Chapter 6

🧲 The lanthanides

The lanthanides, elements 57 to 71, sit in a row of their own below the main table. They are often called rare earths, though most aren't rare: they hide mixed together in the same minerals and were very hard to separate. Today they are everywhere: in the strongest magnets, in the glow of screens, in the cables that carry the internet, and on euro banknotes. Four of them are named after one Swedish village.

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