Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A silvery-white rare-earth element that is exceptionally difficult to separate from the other rare-earth elements, used in nuclear technology. Atomic number 71; atomic weight 174.97; melting point 1,663°C; boiling point 3,402°C; specific gravity 9.841 (at 25°C); valence 3. cross-reference: Periodic Table.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) A metallic element separated from ytterbium in 1907, by Urbain in Paris and by von Welsbach in Vienna. It is a member of the Lanthanide rare earth group. Symbol, Lu; atomic number 71; atomic weight 174.967 [C=12.011]. Previously spelled Lutecium.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A metallic chemical element (symbol Lu) with an atomic number of 71.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; usually occurs in association with yttrium

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin Lutetia, ancient name of Paris, France (where it was discovered) + –ium.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin Lutetia ("Paris, the capital of France").

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Examples

  • Depending upon which chemist you ask, rare earth elements consist of either: the so-called lanthanide series (elements having atomic numbers from 57 [corresponding to lanthanum] to 71 [corresponding to lutetium]) or the actinide (elements 89 to 103) and lanthanide series.

    A Cloud in Every Silver Lining: The New Obstacle to a Green-Tech Revolution 2010

  • China accounts for 95 percent of global production and about 60 percent of consumption of rare metals, including dysprosium, terbium, thulium, lutetium and yttrium, according to the U.S.

    Jiabao: China's Investment Climate Stable 2010

  • Depending upon which chemist you ask, rare earth elements consist of either: the so-called lanthanide series (elements having atomic numbers from 57 [corresponding to lanthanum] to 71 [corresponding to lutetium]) or the actinide (elements 89 to 103) and lanthanide series.

    Bill Chameides: A Cloud in Every Silver Lining: The New Obstacle to a Green-Tech Revolution 2010

  • China accounts for 95 percent of global production and about 60 percent of consumption of rare metals, including dysprosium, terbium, thulium, lutetium and yttrium, according to the U.S.

    Jiabao: China's Investment Climate Stable 2010

  • They had a little mom-and-pop trading post on one of the lutetium-producing islands. 1 was sixteen, away at boarding school on the mainland, when a pirate attack on the mine escalated into a firestorm that destroyed the entire settlement.

    Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

  • The final pair of biologicals, significant moneymakers, were a recreational mindbender called Red Skeezix and a marine microorganism able to concentrate the rare element lutetium from juvenile water emitted by abyssal thermal vents.

    Perseus Spur May, Julian, 1931- 1998

  • It also incorporates atoms of uranium, lutetium, titanium and other rare earth elements in its crystal structure during growth.

    NYT > Home Page By JOHN GOODGE 2011

  • In a similar way, lutetium decays to the element hafnium, and the relative abundances of these elements in zircon provide us information about the earlier origin of the rock host Jeff

    NYT > Home Page By JOHN GOODGE 2011

  • Heavy Rare Earth Oxides (HREO) refers to the elements europium to lutetium, plus yttrium, expressed as oxides.

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2010

  • It should be noted that high demand for the less available heavy rare earth elements, europium through lutetium plus yttrium ( "HREE"), (particularly dysprosium europium, and terbium) is expected to exert greater pressure on prices for these specific elements.

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2010

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  • Lu.

    December 16, 2007