| From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaErbium is a chemical element in the lanthanide series, with symbol Er and atomic number 68. A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements on Earth. As such, it is a rare earth element which is associated with several other rare elements in the mineral gadolinite from Ytterby in Sweden, where yttrium, ytterbium, and terbium were discovered. | |||||||||
Erbium in the periodic table | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Er | ||||||||
| Atomic number | 68 | ||||||||
| Group | 0 | ||||||||
| Period | 6 | ||||||||
| Block | f | ||||||||
| Element category | Lanthanide | ||||||||
Physical properties | |||||||||
| Phase at STP | Solid | ||||||||
| Density | 9.066 g/cm3 | ||||||||
| Atomic weight | 167.259 u | ||||||||
| Melting point | 1802 K 1528.85 °C 2783.93 °F | ||||||||
| Boiling point | 3141 K 2867.85 °C 5194.13 °F | ||||||||
Atomic properties | |||||||||
| Electronegativity (Pauling Scale) | 1.24 | ||||||||
| Electron affinity | 30.1 kJ/mol | ||||||||
| Oxidation states | 0, +1, +2, +3 (a basic oxide) | ||||||||
| Ionization energies |
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Electron configuration | |||||||||
| Elektronkonfiguration (shorthand) | [Xe] 4f12 6s2 | ||||||||
| Electron configuration | 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f12 5s2 5p6 6s2 | ||||||||
| Electrons per shell | 2, 8, 18, 30, 8, 2 | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
| Discovered | 1843 | ||||||||
| Discovered by | Carl Gustaf Mosander | ||||||||