Promethium bound: Rare earth element’s secrets exposed

Science, News

Scientists have uncovered the properties of a rare earth element that was first discovered 80 years ago at the very same laboratory, opening a new pathway for the exploration of elements critical in modern technology, from medicine to space travel.

Promethium was discovered in 1945 at Clinton Laboratories, now the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and continues to be produced at ORNL in minute quantities.

Some of its properties have remained elusive despite the rare earth element’s use in medical studies and long-lived nuclear batteries.

It is named after the mythological Titan who delivered fire to humans and whose name symbolizes human striving.

The ORNL-led team of scientists prepared a chemical complex of promethium, which enabled its characterization in solution for the first time.

Thus, they exposed the secrets of this extremely rare lanthanide, whose atomic number is 61, in a series of meticulous experiments.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence is becoming a way of life, with new systems and uses popping up everyday.

What Are Microplastics?

What are microplastics? How do they harm the environment?

How Did Dinosaurs Move?

While dinosaurs’ days of dominating the Earth ended 65 million years ago, leaving us few fossil remains to give us clues about how they lived until now.

Water Cycle

Water: It's an essential building block of life, constantly moving in a hydrologic cycle that flows in a continuous loop above, across and even below the Earth's surface. How does the water cycle work?

Greenland's Jakobshavn Glacier

The glacier has been one of the island's largest contributor's to sea level rise, but in a new study, it grew slightly and the rate of mass loss slowed down.

The world's first process for making zero emissions cement

Concrete is the second most-used substance on Earth, after water...