70 Yb 173.05
Ytterbium
Lanthanide
Ytterbium (Yb) is a chemical element with atomic number 70, classified as a lanthanide. At room temperature it is a solid. It was discovered in 1878 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac.
Properties
- Atomic number
- 70
- Atomic mass
- 173.05 u
- Category
- Lanthanide
- Group
- 0
- Period
- 6
- Block
- f-block
- Electron configuration
- [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 6s²
- Phase at STP
- Solid
- Density
- 6.965 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 1097 K (823.9 °C)
- Boiling point
- 1469 K (1195.8 °C)
- Electronegativity
- 1.1
- Atomic radius
- 222 pm
- Ionization energy
- 6.254 eV
- Discovery
- 1878 · Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
Common uses
Lasers, alloys, catalysts, atomic clocks
Did you know?
Used in atomic clocks and named after Ytterby, Sweden.
Experiment with the elements
Ytterbium doesn't form any compounds in our lab yet, but the periodic table sandbox lets you combine dozens of other real elements into real compounds — water, table salt, ammonia and many more — with their true chemical formulas.