Friday, August 17. 2018How did samarium get its name?Vassili Samarsky-Bykhovets, a Russian mining engineer, was instrumental in the discovery of a particular mineral which was named ‘samarskite’ after his own name. Our element, samarium, was first extracted from this mineral, and thus, is named after it. Samarsky-Bykhovets may be the first person to be the namesake of an element, although indirectly. Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, a French chemist, discovered the element in 1879. The element is moderately hard and greyish white in colour. It is fairly stable in the air and has a bright silver sheen. Samarium is found in many minerals, including monazite and bastnasite, which are commercially desirable sources. While samarium has not been isolated in its pure form until recently, mischmetal, an alloy mix containing about 1 per cent of samarium metal, has been in use for a long time. Samarium forms a compound with cobalt and this alloy is a powerful permanent magnet. It has the highest resistance to demagnetization of any known material. The element is used as a neutron absorber in nuclear reactors and in infrared absorbing glass. The atomic number of samarium is 62, and it is represented as Sm.
Pictures credit: google Friday, August 17. 2018What is the connection between promethium and Prometheus, the Greek hero? 
Prometheus is a legendary Greek hero. He is known as a trickster because he defied the gods and stole fire from them to give it to Man. Promethium is named after Prometheus. The reason is that the element glows in the dark like the fire of Prometheus! The discovery of the element was the result of the hard work of four scientists: Charles D. Coryell, Jacob A. Marinsky, Lawrence E. Glendenin, and Harold G. Richter. They were trying to create fuel for an atomic bomb. The first identification and separation of element happened in 1945. They were able to extract promethium-147, an isotope of the element, from the by-products of uranium fission. The element had been discovered, in the spectrum of HR 465, a star in a constellation called Andromedae, which lies 520 light-years away from us. The glow-in-the-dark promethium is a highly radioactive element. The element is not easily found anywhere on Earth. Due to its rarity, the element is primarily used for research. However, scientists look at it as an element with a variety of possibilities. It could be used in medical devices, batteries, and in luminescent paint. The atomic number of promethium is 61, and it is represented as Pm. Pictures credit: google
Friday, August 17. 2018Why are praseodymium and neodymium unique?Like twins, these two elements were born together! Carl Auer von Welsbach, an Austrian scientist, discovered neodymium and praseodymium at the same time. He separated the elements from a substance called didymium in 1885. Praseodymium can be found in a variety of minerals. Larger quantities of the element are found in monazite and bastnasite. Praseodymium is commonly used as an alloying agent with magnesium to create high strength metals used in aircraft engines. The atomic number of praseodymium is 59, and the element is represented as Pr. Neodymium is a soft and silvery metal. The element easily reacts with the air. Its uses are manifold. Neodymium’s chief use is as a reddish-purple pigment for glass and ceramics. It is also used in cryocoolers that regulate heat in experiments with metals. Neodymium is an important element in certain fertilizers. The element, when alloyed with iron and boron, produces the strongest permanent magnets known to exist. Neodymium has the atomic number 60 and it is represented as Nd.
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