(Intro)
ATTENTION! This video shows dangerous experiments! Do not repeat the experiments shown in this video!
Hello everyone! Today, I want to tell you about the metal neodymium.
It is one of the metals of the lanthanides
and is located at the bottom of the periodic table of chemical elements.
Neodymium is a fairly active metal which is stored in glass ampoules or
in an inert atmosphere for corrosion protection.
In air it will oxidize and cover itself with a layer of oxide.
Immediately from the ampoule neodymium can be seen as a shiny metal with a distinct crystal structure.
Neodymium is a relatively hard metal, its hardness resembles iron.
I even broke the pliers trying to bite off the piece of neodymium in half.
Also, while experimenting with neodymium I noticed that when you tap on it,
the metal produces a ringing sound, just like bronze.
This is telling us the elasticity of the metal.
Neodymium dissolves well in hydrochloric acid, and the reaction goes very rapidly.
During this reaction it produces hydrogen and neodymium chloride,
which is of pink color like the many of the compounds of neodymium.
The solution of neodymium chloride has one amazing property -
- its color can be different depending on the lighting.
When under the illumination of a LED lamp the solution looks pink,
but under the light of a fluorescent lamp the solution becomes yellow.
This effect is caused due to the presence of f-electrons in the outer electron layer of neodymium,
the light absorption spectrum of the compounds of neodymium has very sharp bands caused by
the so-called forbidden f-f transitions within the metal’s atom.
If I got anything wrong here please correct me in the comments as I'm not very good in quantum physics.
This property of the compounds of neodymium is used for the production of the so-called
neodymium glass which used in photography as a filter of yellow light.
Also this glass is used in incandescent bulbs to create a more white light.
If you add sodium hydroxide or lye to the neodymium chloride,
the precipitate of neodymium hydroxide is then produced, which, like all the neodymium compounds, changes its color depending on the lighting.
From this compound it is possible to make neodymium oxide by using heating,
which is added to neodymium glass for the manufacture of heavy-duty lasers.
These lasers are used to create fusion synthesis, they have an extraordinary power.
The neodymium hydroxide, similar to the hydroxide of lanthanum, can be dissolved in trilone b
that’s used to remove limescale in kettles.
It looks very nice if we look at it with a macro.
Neodymium can also react with acetic acid, by dissolving in it. As with lanthanum,
in this reaction a suspension of neodymium hydroxide is formed.
If you heat the neodymium with a gas burner, it will not light up due to its high melting point.
However, the neodymium powder burns perfectly in air.
Metallic neodymium is attracted to a magnet quite weakly and is paramagnetic. (meaning it does not magnetize)
However, in combination with iron and boron, neodymium obtains an incredibly high ability to magnetize, so called magnetic saturation.
Using this property of the compound of neodymium-iron-boron it is used
for the manufacture of the most powerful to date neodymium magnets.
These magnets are now used everywhere, from hard drives to expensive speakers.
Also, I would like to note that these magnets are very fragile.
The neodymium-iron-boron compound resembles ceramic, so these magnets are very easy to break or crack.
On the outside these magnets are coated using nickel for protection from corrosion.
Now you know a little bit more about one of the other metals.
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(Outro [and Thoisoi's cute cat])