Look, before I even start talking about
yttrium, let's cut the crap. I know all you want is the '
down and dirty.' The really juicy stories and inside information about yttrium. You don't care that yttrium's symbol is "
Y", its
atomic number is 39, and that its
atomic weight is 88.90589. You don't give a rat's ass that its
density is 4.47 g/cm3 (at 293 K) or that its
molar volume (
atomic volume) is 19.8 cm3/mol. You want to know all the
dirty little secrets about yttrium (because you are a perv). You want to know the answers to questions such as
Yttrium is a
transitional metal. It has 39
protons and 50 neutrons. The
electron configuration is
Kr4d
15s
2 (meaning it's like
krypton, but with an
electron in 4d (the
d atomic orbital of the fourth energy level) and 2 electrons in 5s).
Yttrium's melting point is 1799 K (1526 °C) and its boiling point is 3609 K (or 3336 °C).
The ionization potentials are as follows (skip this part if you already know it by heart):
1st level: 600 kJ/mol,
2nd level: 1180 kJ/mol,
3rd level: 1980 kJ/mol,
4th level: 5847kJ/mol,
5th level: 7430 kJ/mol,
6th level: 8970 kJ/mol.
The rest are over 10000 kJ/mol, which you're probably never going to have. Accept it and move on.
Yttrium is
stable in air. It is silvery-metallic in appearance.
Turnings of the metal combust at around 400 °C, and if yttrium is divided finely it becomes unstable in air. Yttrium is found in
rare earth minerals and in
uranium ore, but is not found naturally as a free element. It is commercially manufactured from
monazite and
bastnasite, in a reaction with calcium.
Yttrium's common oxidation state is +3. This little piece of information has been a source of joy to many. Its vapour pressure is 5.31 Pa at 1799 K.
To produce yttrium in the safety (and comfort) of your own home, obtain some
yttrium fluoride, and react it with
calcium. You get:
2YF3 + 3Ca -> 2Y + 3 Ca3F2
It is of course, of unestimable interest to know that, naturally, yttrium exists as only one isotope, Y-89. The other isotopes are unstable, all but four (Y-87, Y-88, Y-90 and Y-91) having a half-life of less than a day.
Due to public demand, I will list several isotopes with their respective half-lives:
Isotope | Half life
----------|-------------
Y-85 | 2.6 h
Y-86 | 14.74 h
Y-87 | 3.35 d
Y-88 | 106.6 d
Y-89 | Stable
Y-90 | 2.67 d
Y-91 | 58.5 d
Y-92 | 3.54 h
Y-93 | 10.2 h
Yttrium was discovered by
Johan Gadolin in 1794. It was discovered in a mine near
Ytterby, a village in Sweden. This little village (where, at the time of writing, the sky appears to be
overcast according to a prominent weather site, and the temperatures a not-so-warm 14 °C (not to be used for
navigational purposes)), is not too far from
Stockholm. In this mine, Gadolin discovered
Yttria (as you can see, they were very creative name-wise). Incidentally, due to a severe vowel shortage, Ytterby also gave its name to three other other
elements:
ytterbium,
terbium and
erbium, but that is the subject of another (and no less exciting) node. In 1828,
Friedrich Wohler isolated yttrium oxide, and in 1843
Mosander showed that yttria was actually a combination of oxides of three elements, yttrium, erbium and terbium (
good times, good times). Today, yttria refers only to yttrium oxide.
Quite a large amount of yttrium is found on the moon.
Despite the fact that it is not a lanthanide or an actinide, it is considered a rare-earth metal because of its similarity and natural proximity to the lanthanides.
Yttrium's main use is in colour televisions. YVO
4 europium and Y
2O
3 europium
phosphors are used to give the red colour in television tubes.
Other than that, yttrium is used to increase strength in aluminium and magnesium alloys, is used in lasers (that is always cool) and as a catalyst for ethylene polymerization. Yttrium oxide is used to produce yttrium-iron garnets, which are very effective microwave filters.
99.9% pure yttrium is currently going for about $140/kg, less if you order a large amount. Several sites say the price is $75/oz, but hey, my figure is a quote from an actual dealer (true fact, and not as interesting as it would seem).
Flush eyes with warm water for 15 minutes. If
irritation persists, seek
medical attention.
Take deep breaths of fresh air and avoid further
inhalation of material. If irritation persists, seek medical attention.
(The previous two items are actual quotes from a safety brochure on yttrium).
YES. YTTRIUM TASTES LIKE FUCKING CHICKEN.
Sources:
- www.webelements.com/webelements/ elements/text/Y/key.html
- http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/39.html
- http://www.scescape.net/~woods/elements/yttrium.html
- http://www.chemicalelements.com/elements/y.html
- http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Yttrium
- http://www.stanfordmaterials.com/yy.html
I did it. You can do it too!