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dysprosium

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
dysprosium (dĭsprō`zēəm) [Gr.,=hard to get at], metallic chemical element; symbol Dy; at. no. 66; at. wt. 162.50; m.p. 1,412°C;; b.p. 2,562°C;; sp. gr. 8.54 at 25°C;; valence+3. Dysprosium is a lustrous silvery metal; it is very soft and can be cut with a knife. It is in Group 3 of the periodic table periodic table, chart of the elements arranged according to the periodic law discovered by Dmitri I. Mendeleev and revised by Henry G. J. Moseley . In the periodic table the elements are arranged in columns and rows according to increasing atomic number (see the
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 and is a member of the 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 (atomic number 57) is not always considered a member of the series.
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; all members of this series are rare-earth metals rare-earth metals, in chemistry, group of metals including those of the lanthanide series and actinide series , usually yttrium , sometimes scandium and thorium , and rarely zirconium .
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 and resemble one another in their chemical properties. Dysprosium is stable in air at room temperature. It dissolves in both dilute and concentrated mineral acids; forms a white oxide known as dysprosia; and, with other elements, forms several brightly colored salts. It is commonly found with other rare-earth metals in several minerals, including gadolinite and euxenite. Dysprosium and its compounds are among the most highly susceptible to magnetization of all substances and are used in special magnetic alloys. A cermet of dysprosium oxide and nickel is used in nuclear reactor control rods. Dysprosium is used with argon in mercury-vapor lamps to give a higher light output and balance the color spectrum. Although dysprosium was discovered (but not isolated) in 1886 by P. E. Lecoq de Boisbaudran, a French chemist, it did not become available in relatively pure form until the 1950s.
dysprosium
a soft silvery-white metallic element of the lanthanide series: used in laser materials and as a neutron absorber in nuclear control rods. Symbol: Dy; atomic no.: 66; atomic wt.: 162.50; valency: 3; relative density: 8.551; melting pt.: 1412?C; boiling pt.: 2567?C

dysprosium [dis′prō·zē·əm]
(chemistry)
A metallic rare-earth element, symbol Dy, atomic number 66, atomic weight 162.50.


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In addition to Nd, the new plant at Ganzhou will be able to use dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), the chemical elements that ensure high magnetic force for automotive magnets used at high temperatures.
The Asian behemoth now supplies approximately 95 percent of the world's consumption of "rare earths," such as cerium, neodymium, lathanum, yttrium, and dysprosium.
The Virginia team also found that other additives, such as the metals dysprosium and yttrium, yielded alloys particularly suitable for making large pieces.
 
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