Definitions for ytterbiumɪˈtɜr bi əm

This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word ytterbium

Princeton's WordNet

  1. ytterbium, Yb, atomic number 70(noun)

    a soft silvery metallic element; a rare earth of the lanthanide series; it occurs in gadolinite and monazite and xenotime


  1. ytterbium(Noun)

    A metallic chemical element (symbol Yb) with an atomic number of 70.

  2. Origin: Named for the Swedish town of Ytterby.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Ytterbium(noun)

    a rare element of the boron group, sometimes associated with yttrium or other related elements, as in euxenite and gadolinite. Symbol Yb; provisional atomic weight 173.2. Cf. Yttrium

  2. Origin: [NL., fr. Ytterby, in Sweden. See Erbium.]


  1. Ytterbium

    Ytterbium is a chemical element with symbol Yb and atomic number 70. It is the fourteenth and penultimate element in the lanthanide series, or last element in the f-block, which is the basis of the relative stability of the +2 oxidation state. However, like the other lanthanides, the most common oxidation state is +3, seen in its oxide, halides and other compounds. In aqueous solution, like compounds of other late lanthanides, soluble ytterbium compounds form complexes with nine water molecules. Because of its closed-shell electron configuration, its density and melting and boiling points differ from those of the other lanthanides. In 1878, the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac separated in the rare earth "erbia" another independent component, which he called "ytterbia", for Ytterby, the village in Sweden near where he found the new component of erbium. He suspected that ytterbia was a compound of a new element that he called "ytterbium". In 1907, the new earth "lutecia" was separated from ytterbia, from which the element "lutecium" was extracted by Georges Urbain, Carl Auer von Welsbach, and Charles James. After some discussion, Marignac's name "ytterbium" was retained. A relatively pure sample of the metal was obtained only in 1953. At present, ytterbium is mainly used as a dopant of stainless steel or active laser media, and less often as a gamma ray source.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Ytterbium

    i-ter′bi-um, n. an element discovered by Marignac in gadolinite.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Ytterbium

    Ytterbium. An element of the rare earth family of metals. It has the atomic symbol Yb, atomic number 70, and atomic weight 173. Ytterbium has been used in lasers and as a portable x-ray source.


  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of ytterbium in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of ytterbium in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

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