Erbium
🌐 In Your World
Erbium is a rare earth metal with a beautiful pink hue. Its most significant modern application is in fiber optic cables, where erbium-doped fibers are used as optical amplifiers to boost data signals over long distances without converting them to electricity. This technology is the backbone of the global internet. Erbium is also used as a pink colorant in glass and ceramics and in some types of lasers for medical and dental applications.
📖 The Discovery Story
Erbium was discovered in 1843 by Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander. He separated the mineral gadolinite into three different "earths" (oxides). He named one "yttria," another "erbia" (for erbium), and the third "terbia" (for terbium). All three elements were named after the village of Ytterby, Sweden, where the original mineral was found.
📊 Properties at a Glance
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Melting Point | 1529 °C / 2784 °F |
| Boiling Point | 2868 °C / 5194 °F |
| Electron Configuration | [Xe] 4f¹²6s² |
| Abundance in Earth's Crust | 0.00035% |
⚠️ Safety & Handling
Erbium metal is relatively stable in air and is considered to have a low level of toxicity. As with other lanthanides, its compounds should be handled with standard laboratory safety precautions, though it is not considered particularly hazardous.