|
What
the name means:
The word lanthanum derives from the Greek
word lanthanein or lanthano,
meaning “hidden”.
Who
identified
lanthanum?
Lanthanum was identified by the Swedish
scientist, Carl Gustav Mosander, in 1839.
About
lanthanum:
Lanthanum is one of the members of the
group of elements know as the rare earths.
There are sixteen elements in this group.
The word “earth” was used to describe the
oxide of metals. The word “rare” was
applied to these sixteen elements because
it was believed that their metal oxides
were not present in any great quantity in
the Earth’s crust. In fact, for most of the
elements in this group, this is not the
case. Their metal oxides are quite
abundant, although they often occur mixed
with other compounds.
|
The Open Door Web Site 
