62. Samarium
Name: Samarium
Symbol: Sm
Atomic Number: 62
Atomic Mass: 150.36 amu
Melting Point: 1072.0 °C (1345.15 °K, 1961.6 °F)
Boiling Point: 1900.0 °C (2173.15 °K, 3452.0 °F)
Number of Protons/Electrons: 62
Number of Neutrons: 88
Classification: Rare Earth
Crystal Structure: Rhombohedral
Density(293 K): 7.54 g/cm3
Color: silver
Samarium has a bright silver lustre and is reasonably stable in air. It ignites in air at 150°C. It is a rare earth metal. It is found with other rare earth elements in minerals including monazite and bastnaesite and is used in electronics industries.
Samarium was first discovered spectroscopically in 1853 by Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac by its sharp absorption lines in didymium, and isolated in Paris in 1879 by French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran from the mineral samarskite ((Y,Ce,U,Fe)3(Nb,Ta,Ti)5O16). Like the mineral, it was named after a Russian mine official, Colonel Samarski.
Samarium has no known biological role, but is said to stimulate the metabolism.
As with the other lanthanides, samarium compounds are of low to moderate toxicity, although their toxicity has not been investigated in detail.
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