 Discovery Information |
| Who:
Jean de Marignac
|
| When: 1878 |
| Where: Switzerland |
|
| Name Origin |
| From Ytterby, Sweden. |
|
| Sources |
| Found in minerals such as yttria, monazite, gadolinite, and xenotime. |
|
| Uses |
| Used in metallurgical and chemical experiments. |
|
| Notes |
| The chemical and physical properties of ytterbium could not be determined until 1953 when the first nearly pure ytterbium was produced |
| Although it was thought that all ytterbium compounds were highly toxic, initial studies have shown that the danger is limited. Ytterbium compounds are known to cause skin and eye irritations, and may also be
teratogenic
. Metallic ytterbium dust poses a fire and explosion hazard. |
