Elements

Holmium

By 2014-03-06T00:00:00

The Visual Elements symbol for holmium

Source: © Murray Robertson / Visual Elements

When it comes to powerful magnets, nothing beats holmium. John Emsley investigates

Holmium is one of the lanthanoids, commonly known as rare earth elements. However the term rare earth is a misnomer because some are not actually rare: holmium is twenty times more abundant than silver.

A bright, soft, silvery metal, holmium is slowly attacked by oxygen and water, and dissolves in acids.

From its double discovery in 1878, John Emsley tracks the progress of this not-so-rare earth metal, its extraction and uses.

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