Terbium is one of the chemical elements that makes up the group of rare earths, these are found in most cases in the form of oxide, this compound is characterized by being a silver-colored metal with little brilliance, presenting enough stability when found in a prolonged exposure to air at room temperature, however if the degrees centigrade increase it becomes extremely susceptible; Terbium metal is extremely ductile, malleable and with low hardness, being easy to cut using a sharp knife. When it is in an oxidized state, terbium has a characteristic dark brown color, and its salts are obtained by being subjected to heat for a certain interval of time, they become colorless when dissolved..
It exhibits an atomic number equivalent to 65, an atomic mass of 158.9, and is symbolized by the initials Tb, this metal owes its name to the city Ytterby where it was discovered by the chemical scientist Gustaf Mosander who extracted it one hundred percent pure in the year 1847, from the mineral gadolinite giving knowledge of three elements at the same time erbium, terbium and ytiria. At present, terbium is obtained from two salts called euxenite and xenotime, in the same way through the application of a methodology in which ion exchange is made, it can be extracted from monazite sand, this sand is one of the few minerals rich in the great variety of rare earths or lanthanides.
Like its other companions, terbium is used for the manufacture of television screens, specifically it is applied in a gaseous form to activate the green range in the projected images, in the same way it can also be implemented for any screen production on any electronic item. When terbium is conjugated with sodium it can be implemented in the production of " transistorized " type devices. ”, In turn, it plays a good role as a fuel stabilizer at high temperatures. Terbium, like any chemical compound, can produce harmful effects on the health of the person who constantly manipulates it, in most cases it produces collateral effects in the respiratory system due to prolonged exposure.
