Holmium
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Description
A rare-earth metallic element. Holmium occurs naturally in rare-earth minerals such as gadolinite, monazite, and xenotime. Its abundance in the earth's crust is about 1.2 ppm. Holmium was discovered by Delafontaine and Soret in 1878 and independently by Cleve in 1879. Metallic holmium is a silver gray color and tarnishes slowly in air. Holmium is used as a catalyst and for some electronic applications.
Synonyms and Related Terms
Ho
Risks
- Sensitive to air, light, and moisture.
- Contact may cause irritation.
- Fisher Scientific: MSDS
Physical and Chemical Properties
Soluble in dilute acids. Slightly soluble in water.
| Composition | Ho (atomic no. 67) |
|---|---|
| CAS | 7440-60-0 |
| Melting Point | 1474 C |
| Density | 8.7947 g/ml |
| Molecular Weight | atomic wt = 164.9303 |
| Boiling Point | 2700 C |
Resources and Citations
- Web Elements: Website (accessed Dec. 15, 2004)
- Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
- Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976
- Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
- The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 4763
- The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998