rare earth element, named by French chemist Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838-1912) in 1886, from holmia "holmium oxide," a Modern Latin word coined by the earth's discoverer, Swedish chemist Per Teodor Cleve (1840-1905), in 1879 from Holmia, Latin name of Stockholm.
holmium hol·mi·um (hōl'mē-əm)
n.
Symbol Ho
A soft malleable rare-earth element. Atomic number 67; atomic weight 164.930; melting point 1,472°C; boiling point 2,700°C; specific gravity 8.80; valence 3.
| holmium (hōl'mē-əm) Symbol Ho A soft, silvery, malleable metallic element of the lanthanide series. Its compounds are highly magnetic. It is mainly used in scientific research but has also been used to make electronic devices. Atomic number 67; atomic weight 164.930; melting point 1,461°C; boiling point 2,600°C; specific gravity 8.803; valence 3. See Periodic Table. |
(Ho), chemical element, rare-earth metal of the lanthanoid series of the periodic table, one of the most paramagnetic substances known. Among the least abundant of the rare-earth elements, holmium and its compounds have limited application except for research. Holmium has been used as a component of some electronic devices; the ion Ho3+ has been used as a catalyst for ortho-para hydrogen conversion; and the oxide has been used as a special refractory.