Holmium
🧲 In Your World
Holmium holds the record for the highest magnetic strength of any element. This makes it a crucial component in creating the pole pieces of the most powerful static magnets, which are used to generate intense magnetic fields for scientific research. It is also used in some solid-state lasers and as a yellow or red colorant for cubic zirconia and glass.
📖 The Discovery Story
Holmium was discovered through its spectral lines in 1878 by Swiss chemists Marc Delafontaine and Jacques-Louis Soret. Later that year, Swedish chemist Per Teodor Cleve independently isolated it from an ore of erbium. Cleve named the element "holmium" after the Latin name for his hometown, Stockholm, which is Holmia.
📊 Properties at a Glance
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Melting Point | 1474 °C / 2685 °F |
| Boiling Point | 2700 °C / 4892 °F |
| Electron Configuration | [Xe] 4f¹¹6s² |
| Abundance in Earth's Crust | 0.00013% |
⚠️ Safety & Handling
Holmium is a relatively soft and malleable metal that is stable in dry air at room temperature. Like other lanthanides, it is considered to have a low level of acute toxicity, and its compounds should be handled with standard laboratory safety precautions.