Lanthanum (La)
"Meet 'The Illuminator,' a dazzling hero who sharpens visions and sparks breakthroughs! With the power to bend light and unleash hidden energies, he makes the impossible clear and electrifies the future."
A memorable persona to anchor La in your mind.
6.162
Grams per cm³
920
Celsius (°C)
240
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
It's inside the super-sharp zoom lenses of your smartphone and high-end cameras!
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1839
Discovered By
Carl Gustaf Mosander
Origin of Name
"The name is derived from the Greek 'lanthanein', meaning to lie hidden."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
138.905 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
3464°C
Electron Configuration
[Xe] 5d16s2
1st Ionization Energy
5.577 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"A shiny, silvery-white metal that's soft enough to cut with a knife and quickly dulls in the open air."
Did You Know?
Lanthanum is the very first element in the 'lanthanide series' (that special row at the bottom of the periodic table) – it basically kicks off the whole party!
Its name comes from the Greek word 'lanthanein,' meaning 'to lie hidden,' because it was incredibly difficult to separate from other rare earth elements when first discovered.
Though called a 'rare earth element,' Lanthanum isn't actually rare; it's quite abundant in Earth's crust, just tough to extract in its pure form!
Got a Zippo or another flint lighter? Lanthanum is often mixed with other elements in the 'flint' to produce that satisfying spark!