It is one of the chemical compounds belonging to the group of lanthanides or rare earths, this is a metalloid with a very bright silver color, it has little ductility, being extremely malleable and soft, it presents high stability indexes when it has direct contact with oxygen without However, it can be easily affected by dilute mineral acids, and it reacts in a large proportion but slowly in interaction with water.
This chemical element exhibits an atomic number of 70 and its weight has a value of 173, ytterbium is represented by the abbreviation of Yb. The most common oxidized state is Yb2O3 obtaining a totally colorless presentation, this can be easily dissolved in the presence of an acid and later generate a range of highly magnetic colorless trivalent salts, as well as the formation of divalent salts that are characterized for being soluble in water reacting slowly and releasing hydrogen slowly.
The Ytterbium was discovered in 1878 in the city of Geneva located in Switzerland, this was identified by Jean Charles de Marignac scientist who granted the name of his hometown Ytterby; Between the years 1907-1908, independently the scientists Georges Urbain from France and his partner of Austrian origin Carl Auer Von Welcbach isolated ytterbium in two different compounds, called illutetium and ytterbium, which for that year would be called Cassiopean and aldebarian respectively. The best technique for the preparation of this metal is by distillation, This metal travels freely in the air and according to its behavior it is more similar to elements such as calcium, barium and strontium than to rare earths.
This metal is widely used in the metallurgical area according to its ductility, it can be alloyed with other compounds and implemented in the electronic field as it develops a powerful conduction of electricity, according to its magnetic capacity it can be applied to The construction of powerful magnets, in turn, can mix with the silicon, forming ytterbium silicate, having a beautiful shiny appearance, therefore it is used in jewelry pieces.
