So there is a research work still going on for the specific definition and classification of heavy metals. Whereas in chemistry, chemists are concerned with the chemical properties of heavy metals for defining them. While in physics, they may use atomic numbers for defining heavy metals. In metallurgy, researchers define heavy metals on the basis of density. Well, the definition of heavy metals may differ in metallurgy, physics as well as chemistry. The heavy metals are those metals which possess higher density or higher atomic mass. Thus they are rare in the context of available resources. Rare earth metals are not actually that rare as the name suggests.Įven, they are available in more abundant quantities than gold.īut the fact is that they are spread evenly on the earth and it is very difficult to find these elements at one place on the earth. Atomic number Symbol Name of element 21 Sc Scandium 39 Y Yttrium 57 La Lanthanum 58 Ce Cerium 59 Pr Praseodymium 60 Nd Neodymium 61 Pm Promethium 62 Sm Samarium 63 Eu Europium 64 Gd Gadolinium 65 Tb Terbium 66 Dy Dysprosium 67 Ho Holmium 68 Er Erbium 69 Tm Thulium 70 Yb Ytterbium 71 Lu Lutetiumīut do you know why they are called rare? Why Rare Earth metals are called so?Īnswer: You might be thinking that rare means these elements are available in very less quantity.īut if you are thinking so, then you are wrong. Here is a complete list of all the 17 rare earth metals.
Rare Earth Metals includes all the 15 Lanthanides as well as scandium(Sc) and yttrium (Y). There are total 17 Rare Earth metals on the Periodic table.