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39. YttriumName: Yttrium
Yttrium has a silvery-metallic lustre. Yttrium turnings ignite in air. Yttrium is found in most rare-earth minerals. Moon rocks contain yttrium and yttrium is used as a "phosphor" to produce the red colour in television screens. Shavings or turnings of the metal can ignite in air when they exceed 400 °C. When yttrium is finely divided it is very unstable in air. The metal has a low cross section for nuclear capture. The common oxidation state of yttrium is +3. Yttrium (Ytterby, a Swedish village near Vaxholm) was discovered by Johan Gadolin in 1794 and isolated by Friedrich Wohler in 1828 as an impure extract of yttria through the reduction of yttrium anhydrous chloride (YCl3) with potassium. Yttria (Y2O3) is the oxide of yttrium and was discovered by Johan Gadolin in 1794 in a gadolinite mineral from Ytterby. In 1843 Carl Mosander was able to show that yttira could be divided into the oxides (or earths) of three different elements. "Yttria" was the name used for the most basic one and the others were named erbia and terbia. A quarry is located near the village of Ytterby that yielded many unusual minerals that contained rare earths and other elements. The elements erbium, terbium, and ytterbium and yttrium have all been named after this same town. Compounds that contain this element are rarely encountered by most people but should be considered to be highly toxic even though many compounds pose little risk. Yttrium salts may be carcinogenic. This element is not normally found in human tissue and plays no known biological role. Quick links
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