Thulium

Thulium

Symbol	Tm
Atomic Number	69
Atomic Mass	168.93 g.mol -1
Discovered by	Per Theodor Cleve in 1879

Table of Contents

• Chemical Properties of Thulium
• What is Thulium?
• Uses of Thulium
• Properties of Thulium
• Certain Facts About Thulium

Chemical Properties of Thulium

What is Thulium?

• Thulium is a chemical element having an atomic number 69 with the symbol Tm, discovered by Theodor Cleve in the year 1879.
• It is the thirteenth element in the lanthanide series in the periodic table.
• The element is barely traced purely in nature, but it is traced in minute amounts in minerals with other rare earth metals.

Uses of Thulium

• It is used for laser manufacturing and for surgical purposes.
• Thulium is used as a source of radiation from portable X-ray devices and in nuclear reactions.
• Despite being slightly expensive, superconductors of high-temperature use thulium.
• It is used for manufacturing ferrites and ceramic magnetic materials for microwave items.

Properties of Thulium

• The element is the second least abundant element in the lanthanide series.
• It would tarnish once exposed to air due to its malleability and ductility.
• The element contains one natural isotope, 169Tm, which has a half-life of 1.92 years.
• The remaining isotopes of the element have a half-life that ranges from 2 minutes to 64 hours.

Certain Facts About Thulium

• Natural thulium in ceramic magnetic materials is used in microwave equipment and is useful for doping fibre lasers.
• Once used for bombarding in a nuclear reactor, thulium could be employed as a radiation source in portable X-ray equipment.
• Unlike the other lanthanides, thulium has a low-to-moderate acute toxic rating.