Yttrium Facts
Yttrium Facts
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| Interesting Yttrium Facts: |
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| In 1794, Johann Gadolin isolated yttrium in the mineral ytterbite. |
| This mineral was found in Ytterby, Sweden, giving it its name. |
| In 1828, Friedrich Wohler extracted an impure sample of yttrium by reducing anhydrous chloride and potassium. |
| Yttrium is a transition metal that is often called a rare earth element. |
| Yttrium is a soft element and is considered stable in air when in a large piece. |
| Part of its stability comes from the coating of oxide that builds up to protects its exposed surfaces. |
| Whenever yttrium is sliced into shavings or small particles, it actually becomes unstable. |
| In the solar system, yttrium was created from stellar nucleosynthesis. |
| Isotopes of yttrium are some of the most common by-products of nuclear fission. |
| Two of yttrium's isotopes, Y-90 and Y-91, are vital in nuclear waste management. |
| There are at least 32 known synthetic isotopes of yttrium. |
| One of the least stable isotopes of yttrium is Y-106, which has a half-life of around 150 nanoseconds. |
| In 1987, a high-temperature superconductor was made from yttrium, along with barium and copper. |
| The created yttrium barium copper oxide was only the second material known to be a superconductor at such a high temperature. |
| That yttrium-containing material was the first ever to achieve superconductivity at a temperature higher than the boiling point of nitrogen. |
| Elemental yttrium is never found in nature. |
| However, it is found in most of the rare earth minerals. |
| The Earth's crust is made up of about thirty-one parts per million yttrium. |
| That makes yttrium the 28th most common element. |
| Yttrium is around 400 times more common than silver. |
| The NASA Apollo missions to the Moon brought back samples of lunar rock which contained yttrium. |
| While almost all living organisms contain yttrium, it does not appear to have a biological function. |
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