ytterbium

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)A metallic chemical element with an atomic number of 70.

   “At a meeting of the Russian Chemical Society held October 20, 1881 (and reported in the Bulletin de la Société Chimique de Paris, for August, 1882), Mendelejeff [Dmitri Mendeleev], the distinguished author of the periodic law, remarked that only two of the recently announced elements—scandium and ytterbium—had been satisfactorily confirmed. These have been obtained in a pure state by [Lars Fredrik] Nilson, and neither of them has absorption spectra.”

   “The lanthanides samarium, europium and ytterbium possess relatively stable and long-known dispositive states.”

   “Ytterbium is a silvery, soft, malleable, and ductile metal with a lustrous metallic shine. It is slightly reactive in air or water at room temperatures. Ytterbium is located next to last of the rare-earths in the lanthanide series.”

   “Microstructural optical fibers have been developed that have utilized phosphate-based glasses due to their ability to solubilize rare earth components such as ytterbium, which give the fibers their high light absorption and amplification per unit length.”

2. (uncountable, usually)A single atom of this element.