What is Thulium?
Thulium is a metallic chemical element in the lanthanide group on the periodic table of elements. Lanthanides are also sometimes known as rare earth metals, referencing a now obsolete term for these elements with many shared chemical and physical properties. Thulium is not widely used, since it is the least abundant of the lanthanide elements, although it does have some industrial applications. Most of the world’s current supply of thulium comes from from mines and refineries in China. This element can be extremely difficult to isolate, because of its relatively low abundance. Most thulium is extracted from minerals like monazite, gadolinite, and euxenite. In its pure form, thulium is silvery in color and very bright. It is also extremely soft and easy to work. The element will oxidize when exposed to air, so many people like to keep it in airtight containers or mineral oil to prevent this. The element is identified with the symbol TM on the periodic table, and it has an atomic number
