Neodymium

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Neodymium
Neodymium is an element with atomic number 60, and atomic symbol Nd. It's located in the lanthanide series of the periodic table, also sometimes referred to as the "rare earth elements." It's one of the more reactive rare earth elements, it tarnishes very quickly in air. It's never found as a free element in nature as a result of its reactive nature. It can be found in mischmetal, and the minerals monazite and bastnasite. Although it's classified in the "rare earth elements," it's not very rare. It's estimated there are just under 10 million tons of neodymium on Earth. Many people think of neodymium as being the "magnet element," which it partly is. Despite its great qualities for magnetism, there are many other uses for neodymium of comparable importance. It's only been put into major use during the past 50 years or so, but it's full potential has been realized and it seems that it will be one of the most valuable elements when it takes a major foothold in world infrastructure, as it is projected to. It's worked its way pretty far into industries during the past three decades. If you own a computer, cell phone, solar powered device, or portable CD player (among other electronic devices), it's likely that neodymium

History
Before neodymium was successfully isolated completely, it was observed as a rose colored oxide in the mineral cerite. A scientist named Carl Mosander extracted didymium from cerite in 1841, which he believed to be an entirely new element. What he extracted from cerite was actually a mixture of praesodymium and Neodymium. Though in 1885, Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach, an Austrian chemist, spent lots of time focusing on this substance didymium. After many tests and observations, he began to try to separate didymium into more basic substances. He did this by means of fractional crystallization, a refining process that utilizes different solubility of substances. What he discovered were the rare earth elements neodymium and praesodymium. Having used relatively underdeveloped methods of this type of separation, the neodymium that he extracted was slightly impure. Purer extractions of neodymium weren't performed until the 1920's.

It was not until the turn of the 1950's that neodymium was of any interest to the science world, when the Lindsay Chemical Division began to commercialize large-scale purification of neodymium. The element's first use was tinting glass. It was a convenient additive because it was a reliable and chemically sound way to produce glass with orange and purple coloring. In incandescent light, the glass appears pink or purple, but in different lighting, it appears to be more red or orange. Later, as the development of lasers took a more important role in industry, neodymium has used much in lasers emitting infrared light.

In 1982, the General Motors corporation discovered the neodymium magnet compound, (Nd 2 ﻿ ﻿Fe 14 ﻿ ﻿ B). This effort was initiated because of the high cost of SmCo (samarium-cobalt) magnets. After the initial discovery, different corporations focused on manipulating this compound in different ways. The GM corporation put much energy on melt-spun magnets, while other firms, such as Sumitomo, focused on full density neodymium magnet development. Pictured at left, this glass has been treated with neodymium to supply the lavender tint. ([|Picture Link])

In the years during and following the 1950's, neodymium isolation has been improving. Quantities of >99.99% pure neodymium could be obtained from performing electrolysis of the halide salts in monazite. However, the highest purity neodymium can be obtained through ion exchange purification. This process was not commercialized until about a decade later, when neodymium started becoming a more useful and valuable element.

Economics
Neodymium, in recent years, has increased in value and usefulness. It's being applied to many new causes, the most effective of which being magnets. Neodymium magnets, (Nd 2 ﻿ ﻿Fe 14 ﻿ ﻿ B) are the strongest magnets that humans have developed. The video below (taken from youtube user 'kjmagnetics' at [|this link]) demonstrates the massive power of Neodymium magnets, and how their magnetic flux behaves given different objects put in the magnetic field. It should be obvious after viewing that such a moderately sized magnet possessing such force would be extremely helpful in all sorts of industries.

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Being lighter, stronger, and cheaper than standard magnets (usually made of samarium and cobalt), neodymium magnets will slowly, but indefinitely replace the older magnets. Neodymium magnets have one very large role in the music and audio industry. These magnets are used exclusively in high end microphones, loudspeakers and PA systems, computer drives, and even guitar pickups. These situations all require strong, but low-mass magnets, making neodymium the optimal choice. Green energy is one of the fastest up-and-coming industries alive today, and neodymium is valuable in that field as well. Many engineers that work on alternatively fueled modes of transportation implement neodymium magnet engines. They're very effective because of their high magnetic capacity, and are heavily used in the engines of electric and hybrid vehicles and in the generators of large wind turbines. Although these engines were only developed to the point of industry use in the first decade of the 21st century, they have been replacing standard internal combustion engines around the world, and they are expected to continue doing so into the following years. One reason why Neodymium is so convenient for research and development of emerging technologies is that it's abundant; rendering it relatively inexpensive. The main mining spots for neodymium are China, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, and the United States. It has about a 38 mg/kg composition in Earth's crust. In 2004, the world production of neodymium totaled some 7,000 tons. Reserves of Neodymium clock in at a total of 8 million tons, which is certainly not lacking. China has the most control over neodymium mining because their supply of the element dwarfs any other country's. China's government has actually begun to perform strategic control over the element, which has caused some countries' governments to build up stockpiles for the future when these "super-magnets" take a major foothold in technology.

Neodymium in the Environment
By itself, the element Neodymium is never found naturally in the environment.([|3]) However it may be found in Misch metals, to the extent of about 10-18%. Misch metals are simply metals composed of the various “rare earth” elements, in fact the word 'Misch' actually means “mixed” in German. It is found in the minerals Monazite and Bastnaesite as well. Neodymium has an even atomic number making it more predominant in these minerals. In comparison to other Lanthanides found in either Monazite of Bastnaesite, it is the third most common.

The Monazite mineral, is an orthophosphate mineral (LnPO4) meaning that the mineral is composed of all the lanthanide or “rare earth” metals and other nonmetals. Bastnaesite, which was discovered by the Swedish chemist Wilhelm Hisinger in 1838[|(4]) is a fluoride carbonate (LnCO3F) which also contains all the "rare earth" metals and other nonmetals. In many instances extracting Neodymium from the other metals is not called for. However, it can be removed from its ore as a salt through a difficult process that involves extracting the metals with sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and sodium hydroxide. Over the last few decades techniques for the extraction have been making further developments into more convenient systems. Though part of the "rare earth" element category, Neodymium is not actually rare as are other "rare earth" metals. It is the second most commonly occurring Lanthanide in the Earth's crust behind Cerium. Neodymium is mined primarily in Southeast Asia, South America, and Australia and is stored at approximately 8 million tonnes (metric tons) of Neodymium. World wide the production rate of Neodymium amounted to about 7,000 tonnes in 2004 most of which was mined in China. (John Emsley //Nature's Building Blocks: an A-Z guide to the elements)// Due to its strong coloration properties, if the levels of Neodymium in a bastnaesite or monazite mineral are high or other metal contents are low, the crystal is given a pink, or light purple color.

Though Neodymium is not found by itself in nature in still has negative effects on the environment. Petroleum producing industries dump Neodymium into the environment in a wide variety of places, and it also enters the environment when certain house hold items are thrown away. As Neodymium continues to accumulate in soils the amount of concentration entering organisms will increase as well. Particularly affecting water organisms, the ingestion of Neodymium can cause cell membrane damage creating certain problems with reproduction and functions of the nervous system.

Health Effects of Neodymium
The concentration of pure Neodymium in humans is a very small, and has no natural role in the body, however it can have slightly adverse effects to the health if it comes into contact. For example, Neodymium salts are irritable to the eyes, and the ingestion of the salts or dust is considered to be somewhat toxic if the particles are soluble. It is more dangerous if Neodymium is in a working environment, such as when it is being mined, because can be inhaled through air. Long term exposure to such conditions can lead to lung embolisms and liver damage if it is allowed to build up in the body.([|5])

In alternative medical fields Neodymium magnets are used as cures for muscle pain. It is also thought to cut down the time needed to heal a muscle injury and also reduce inflammation. In some instances the magnet can be used to improve circulation as well. Though none of these claims have any scientific backing many believe it has anecdotal properties. These super magnets can potentially cause harm to those that have certain health conditions. People that have pace makers or other internal devices used for medical purposes should not come into contact with Neodymium magnets. Its strong magnetic field would be likely to cause disruptions in the operation of these devices.

There have been many questions about whether exposure to Neodymium magnets has any side effects. Neodymium in its magnet form has not been yet proven to cause any positive or negative health affects.([|6]) The strong electromagnetic field given off by Neodymium magnets has also shown to have no negative affects of the human health. After a twenty year study done by the National Research Council (NRC) that included over 500 different scientific studies the research has not shown any consistent evidence to prove that the electromagnetic causes harm to humans. Furthermore, the scientists of the World Health Organization have stated that the epidemiology studies (study of epidemic diseases and their causes) also showed inconsistent evidence to prove the claims that the low amount of EMFs humans are exposed to cause cancers or p problems with the brain.( [|7] )

Neodymium Magnets [|pic]

Chemical Properties and Physics of Neodymium
The element Neodymium is a "rare earth" metal. Properties of the "rare earth" or lanthanide metals are that they have a silver or silvery white color that quickly dulls when exposed to air, are highly conductive to electricity and are naturally found together in minerals such as Monazite and Bastnaesite. Lanthanides tend to occur with nonmetals as well such as Phosphorus, Oxygen, Carbon and Fluorine e.g. LnPO4. Neodymium, like most other Lanthanides has two valence electrons. The most common ions of Neodymium include Nd 2+, Nd 3+ and Nd 4+. The solubility of Neodymium depends on what kind of compound it is in. If a Nd3 compound contains chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrate, perchlorate or acetate, the compound will be highly soluble. Conversely, if a Nd3 compound contains fluoride, hydroxide, oxide, carbonate, oxalate or phosphate the compound becomes insoluble. Its melting point in 1,297 K (1,865°F) and its boiling point is 3,373 K (5,612°F). The density of this metal is 7.007 g/cc and its atomic mass is 144.24 amu. Nd has an atomic number of 60, meaning that it has 60 protons and 60 electrons, while the number of neutrons in a stable atom is 84.[|8] This metal has seven isotopes with a known natural abundance, and the most common ones include Nd-142 at 27.2% abundance, Nd-144 which has an abundance of 23.8% and a half-life that last 2.29E15 years, and Nd-146 which has an abundance of 17.2% and is stable. If the isotope is stable it simply means that it will not experience radioactive decay or break down over time. Neodymium also has many other isotopes that range from Nd-126 to Nd-161, none of which have recorded natural abundances. This is mostly due to the fact that their half-lifes are very short, so they can't be easily observed.[|(9]

A Neodymium atom has six energy levels and both its most inner and outer shell have 2 electrons, though other inner shells have more. The electron configuration of this element 1s2 2s2p6 3s2p6d10 4s2p6d10f4 5s2p6 6s2 which also means that it has an electronegative charge (ENC) of 2 making it highly reactive. Neodymium has an atomic radius of 2.64å or 2.64E-10 m, an atomic volume of 20.6 cc/mol and a covalent radius of 1.64å. In crystal form Neodymium has a hexagonal structure.

Extra Interesting Facts About Neodymium

 * A neodymium magnet of just a few grams can lift roughly 1,000 times its own weight.
 * Recent cancer research in and around the "ferromagnetic theory of cancer" have revealed that lasers doped with Neodymium (such as the Nd:YAG laser) are a new and promising treatment for skin cancer.
 * Making your own solar panels using neodymium is a really awesome way to cut down carbon emissions while not paying top dollar for name brand solar panels.
 * Neodymium gets its name from the Greek word 'neos' meaning "new" and the word 'dydimus' which means "twin".
 * The Neodymium isotope Nd-157 experiences radioactive decay within 300 nanoseconds.

"Neodymium." //Periodic Table of Elements and Chemistry//. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. .
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// Big Neodymium Magnets Destroying Stuff!!! // Prod. Kjmagnetics. Kjmagnetics, 2009. YouTube. []

"Neodymium | Essential Information." //WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements//. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. [].

"ELEMENT: NEODYMIUM." //RADIOCHEMISTRY SOCIETY - Specialized Courses in Radiochemistry//. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. []

"Element Neodymium - Nd" //Environmental Chemistry.// Web. 07 Jan. 2011. []

Emsley, John. //Nature's Building Blocks: an A-Z Guide to the Elements//. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.