67

 

The magnets shred and the nuclear reactors glow red, Holmium alloys catch crooks and writes books

 

Chemical Properties Table

Monazite ores

Monazite ores are the source of most of our rare earth metals. They are a mixture of all of the rare earth metals, oxygen, and phosphorus. Occasionally, thorium and cadmium are also found in monazite ores, because they have properties remarkably similar to the Lanthanoids. The monazite ores are found in south Portugal in the sands of the beaches.

Properties

Holmium is a rare earth metal, with physical and chemical properties remarkably similar to Lanthanum, another rare earth metal. In its pure form, it is a bright silver, but is usually found together with all of the other rare earth metals. It has unusual magnetic properties as well.

 

Nuclear Reactors

Holmium is used in nuclear reactor rods because of its unusual ability to absorb neutrons that are released during nuclear reactions. Nuclear reactions are when the energy released from a decaying element, which spins turbinese to create electricity to power our homes and workplaces.
Commercial Uses
Holmium is used in nuclear reactors, and is used in lenses for special ops glasses. The magnetic properties of Holmium also make it a good detector of counterfeit money. It has no very important uses, but its unusual magnetic properties indicate that it could be very useful. It is also used in sunglasses.

Lanthanoids

Lanthanoids (or rare earth metals) are a group of elements that were considered rare earth elements, but they aren't actually rare anymore.

Magnetism
The unusually strong magnetism of Holmium is due to the electromagnetic force. The electromagnetic force is due to the photon, which is the messenger or point particle of the electromagnetic force. The high magnetism of Holmium is due to the arrangement of the electrons, and in which direction they spin. Holmium appears to be useful in certain magnetic alloys with Neodymium, another powerful magnet, as discussed in commercial uses.

 

Table
Atomic Number 67
Chemical Symbol Ho
Element Name Holmium
Atomic Mass  
Atomic Group Lanthanoids

 

Lanthanum is an element that has properties remarkably similar to Holmium and all of the other rare earth metals. Another strong magnet that is used with Holmium is Neodymium.

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Glossary
Chemical Properties

Properties that are shown when the substance changes into another substance
Physical Properties Properties that do not need to be shown by a change, and do not result in changes in matter
Point Particle The smallest possible particle believed to be in existent according to general relativity
Alloy a combination of two metals or semi-metals
Neutrons a particle that has no electric charge, and is found in the nucleus of all atoms. It is made from two up quarks and one down quark.

 

Bibliography
Holmium Essential information." WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements. 17 Mar. 2009 <http://www.webelements.com/holmium/>.
  Chemistry: Periodic Table and More. 17 Mar. 2009 <http://www.chemicool.com/elements/holmium.html>.
  t's Elemental - The Element Holmium." Science Education at Jefferson Lab. 17 Mar. 2009 <http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele067.html>.
  "Enviromental Chemistry." 19 Mar. 2009 <http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/>.
  "A Periodic Table of the Elements at Los Alamos National Laboratory." 19 Mar. 2009 <http://periodic.lanl.gov/default.htm>.


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