Gadolinium (Gd)
"The Invisible Seeker, Gadolinium helps doctors peek inside your body with powerful magnetic scans, and can even stop rogue neutrons in their tracks!"
A memorable persona to anchor Gd in your mind.
7.9
Grams per cm³
1313
Celsius (°C)
237
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
That super-detailed image your doctor gets of your brain or knee? Gadolinium is often the secret ingredient making it crystal clear!
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1880
Discovered By
Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
Origin of Name
"Gadolinium was named in honour of Johan Gadolin."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
157.25 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
3273°C
Electron Configuration
[Xe] 4f75d16s2
1st Ionization Energy
6.15 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"A shiny, silvery-white metal that looks sleek and sophisticated."
Did You Know?
Named after Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin, Gadolinium is one of the very few elements honored with a scientist's name!
It's a 'rare earth' element, part of the Lanthanide series, but don't let the name fool you – it's actually moderately abundant in the Earth's crust, just tricky to extract!
Gadolinium is a superstar in medicine! It's primarily used as a contrast agent in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, helping doctors visualize soft tissues, tumors, and blood vessels with incredible clarity.
Talk about a neutron sponge! Gadolinium has the highest known thermal neutron capture cross-section of any element, making it exceptionally good at absorbing neutrons.