Periodic Table of Elements
Rare Earth Elements
General Information
Rare earth elements became known to the world by Carl Axel Arrhenius in 1787, in the village of Ytterby, Sweden. The rare earth elements are divided into two categories, the lanthanides and the actinides. Actinides are man made elements. All of the rare earth elements are found in group 3 of the periodic table. They are in periods 6 and 7. There are 16.546 valence electrons in all rare earth elements. The rare earth elements can usually be classified as a metal or a non-metal based on their general chemical and physical properties. Some rare earth elements have high radioactivity and must be handled in appropriate laboratories under special arrangements.
What are Rare Earth Elements used for?
Most Rare Earth Elements are used in Laser technology, superconductors, microwave filters, magnets, radiation filters, nuclear reactors, fuel cells, electronic devices, sonar systems, and televisions.
Some pictures of Rare Earth Elements
Boiling Point and Melting point for some rare earth elements
Scandium- 1,814 k- melting point (mp)
3,103 k- boiling point (bp)
Yttrium- 1799 (mp)
3618 k (bp)
Lanthanum- 1,193 k (mp)
3,737 k (bp)
Cerium- 1,071 (mp)
3,633 (bp)
Praseodymium- 1,204 (mp)
3,563 (bp)
Neodymium- 1,294 (mp)
3,373 (bp)
Citations
http://www.chemicalelements.com/groups/rareearth.html
http://www.personal.psu.edu/mjc5169/ext-text.html
http://www.elementalmatter.info/rare-earth.htm
http://www.ptable.com/#Property/State
https://maps.google.com/maps?safe=active&q=google+maps+Ytterby,+Sweden&ie=UTF-8&ei=qwfYUvnlJafKsATd-YC4AQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg