Lanthanum
Lanthanum is a key component in batteries for hybrid
vehicles,
computers and electronic devices. Lanthanum is utilized in
hydrogen
fuel storage cells, special optical glasses, electronic
vacuums,
carbon lighting applications, as doping agents in camera and
telescope
lenses, and in polishing glass and gemstones. It also has
major
applications in petroleum cracking and as an alloy for many
different
metals.
Cerium
Cerium oxide is widely used to polish glass surfaces. Other
cerium
compounds are used to manufacture glass and enamels both as
ingredients and colour removal agents. Cerium is a component
in solar
panels, LEDs, catalytic converters, thermal resistance
alloys, carbon
arc lighting, self-cleaning ovens, petroleum refining,
hardening
agents and dental ceramics.
Praseodymium
Praseodymium is used as an alloying agent with magnesium for
high-strength metal applications in aircraft engines. It is
also used
in super magnets, catalytic converters, UV protective
glasses, carbon
arc lights and CAT scan scintillators. The element is
additionally
used as a doping agent in fibre optic cables and in several
metal
alloys.
Neodymium
Neodymium is essential in the production of the world‘s
strongest
super magnets, which are present in hybrid cars,
state-of-the-art wind
and tidal turbines, industrial motors, air conditioners,
elevators,
microphones, loudspeakers, computer hard drives, in-ear
headphones and
guitar pick-ups. When combined with dysprosium (or terbium)
a
neodymium magnet can withstand high temperatures, allowing
the element
to be used in electric cars. Neodymium has many additional
uses. It is
utilized in incandescent light bulbs, cathode ray tubes, as
a glass
filter and colourant, as a doping agent in
yttrium-aluminium-garnet
lasers and for glare-reduction in rear-view mirrors.
Samarium
Samarium-cobalt alloys are used to make permanent magnets
that are
extremely difficult to demagnetize and work at high
temperatures.
Samarium-cobalt magnets have been used by the US defence
industry
since the 1970s. They also have additional applications in
the music
industry but are primarily used as precise pickups. The
element can be
found in many other compounds used for such products as
neodymium-yttrium-aluminium garnet laser glass and infrared
absorption
glass, capacitors for microwave frequencies, as well as in
the cancer
drug ‘Quadramet‘.
Europium
Europium is used as a phosphor in all TVs and computer
screens to
create red and blue light, and when combined with green
terbium
phosphors, trichromatic fluorescent lighting is created.
Europium
isotopes are the best known neutron absorbers and therefore
the
element is ideal for control rods in nuclear reactors. The
element is
also used in fluorescent light bulbs, alloys, as an agent in
fluorescent glass and to dope plastic and glass to make
lasers.
Gadolinium
Gadolinium when added to chromium, iron or related alloys,
greatly
improves the workability and raises resistance to high
temperature
oxidization. It is also utilized in microwave applications,
CDs,
computer memory devices, MRI image enhancing, neutron
radiography and
for making phosphors in TV tubes. One final use of
gadolinium comes in
nuclear reactors as an emergency shut-down mechanism.
Terbium
Terbium is used in colour TV tubes and fluorescent lamps as
a green
phosphor. In combination with europium blue and red
phosphors the
three create trichromatic fluorescent lighting, which is
much brighter
than conventional fluorescent lighting. Another green
application for
terbium can be found in combination with neodymium in the
production
of super magnets. The element is also used in alloys,
crystal
stabilizers in fuel cells that operate at high temperatures,
specialty
lasers and to dope calcium fluoride, sodium borate and
strontium
molybdate materials. Terbium is a component of Terfenol-D, a
material
that is used in transducers, high-precision liquid fuel
injectors and
in a new form of audio equipment that has the potential to
revolutionize the speaker industry.
Dysprosium
Dysprosium’s thermal neutron absorption cross-section and
high melting
point enables it to be used in nuclear control applications.
The
element can be added to neodymium-iron-boron magnets to
raise the
strength and corrosion resistance of applications like drive
motors
for hybrid electric vehicles. Like terbium, dysprosium is a
component
of terfenol-D; a very promising material for future
technology
applications. It is also used in CDs, chemical reaction
testing, laser
materials and dosimeters.
Holmium
Holmium has one of the highest known magnetic moments (force
and
torque on electric currents). The element is imperative in
the
creation of the strongest, artificially generated magnetic
fields.
Holmium is also used in nuclear control rods, solid-state
lasers in
eye-safe medical and dental microwave equipment, as a yellow
and red
glass and a cubic zirconia colorant.
Erbium
Erbium is used in neutron-absorbing control rods, creating
lasers for
cutting and welding and as a doping agent for optical
fibers. As an
alloy additive, erbium lowers the hardness and improves the
workability of numerous metals. In oxide form, the element
is used as
a pink colorant in glass and porcelain enamel glazes and it
is often
used in photographic filters.
Thulium
Thulium is the second rarest element after promethium and
does not
occur naturally in the earths crust. Because of its scarcity
and high
price, there are few widely-used thulium applications. Its
current
uses are mainly scientific experimentation and in portable
x-ray
devices use for areas where electric power is not available.
Ytterbium
Ytterbium is used in solar cells, optical glasses, crystals
and
ceramics. It can be utilized as a doping material for high
power
solid-state lasers and as an alloy that helps to strengthen
stainless
steel. Like thulium, ytterbium is employed in portable x-ray
machines
where electricity is not available.
Lutetium
Lutetium is mainly used as a catalyst in refining petroleum,
hydrogenation and polymerization processes, and in organic
LEDs.
Lutetium is currently being investigated as an agent for
possible
cancer treatments. It is also used in x-ray phosphors and
computer
memory devices.
Yttrium
Yttrium is most widely used in phosphors for white and grey
colours in
LEDs and in tri-chromatic fluorescent lighting. Yttrium is
regularly
alloyed with chromium, molybdenum, zirconium, titanium,
aluminium and
magnesium. Yttrium is used as a deoxidizer for vanadium and
other
nonferrous metals and as a catalyst in the polymerization of
ethylene.
It has medical applications in cancer treatment, arthritis
and joint
inflammation, artificial joints, prosthetic devices and
needles. The
element can also be found in optical and camera lenses,
cubic zirconia
jewellery, super conductor materials, high performance spark
plugs,
yttrium-stabilized zirconia, solid electrolytes, exhaust
systems,
catalytic converters, turbocharger components and piston
rings.
Scandium
The main application of scandium by weight is in
aluminium-scandium
alloys for minor aerospace industry components. These alloys
contain
between 0.1% and 0.5% of scandium. Some items of sports
equipment,
which rely on high performance materials, have been made
with
scandium-aluminium alloys, including baseball bats and
bicycle frames.
Lacrosse sticks are made with scandium-titanium alloys to
take
advantage of the strength of titanium. The American
gunmaking company
Smith & Wesson produces revolvers with frames composed of
scandium
alloy and cylinders of titanium. Scandium is also used to
make
high-intensity discharge lamps.