Lutetium: historical information

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Lutetium was discovered by Georges Urbain and Carl Auer von Welsbach at 1907 in France, Germany. Origin of name: from the Greek word "Lutetia" meaning "Paris". Further information on origin of name and discovery dates

In 1907, Georges Urbain described a process by which Marignac's ytterbium (1879) could be separated into the two elements, ytterbium (neoytterbium) and lutetium. These elements were identical with "aldebaranium" and "cassiopeium", independently discovered by von Welsbach at about the same time.

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lutetium atomic number