Terbium (Tb)

Terbium (Tb) is contained in the following rare earth mineral:

• Bastnaesite

• Xenotime

• Monazite

• Loparite

• Euxenite

• Samarskite

• Parisite

This silvery rare earth metal is so soft it can be cut with a knife. Terbium is often used in compact fluorescent lighting, color displays, and as an additive to permanent rare earth magnets to allow them to function better under higher temperatures. It can be found in fuel cells designed to operate at elevated temperatures, in some electronic devices and in naval sonar systems. Discovered in 1843, terbium in its alloy form has the highest magnetostriction of any such substance, meaning it changes its shape due to magnetization more than any other alloy. This property makes terbium a vital component of Terfenol-D, which has many important uses in defense and commercial technologies.

References

• 1. https://en.wikipedia.org

  2. http://theodoregray.com/periodictable/Elements/065/index.html