LUTECIO

Lutetium is a chemical element that, despite belonging to the “d block”, is considered as the last element in the lanthanide series and one of the “rare earths”. Its atomic number is 71 and its symbol is Lu.

In 1787 a bizarre mineral was found in Ytterby (Sweden) and was called “the heavy stone of Ytterby”. This rock was composed of what nowadays we know as ten different elements. However, Lutetium wasn't discovered until 120 years later. Lutetium was discovered simultaneously but independently by Carl Auer von Welshbach, Charles James and Georges Urbain. These scientists found impurities in one of the elements discovered in Ytterby’s rock, Ytterbium. Ytterbium preserved its name and the new lament discovered was called Lutetium.

Lutetium comes from the latin word Lutetia, which was the first name of Paris. It was not easy to discover because it is a very heavy element as well as being difficult to isolate, that’s why in nature it is always found combined with other “rare earths” and never all alone. It is extracted mainly from the monazite ore.

In space, Lutetium is used to determine the age of meteoroids. Furthermore, it is used as a catalyst in petroleum cracking refineries and in the processes of alkylation, hydrogenation and polymerization. Lutetium is a pure source of beta radiation and it is used in the therapy of some cancers. Last but not least, lutetium makes up a fundamental part in the study of magnetism.

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