terbium

American  

[tur-bee-uhm] / ˈtɜr bi əm /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a rare-earth, metallic element present in certain minerals and yielding colorless salts. Tb; 65; 158.924; 8.25.

---

terbium British  

/ ˈtɜːbɪəm /

noun

1. a soft malleable silvery-grey element of the lanthanide series of metals, occurring in gadolinite and monazite and used in lasers and for doping solid-state devices. Symbol: Tb; atomic no: 65; atomic wt: 158.92534; valency: 3 or 4; relative density: 8.230; melting pt: 1356°C; boiling pt: 3230°C

---

terbium Scientific  

/ tûr′bē-əm /

1. A soft, silvery-gray metallic element of the lanthanide series. It is used in color television tubes, x-ray machines, and lasers. Atomic number 65; atomic weight 158.925; melting point 1,356°C; boiling point 3,123°C; specific gravity 8.229; valence 3, 4.

2. See Periodic Table

---

Other Word Forms

• terbic adjective

Etymology

Origin of terbium

1835–45; (Yt)terb(y) , name of Swedish town where found + -ium. See ytterbium

Example Sentences

The rugged hills surrounding Ganzhou are home to the world's largest mining and processing operations of the strategic "heavy" elements, including dysprosium, yttrium and terbium.

From Barron's

Certain powerful types of rare-earth magnets—often used for car engines, robotics and industrial machinery—typically use small quantities of dysprosium and terbium, two “heavy” rare-earth elements, to allow magnets to function at high temperatures.

From The Wall Street Journal

Visited this month by AFP, the southeastern mining region of Ganzhou -- which specialises in "heavy" rare earths including yttrium and terbium -- was a hive of activity.

From Barron's

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

From Barron's

It just so happens the byproducts of these mineral sands include dysprosium and terbium - some of the most sought-after rare earths.

From BBC