Erbium

A member of the lanthanide group of elements, erbium is a silver grey metal. It has high electrical resistivity and has properties similar to holmium and dysprosium. It is always found in combination with other rare earths, being found in small quantities in the same minerals as dysprosium (gadolinite, fergusonite and xenotime). It slowly tarnishes in air, reacts slowly with water and dissolves in acids. It has limited applications as a pure metal, but is used as an alloying element with titanium and is also used to produce infra-red absorbing glass. Erbium oxide is used within the ceramics industry to produce a pink glaze.

Symbol

Er

Discovered

C.G. Mosander in 1842 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Abundance

3.8 ppm in the Earth’s crust.

Click on an item to paste into clipboard or use clipboard symbol at end to clipboard all values

Atomic number	68		Clip
Atomic / Molecular Weight	167.26	gmol-1	Clip
Density	9044	kgm-3	Clip
Lattice constant	356	fm	Clip
Melting Point	1793	K	Clip
Boiling Point	2873	K	Clip
Specific heat capacity	167	Jkg-1K-1	Clip
Thermal conductivity	15	Wm-1K-1	Clip

paste all data into clipboard

See also: Periodic Table.