The Element Holmium


Holmium is a rare earth metal which is stable in air and room temperature and can be found in minerals such as monazite and gadolinite. The technique called ion exchange is used for commercially extracting Holmium from minerals. The main current sources of this element are some of the ion-adsorption clays of southern China.

Due to the magnetic properties, Holmium has been used for creating strongest artificially generated magnetic fields. Same as some other rare earth metals, this is also used for coloring glass in red or yellow. Apart from the coloring characteristics for glasses, Holmium is used for coloring jewelry as well.

Atomic Number & Chemical Properties


Element Basics:

Chemical Symbol: Ho
Atomic Number: 67
Atomic Weight: 164.93032
Element Classification: Rare Earth Element (Lanthanide Series)
Discovered By: J.L. Soret
Date of Discovery: 1878 (Switzerland)
Origin of Name: Holmia, the Latinized name for Stockholm, Sweden.

How to Recognize it at a Party:

Fairly soft, malleable, lustrous, silvery metal

Seriously Atomic Information:

Density (g/cc): 8.795
Melting Point (°K): 1747
Boiling Point (°K): 2968
Atomic Radius (pm): 179
Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 18.7
Covalent Radius (pm): 158
Ionic Radius: 89.4 (+3e)
Pauling Negativity Number: 1.23
First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 574
Oxidation States: 3
Electronic Configuration: [Xe] 4f11 6s2

Getting Intimate with Holmium:

Lattice Structure: Hexagonal (HEX)
Lattice Constant (Å): 3.580
Lattice C/A Ratio: 1.570
Specific Heat (@20°C J/g mol): 0.164
Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): n/a
Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 301
Thermal Conductivity (@25°C W/m K):
Debye Temperature (°K): n/a


Society's Questions About Holmium:

Have you ever wondered what everyone else in the world thinks about Holmium? Is anyone else looking for it too? If so, why? What do they want?

The following list shows the most common online questions about the element Holmium. Are your questions the same or different from everyone else's?

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