How to Research Samarium

Samarium, the 62nd element, makes up five parts per billion of all matter in the universe. Samarium is primarily used in powerful magnets and carbon-arc lamps. The following steps will aid in your search for information about samarium.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Periodic chart

1. Read up on geology and history. Samarium got its name from the samarium-bearing mineral samarskite, which itself is named after Colonel Samarskia, a Russian mining official.

2. Look for information about the discovery of samarium by the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignacwas in 1853. He detected samarium spectroscopically in didymium. The French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran first isolated samarium from samarskite in 1879.

3. Read about geology to learn that samarium is primarily found in monazite. Other sources include bastnasite and samarskite. Samarium is mined in Australia, China, India, Russia and the United States and is isolated through ion exchange processes.

4. Search chemistry and physics Web sites and books to learn about the best-known aspect of samarium--its use in powerful magnets. Look for facts about samarium's appearance, reactivity and other chemical and physical properties.

5. Look for information on chemical properties to understand why samarium is primarily used in carbon-arc lighting. Samarium is also alloyed with cobalt to make powerful magnets and used to manufacture optical masers or lasers.

Tips & Warnings

• Samarium compounds are thought to be moderately toxic.