Gadolinium

This week's element is gadolinium, which was named for its discoverer, Johan Gadolin, who was born in Åbo, Sweden, which now is Turku, Finland. Gadolinium has the symbol Gd and atomic number 64. Pure gadolinium is a soft, shiny silvery-white rare earth metal, but like the other lanthanoids, gadolinium is not found in its pure form in the wild. Gadolinium is not used in large amounts, but it is used for a number of special applications, including magnetic storage disks and compact discs, and its alloys are used in magnets and electronic components. If you enjoy colourful elements, then gadolinium is a disappointment. Its absorption spectrum is not visible to the human eye, so it appears colourless and its compounds are a boring white colour. But gadolinium is special because it has the greatest neutron-capturing ability of any known element. This ability to act like a neutron sponge makes gadolinium valuable in some types of nuclear reactors as well as in nuclear medicine. For example, gadolinium has been used to target tumors, especially in the brain, using neutron therapy. Injectable organic gadolinium compounds are also used as a contrast agent for MRI, which allows doctors to better locate uncommon cell growths and tumors. Here's our favourite chemists telling us a little more about gadolinium, especially in MRI: [ video link ] The most interesting thing I learned about gadolinium is that has no known biological role and is present only in the tiniest of quantities in most living things. Vegetables, for example, only contain two parts per billion (dry weight) at the most. However, some lichen types concentrate gadolinium in comparatively high amounts, as high as 500 parts per billion. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Video journalist Brady Haran is the man with the camera and the University of Nottingham is the place with the chemists. You can follow Brady on twitter @ periodicvideos and the University of Nottingham on twitter @ UniofNottingham You've already met these elements: Europium : Eu , atomic number 63 Samarium : Sm , atomic number 62 Promethium : Pm , atomic number 61 Neodymium : Nd , atomic number 60 Praseodymium : Pr , atomic number 59 Cerium : Ce , atomic number 58 Lanthanum : La , atomic number 57 Barium : Ba , atomic number 56 Cæsium : Cs , atomic number 55 Xenon : Xe , atomic number 54 Iodine : I , atomic number 53 Tellurium : Te , atomic number 52 Antimony : Sb , atomic number 51 Tin : Sn , atomic number 50 Indium : In , atomic number 49 Cadmium : Cd , atomic number 48 Silver : Ag , atomic number 47 Palladium : Pd , atomic number 46 Rhodium : Rh , atomic number 45 Ruthenium : Ru , atomic number 44 Technetium : Tc , atomic number 43 Molybdenum : Mo , atomic number 42 Niobium : Ni , atomic number 41 Zirconium : Zr , atomic number 40 Yttrium : Y , atomic number 39 Strontium : Sr , atomic number 38 Rubidium : Rr , atomic number 37 Krypton : Kr , atomic number 36 Bromine : Br , atomic number 35 Selenium : Se , atomic number 34 Arsenic : As , atomic number 33 Germanium : Ge , atomic number 32 Gallium : Ga , atomic number 31 Zinc : Zn , atomic number 30 Copper : Cu , atomic number 29 Nickel : Ni , atomic number 28 Cobalt : Co , atomic number 27 Iron : Fe , atomic number 26 Manganese : Mn , atomic number 25 Chromium : Cr , atomic number 24 Vanadium : V , atomic number 23 Titanium : Ti , atomic number 22 Scandium : Sc , atomic number 21 Calcium : Ca , atomic number 20 Potassium : K , atomic number 19 Argon : Ar , atomic number 18 Chlorine : Cl , atomic number 17 Sulfur : S , atomic number 16 Phosphorus : P , atomic number 15 Silicon : Si , atomic number 14 Aluminium : Al , atomic number 13 Magnesium : Mg , atomic number 12 Sodium : Na , atomic number 11 Neon : Ne , atomic number 10 Fluorine : F , atomic number 9 Oxygen : O , atomic number 8 Nitrogen : N , atomic number 7 Carbon : C , atomic number 6 Boron : B , atomic number 5 Beryllium : Be , atomic number 4 Lithium : Li , atomic number 3 Helium : He , atomic number 2 Hydrogen : H , atomic number 1 Here's the Royal Society of Chemistry's interactive Periodic Table of the Elements that is just really really fun to play with! .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. twitter: @ GrrlScientist facebook: grrlscientist Pinterest: grrlscientist email: [email protected]