15 Facts About Thulium

Thulium is a chemical element with the symbol Tm and atomic number 69.

Thulium is the second-least abundant of the lanthanides, after radioactively unstable promethium which is only found in trace quantities on Earth.

Thulium is ferromagnetic below 32K, antiferromagnetic between 32 and 56K, and paramagnetic above 56K.

Thulium has two major allotropes: the tetragonal a-Tm and the more stable hexagonal ß-Tm.

Thulium is quite electropositive and reacts slowly with cold water and quite quickly with hot water to form thulium hydroxide:.

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Thulium reacts with hydrogen chloride to produce hydrogen gas and thulium chloride.

Thulium was discovered by Swedish chemist Per Teodor Cleve in 1879 by looking for impurities in the oxides of other rare earth elements .

Thulium was so rare that none of the early workers had enough of it to purify sufficiently to actually see the green color; they had to be content with spectroscopically observing the strengthening of the two characteristic absorption bands, as erbium was progressively removed.

Thulium is often found with minerals containing yttrium and gadolinium.

Thulium has not been found in prevalence over the other rare earths in any mineral yet.

Thulium is the least abundant lanthanide on Earth except for the radioactive promethium.

Thulium-170 is gaining popularity as an X-ray source for cancer treatment via brachytherapy .

Thulium has been used in high-temperature superconductors similarly to yttrium.

Thulium potentially has use in ferrites, ceramic magnetic materials that are used in microwave equipment.

Thulium is similar to scandium in that it is used in arc lighting for its unusual spectrum, in this case, its green emission lines, which are not covered by other elements.