Thulium (Tm)
"Meet Thulium, the silent powerhouse of precision! This rare earth metal masters invisible light for surgical strikes and sees right through matter with its incredible portable X-ray capabilities."
A memorable persona to anchor Tm in your mind.
9.32
Grams per cm³
1545
Celsius (°C)
227
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Think high-tech medical scans and precision laser surgeries that save lives!
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1879
Discovered By
Per Teodor Cleve
Origin of Name
"The name comes from Thule, the ancient name for Scandinavia."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
168.934 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
1950°C
Electron Configuration
[Xe] 4f136s2
1st Ionization Energy
6.184 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"It's a soft, silvery-gray metal, almost like a piece of polished moonlight when fresh."
Did You Know?
Thulium gets its awesome name from 'Thule,' a legendary land far to the north, often thought to be Scandinavia. How cool is that for an element?
Among the stable lanthanides, Thulium is one of the *least* abundant in the Earth's crust, making it a true hidden gem and quite a rare find!
Get ready for surgical strikes! Thulium-doped fiber lasers emit infrared light perfect for delicate medical procedures and high-precision scientific work.
Thanks to its isotope, Thulium-170, we can have compact, portable X-ray sources – imagine checking welds or even bones without a giant machine!