Why Is Lanthanum Special?
Lanthanum Is a Ductile and Malleable Silvery White Metal That Is Soft Enough to Be Cut with a Knife. It Is the Second Most Reactive of the Rare-Earth Metals...
Lanthanum is a ductile and malleable silvery white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It is the second most reactive of the rare-earth metals after europium. Lanthanum oxidizes in air at room temperature to form La2O3.
What makes lanthanum unique?
Lanthanum is a metal so soft it can be cut with a butter knife. It is highly malleable and ductile. Although the freshly cut metal is bright silver, it rapidly oxidizes or tarnishes in air. Lanthanum was discovered by Carl Mosander in 1839 in the mineral cerite.
Why is the element lanthanum so important?
Lanthanum is an important component of mischmetal alloy (about 20%). The best-known use for this alloy is in 'flints' for cigarette lighters. 'Rare earth' compounds containing lanthanum are used extensively in carbon lighting applications, such as studio lighting and cinema projection.
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