Lutetium
⚕️ In Your World
Lutetium is the last, heaviest, and hardest of the lanthanide series. Due to its rarity and high cost, it has very few commercial uses. Its main applications are in highly specialized fields. It is used as a catalyst in petroleum refineries to crack hydrocarbons. The radioactive isotope Lutetium-177 is showing great promise in nuclear medicine for targeted cancer therapy.
📖 The Discovery Story
Lutetium was the last naturally occurring rare earth element to be discovered. In 1907, French scientist Georges Urbain separated the element ytterbia into two new components, which he named "neoytterbia" and "lutecia." The elements within these earths became known as ytterbium and lutetium. Urbain chose the name from Lutetia, the ancient Roman name for his home city, Paris. Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach and American chemist Charles James independently discovered the element around the same time.
📊 Properties at a Glance
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Melting Point | 1663 °C / 3025 °F |
| Boiling Point | 3402 °C / 6156 °F |
| Electron Configuration | [Xe] 4f¹⁴5d¹6s² |
| Abundance in Earth's Crust | 0.00008% |
⚠️ Safety & Handling
Lutetium is considered to have a low toxicity rating, but like all rare earth metals, its compounds should be handled with care as their long-term effects are not fully understood. The metal dust is a fire and explosion hazard.