What is ytterbium used for?

Ytterbium has few uses. It can be alloyed with stainless steel to improve some of its mechanical properties and used as a doping agent in fiber optic cable where it can be used as an amplifier. One of ytterbium’s isotopes is being considered as a radiation source for portable X-ray machines.

Is ytterbium a metal?

In its metallic form, ytterbium is a bright and shiny metal that is both ductile and malleable and is more reactive than the other lanthanide metals, quickly tarnishing in air as it reacts with oxygen.

Is ytterbium harmful to humans?

All compounds of ytterbium are treated as highly toxic, although studies appear to indicate that the danger is minimal. However, ytterbium compounds cause irritation to human skin and eyes, and some might be teratogenic. Metallic ytterbium dust can spontaneously combust, and the resulting fumes are hazardous.

Is ytterbium radioactive?

Ytterbium also has ten radioactive isotopes. Ytterbium-169 is one such radioactive isotope that gives off gamma radiation similar to X rays.

Is Yb paramagnetic?

ytterbium (Yb), chemical element, a rare-earth metal of the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Ytterbium is weakly paramagnetic, having the lowest magnetic susceptibility of all the rare-earth metals. …

What is a fun fact about ytterbium?

Ytterbium has a bright silvery luster, is soft, malleable, and quite ductile. One of the lanthanides, it is fairly stable in air but is readily attacked and dissolved by dilute and concentrated mineral acids and reacts slowly with water. Ytterbium occurs along with other rare earths in a number of rare minerals.

Is ytterbium toxic?

Is ytterbium poisonous or hazardous?

How is yttrium toxic?

Yttrium is mostly dangerous in the working environment, due to the fact that damps and gasses can be inhaled with air. This can cause lung embolisms, especially during long-term exposure. Yttrium can also cause cancer with humans, as it enlarges the chances of lung cancer when it is inhaled.