What is neodymium? Uses, Characteristics, Properties and History

Neodymium

You may not know it but the neodymium is present in equipment in use domestic quite common such as TV , lamps fluorescent and glassware varied , and although it is one of the rare chemical elements that exist in nature.

Neodymium Characteristics

A the neodymium it qualifies as rare earth, namely one of the most reactive and  is part of the  metal of Misch . It has a strong silver sheen that darkens when it comes in contact with air to form an oxide . It is part of the family of internal transition elements and stores 60 electrons in its stable form , its best-known isotope being Nd-142.

What is its history and who discovered it

Neodymium was discovered by  Carl Auer von Welsbach , a chemist of Australian origin , born in  Vienna  in  1885 . Achievement away the neodymium , and the  praseodymium , of the material known as didymium  through analysis spectroscopic .

However, this metal was not isolated if not until 1925 . The name neodymium comes from the ancient  Greek language neos didymos , which translates as new twin, if it breaks down, neos would be new and didymos would be twin.

The  praseodymium  and neodymium because they got together and why they deicide to call twins ; to this was called back because of the other was given the name of  green twin from the start.

Properties

• Symbol: Nd
• Group:  rare earths
• Atomic number : 60
• Valencia: 3
• Oxidation state : +3
• Electronegativity: 1.2
• Covalent Radius: 1.64
• Ionic Radius:  1.09
• Atomic radius: 1.82
• Density: 7.00 g / ml
• Atomic mass : 144.24 g / mol
• Electronic configuration : [Xe] 4f ⁴ 5d ⁰ 6s ²
• First ionization potential: 6.33 eV
• Boiling point : 3027ºC
• Melting point : 1024ºC
• Discoverer:  Carl Auer von Welsbach
• In what year was it discovered? 1885

What is neodymium for

Some applications of neodymium:

• It is a component of didymium, which is used to tint crystals , it is part of the materials used to make protective glasses used by welders, because they can absorb the yellow light produced by the welding machine.
• Luxury finishes manages to give the crystals through a range of colors ranging from the violet to silver gray . The light that is transmitted through these crystals have bands of absorption unusually sharp , allowing low solar reflection .
• Some types of crystal that contain neodymium are used to create synthetic rubies made through lasers.
• Because certain crystals have a slight amount of neodymium ions , they allow them to be used for the creation of 1054-1064 nm infrared lasers .
• Serves as an excellent substitute for metallic paints used to paint vehicles
• The neodymium salts are used as components within the area dyes enamels .
• Neodymium is used in  permanent neodymium magnets of  the Nd2Fe14B type, which have a high field intensity . These magnets are usually much cheaper and more powerful than their opponents, the samarium- cobalt magnets .
• Thanks to the similarities it presents with Ca2 +, Nd3 + was generalized as an element that can improve plant growth . Rare earth element preparations  are often manipulated in countries like China to fertilize their land .
• Guitar pickups have recently been manufactured with this material for its good electronic behavior.

Where is neodymium found

The neodymium is not one chemical element that exists freely on the planet earth . It is extracted only from minerals such as monazite sand  , its nomenclature being Ce, La, Th, Nd, and PO4; and  bastnasite,  their nomenclature being Ce, La, Nd, Y and CO3F, which present small amounts of all rare earth metals in their composition . In turn it can be found in  Misch’s metal . However the process of obtaining it is not easy to belonging to the family of rare earths .