Holmium
Holmium, a chemical element, has the symbol Ho and atomic number 67. Its atomic weight is approximately 164.9034 amu. Holmium is a rare earth metal and part of the lanthanide series. It is named after Holmia, the Latin name for Stockholm and was discovered by Delafontaine in 1878. Holmium melts at 1474 degrees Celsius (2685.2 degrees Fahrenheit and boils at 2700 degrees Celsius (4892 degrees Fahrenheit. Its orbital is 4f11 and its specific gravity is 8.781. Holmium has 29 isotopes and the number of e's per energy level is 2,8,18,29,8,2.Holmium is quite magnetic. It has the highest magnetic moment (10.6µB) of any naturally occurring element. Because of this it has been used to create the highest known magnetic fields by placing it within high strength magnets as a pole piece or magnetic flux concentrator.
Commercial uses of Holmium include use in magnets, lasers, nuclear control rods.
See also: Periodic Table, Scandium, Yttrium, Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium, rare earth, and lanthanide.
