Dysprosium

Dy·Z 66·Lanthanide·162.5·⭕ 7B · F Major

▸ The reading

interpretive · art

Dysprosium is Greek for 'hard to get' — Boisbaudran needed dozens of consecutive crystallisations, and the name is his lab diary in one word. It shares with holmium the largest magnetic moment of any element and keeps Nd-magnets working hot. Difficulty of extraction, magnitude of payoff: the ratio is the reading.

The science below is cited as science; the symbolic layers are flagged as interactive art.

⚜ Periodic Frequency

7BF Major

a seat struck in brass — testimony, not prediction

the seat has its own room on ⭕ THE OVAL TABLE — tap the code

▸ The lenses

▸ Discovery

Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran — separated from holmium oxide after 'tedious crystallizations' · France · 1886

cited science

▸ Stellar origin

s-process + r-processSeven stable isotopes with mixed slow- and rapid-neutron-capture origins.

cited science

▸ Reactivity

Largest magnetic moment of any stable element, shared with holmiumDysprosium magnetic moments dwarf even iron's. High-temperature permanent magnets need a little Dy to keep their kick at engine temperatures.

cited science

▸ Applications

High-temperature Nd-Dy-Fe-B magnets
Magnetostrictive alloys (Terfenol-D)
Dosimeters (Dy-doped CaSO₄)
Halide-lamp lighting

cited science

▸ Curiosity

Greek 'dysprositos' meaning 'hard to get' — Boisbaudran needed dozens of crystallizations and the name was already commentary.

▸ Related readings

a resonance drawn between readings — not a claim that they share an origin.

Lanthanide seriesTbTerbiumZ 6512B HoHolmiumZ 672B

f-blockTbTerbiumZ 6512B HoHolmiumZ 672B

Adjacent ZTbTerbiumZ 6512B HoHolmiumZ 672B

THE FILM · A FEATURE DOCUMENTARYAM I REALLY FREE? decoding FREEDOM itselfEvery element here is read as matter. The film reads FREEDOM as what it is made of — Dysprosium, hard to obtain by name.The film's element. Am I Really Free? reads FREEDOM → 66 → Dysprosium on its own page — hard to obtain, by name.Enter the question