64. Gadolinium

Name: Gadolinium
Symbol: Gd
Atomic Number: 64
Atomic Mass: 157.25 amu
Melting Point: 1311.0 °C (1584.15 °K, 2391.8 °F)
Boiling Point: 3233.0 °C (3506.15 °K, 5851.4 °F)
Number of Protons/Electrons: 64
Number of Neutrons: 93
Classification: Rare Earth
Crystal Structure: Hexagonal
Density(293 K): 7.895 g/cm3
Color: Silverish

Gadolinium is silvery white, has a metallic lustre, and is is malleable and ductile. It is ferromagnetic (strongly attracted by a magnet).

The metal is relatively stable in dry air, but in moist air it tarnishes with the formation of a loosely adhering oxide film which "spalls" off and exposes more surface to oxidation. The metal reacts slowly with water and is soluble in dilute acid. Gadolinium has the highest thermal neutron capture cross-section of any known element.

Gadolinium has no known biological role, but is said to stimulate the metabolism.

In 1880, Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac observed spectroscopic lines due to gadolinium in samples of didymium and gadolinite; French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran separated gadolinia, the oxide of Gadolinium, from Mosander's yttria in 1886. The element itself was isolated only recently for the first time.

Gadolinium, like the mineral gadolinite, is named after Finnish chemist and geologist Johan Gadolin.

As with the other lanthanides, gadolinium compounds are of low to moderate toxicity, although their toxicity has not been investigated in detail.

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Non-metals H, C, N, O, P, S, Se
Halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At
Alkali metals Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr
Alkaline Earth Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra
Transition metals Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, Rf, Db, Sg, Bh, Hs, Mt, Ds, Rg, Uub
Metalloids B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te, Po
Other metals Al, Ga, In, Sn, Tl, Pb, Bi
Rare Earth Lu, Lr, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Ac, Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am, Cm, Bk, Cf, Es, Fm, Md, No
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