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Holmium is a lanthanide element, not actually rare, found in minerals and used as a dopant in lasers and to make magnets. It is strongly magnetic and sometimes used in nuclear research. Holmium is not known to be toxic, but should be handled with care.
Holmium is a metallic chemical element grouped with the lanthanides in the periodic table of elements. This group of elements is also known as rare earth elements; they share an assortment of qualities useful across a wide range of industries. This particular lanthanide has few uses and consumers rarely interact with it, although in some cases they may own products made with the help of holmium. It should be noted that, like other “rare” earths, in fact, holmium is not rare at all; the world’s main source of holmium is China, where it is actually relatively abundant.
This element rarely appears in nature in a pure form. It is typically found in minerals such as monazite and gadolinite. When isolated, holmium is a relatively soft, silvery-white metal that usually remains stable at or around room temperature. However, when heated in humid conditions, the element oxidizes and can react adversely with other metals. In the periodic table of elements, holmium is identified with the symbol Ho and has atomic number 67.
Credit for the discovery of holmium is usually given to Marc Delafontaine and Jacques-Louis Soret, two Swiss chemists who discovered the element with the assistance of spectroscopic observation in 1878. In the same year, Per Teoder Cleve also discovered the element and named it after the Latin name of his hometown of Stockholm. Like other lanthanides, the element proved difficult to isolate, and reliable methods for isolation weren’t developed until the mid-1900s.
Holmium doesn’t have many uses. Like other rare earths, it is used as a dopant in lasers and is sometimes bonded with other metals to make magnets. Holmium is actually strongly magnetic and is sometimes used in experiments that require an intense magnetic field. The metal is also used in nuclear research and as a colorant for yellow glass. It can also sometimes be used to color zirconium for the purpose of making yellow gemstones.
The toxicity of holmium is not known. It is probably at least mildly toxic, as are many rare earth metals, and should be handled with care as it can be reactive. As a matter of common sense, people should wear gloves and face protection when handling this item, especially if you plan to heat it and thus release fumes. The element does not appear to play a role in the human body, even in trace amounts.
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