erbium

American  

[ur-bee-uhm] / ˈɜr bi əm /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a rare-earth metallic element, having pink salts. Er; 167.26; 68.

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erbium British  

/ ˈɜːbɪəm /

noun

1. a soft malleable silvery-white element of the lanthanide series of metals: used in special alloys, room-temperature lasers, and as a pigment. Symbol: Er; atomic no: 68; atomic wt: 167.26; valency: 3; relative density: 9.006; melting pt: 1529°C; boiling pt: 2868°C

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erbium Scientific  

/ ûr′bē-əm /

1. A soft, silvery, metallic element of the lanthanide series. It is used as a neutron absorber in nuclear technology and in light amplification for fiber-optic telecommunications. Atomic number 68; atomic weight 167.26; melting point 1,497°C; boiling point 2,900°C; specific gravity 9.051; valence 3.

2. See Periodic Table

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Etymology

Origin of erbium

1835–45; < New Latin, named after Ytterby, Sweden, where first found; -ium

Example Sentences

Heavy rare-earth elements include dysprosium, terbium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, and yttrium.

From Barron's

In the new study, Zhong's team succeeded in raising the coherence time of individual erbium atoms from 0.1 milliseconds to more than 10 milliseconds.

From Science Daily

The region holds deposits of many of the very elements China has placed under export controls: yttrium, scandium, erbium, europium, ytterbium, samarium, and lutetium.

From Barron's

Researchers in Australia and China have created such devices with erbium crystals, storing quantum states for several hours.

From Science Magazine

The 17 elements are: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium, yttrium.

From Reuters