Neodymium

Element #60 in the periodic table, symbol Nd. Neodymium was discovered by Carl F. Auer von Welsbach (Austria) in 1885. The origin of the name comes from the Greek words neos didymos meaning new twin. It is silvery-white, rare-earth metal that oxidizes easily in air. Reacts slowly in cold water, more rapidly as heated. Metal ignites and burns readily.

This metal is used in making very powerful permanent magnets and also in materials science investigations of ceramic materials, superconductivity, etc. along with other rare earths.

I bought some neodymium magnets at the store to fool around with.

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