Disguised as a mild-mannered rare earth, gadolinium is the superman of the elements with superhero properties resulting from its half-full electron shell. It is the final member of the light-group rare-earth elements (LREE), which started at lanthanum, and is filled halfway with 7 electrons that are all spinning in the same direction. With this electron configuration it is able to stop neutrons traveling faster than a speeding bullet, is able to bend water molecules with a single molecule, and able to jump plane domain walls in a single bound.
Applications
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Gadolinium contrast agents are injected into the patient to enhance the clarity of MRI scans.
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Gadolinium-157 is used in nuclear reactor control rods to control the fission process.
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Yttrium gadolinium garnet or yttrium gallium garnets (YGG) are used in various electronic components for communications and radar.
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Test results(%)
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Gd/RE
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99.9min
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RE
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99.52
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Sm
|
0.03max
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O
|
0.070
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Tb
|
0.03max
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Dy
|
0.03max
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Al
|
0.009
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Ca
|
0.033
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Mg
|
0.012
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Eu
|
0.03max
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Al
|
0.009
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Fe
|
0.042
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Si
|
0.005max
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C
|
0.015
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W
|
0.019
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