Neodymium

Neodymium magnets

Discovered by Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach of Vienna Austria in 1925, neodymium is the 60th element in the periodic table and the 4th on the lanthanide table.  It comes from the Greek words neos (meaning new) and didymos (meaning twin).

While neodymium constitutes to 38 ppm of the earth's crust, it is not found free in nature. However, it is found in the minerals monazite and bastnaesite, and tarnishes rapidly when exposed to air.

It is often used in:

• Welder's and glass blower's goggles
• Colors glass, ceramics and enamels
• Permanent magnets
• Fertilizers
• Predictor of earthquakes
• Solid state lasers
• Infrared radiation filtering