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Yttrium is one of four elements named for the same small town of Ytterby, Sweden. The other three elements are erbium, terbium, and ytterbium. The element was discovered in 1794 by Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin (1760-1852). The discovery of yttrium marked the beginning of one hundred years of complicated chemical research that resulted in the discovery often new elements.
Yttrium is a transition metal. Transition metals are those elements in Groups 3 through 12 of the periodic table. The periodic table is a chart that shows how chemical elements are related to each other. The element above yttrium in the periodic table is scandium. The space below yttrium is taken up by a group of elements known as the rare earth elements. Scandium, yttrium, and the rare earth elements are often found together in nature.
Yttrium is often used to make alloys with other metals. An alloy is made by melting and mixing two or more metals. The mixture has properties different from those of the individual metals. Two of yttrium's most interesting applications are in lasers and superconducting materials.
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