thulium
Noun
Meaning
A rare metallic element of uncertain properties and identity, said to have been found in the mineral gadolinite.
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It is the only isotope of thulium that is thought to be stable, although it is predicted to undergo alpha decay to holmium -165 with a very long half-life.
In 1879, Swedish chemist Per Theodor Cleve separated in the rare earth erbia another two previously unknown components, which he called holmia and thulia : these were the oxides of holmium and thulium respectively.
A relatively pure sample of thulium metal was first obtained in 1911.
Despite this, thulium has a low level of toxicity.
He famously needed 15,000 purification operations to establish that the material was homogeneous. citation High-purity thulium oxide was first offered commercially in the late 1950s, as a result of the adoption of ion-exchange separation technology.
In 1996, thulium oxide cost US$20 per gram, and in 2005, 99%-pure thulium metal powder cost US$70 per gram. citation Applications Despite being rare and expensive, thulium has a few applications.