Inner Transitions (Rare Earth) Metals

Inner Transitions (Rare Earth) Metals

Physical Properties

• Good conductors of Heat and Electricity

Elements & State of Matter

• Hard and Tough

• Malleable

There are exactly 28 elements in the Inner Transition series.

These rare metals are a solid shape.

• Dense

• High melting points

• Form Colored Compounds

Uses

• Producing Sunglasses Lenses

• Lasers

• Strong Magnets

• Nuclear Weapons

Type of ions

• Nuclear Power Plants

• Generate Electricity

Inner transition metals like to create ions +3

Natural Occurrences

Reactivity

21 Scandium Sc Aerospace framework, high-intensity street lamps, high performance equipment

39 Yttrium Y TV sets, cancer treatment drugs, enhances strength of alloys

57 Lanthanum La Camera lenses, battery-electrodes, hydrogen storage

58 Cerium Ce Catalytic converters, colored glass, steel production

59 Praseodymium Pr Super-strong magnets, welding goggles, lasers

60 Neodymium Nd Extremely strong permanent magnets, microphones, electric motors of hybrid automobiles, laser

61 Promethium Pm Not usually found in Nature

62 Samarium Sm Cancer treatment, nuclear reactor control rods, X-ray lasers

63 Europium Eu Color TV screens, fluorescent glass, genetic screening tests

64 Gadolinium Gd Shielding in nuclear reactors, nuclear marine propulsion, increases durability of alloys

65 Terbium Tb TV sets, fuel cells, sonar systems

66 Dysprosium Dy Commercial lighting, hard disk devices, transducers

67 Holmium Ho Lasers, glass coloring, High-strength magnets

68 Erbium Er Glass colorant, signal amplification for fiber optic cables, metallurgical uses

69 Thulium Tm High efficiency lasers, portable x-ray machines, high temperature superconductor

70 Ytterbium Yb Improves stainless steel, lasers, ground monitoring devices

71 Lutetium Lu Refining petroleum, LED light bulbs, integrated circuit manufacturing

Inner Transitions have two different groups that react to differently.

For instance, Lanthanoids react to oxygen and with non-metals.

Used in lasers, steels,permanent magnets

Actinoids are radioactive and decay.

Only two are found in the Earth's crust Uranium&Thorium.

By: Lucero Rodea, Julian Losak, and Gwence Domansi

photo credit Nasa / Goddard Space Flight Center / Reto Stöckli