Yttrium

Yttrium is a <a href="/facts/Chemical_element/0jducgWD">chemical element</a>; it has <a href="/facts/Symbol_(chemistry)/2Fe1VAL0">symbol</a> Y and <a href="/facts/Atomic_number/bgAr581S">atomic number</a> 39. It is a silvery-metallic <a href="/facts/Transition_metal/0slGWoLQ">transition metal</a> chemically similar to the <a href="/facts/Lanthanide/rt3XIRCl">lanthanides</a> and has often been classified as a "<a href="/facts/Rare-earth_element/PQSUQumk">rare-earth element</a>". Yttrium is almost always found in combination with lanthanide elements in <a href="/facts/Rare-earth_mineral/lwsQA1sh">rare-earth minerals</a> and is never found in nature as a free element. 89Y is the only stable <a href="/facts/Isotope/KD9B1y6o">isotope</a> and the only isotope found in the <a href="/facts/Crust_(geology)/FYG1kP4F">Earth's crust</a>.
The most important present-day use of yttrium is as a component of <a href="/facts/Phosphor/vTLjrGDE">phosphors</a>, especially those used in <a href="/facts/LED/cMFILd4d">LEDs</a>. Historically, it was once widely used in the red phosphors in television set <a href="/facts/Cathode_ray_tube/8NVGx5C7">cathode ray tube</a> displays. Yttrium is also used in the production of <a href="/facts/Electrode/251PaKX8">electrodes</a>, <a href="/facts/Electrolyte/4YE8bIVa">electrolytes</a>, <a href="/facts/Electronic_filters/ny7k6VxV">electronic filters</a>, <a href="/facts/Laser/jk6PTvvT">lasers</a>, <a href="/facts/Superconductor/pqQAlSzJ">superconductors</a>, various medical applications, and <a href="/facts/Trace_element/fcIekKdo">tracing</a> various materials to enhance their properties.
Yttrium has no known <a href="/facts/Biology/1M1ee3pB">biological</a> role. Exposure to yttrium compounds can cause <a href="/facts/Respiratory_disease/CDRTg5Ev">lung disease</a> in humans.

Yttrium open-in-new

Yttrium