Ytterbium is a soft lanthanide that slowly forms an oxide layer in air. It has uses in tuneable lasers and chemical catalysis. It is obtained from rare-earth minerals such as monazite, connecting specialized optical behavior and chemical processing to the separation of closely related elements.
FROM ELEMENT TO APPLICATION
AN ELEMENT IN CONTEXT
How does an ytterbium-doped fiber turn pump light into useful laser output?
Ytterbium-doped optical fiber
FOLLOW THIS RELATIONSHIP
Combine a guide and active ions
The optical fiber supplies a glass host and light-guiding structure. Incorporated ytterbium ions contribute useful electronic transitions within that prepared environment.
Explore the model (optional)
YbFORM → INTERACTION → CONSEQUENCE
Follow the explanation in either direction. These are authored steps, not a physical clock.
Optional: check your understanding
USE THE EXPLANATION
Which pair correctly distinguishes two material roles?
Atomic identity, reference properties and structure models
INTERACTIVE 3D70 visible sites
An electron censusDrag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom
[Xe] 4f14 6s2. Grouping electrons by principal shell connects the neutral-atom configuration to periodic-table patterns.
What this representation means
A three-dimensional counting diagram. Dots are count markers, not measured electron positions; spherical placement and spacing are arbitrary. There are no electron trajectories here. Orbitals describe quantum states.
Another hidden constituent, then a precision clock
Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac distinguished ytterbium-bearing in 1878 while investigating erbium material. In 1907, that material was itself separated further when lutetium was identified. Pure ytterbium metal followed in 1953. The sequence explains why a discovery date needs context: early evidence established an unfamiliar constituent, but later work improved both the classification of the mixture and the purity of the resulting material.
1878
Ytterbium-bearing oxide separated
Marignac identified a new fraction in erbium-containing material.
1907
Lutetium distinguished
Further separation showed that early ytterbium material contained another element.
Ytterbium occurs in rare-earth such as monazite, mixed with neighboring elements. Mineral separation supplies compounds that can be converted into metal or added to optical hosts. Atoms used in a precision clock represent yet another prepared form, far removed from the mixed mineral in which the element originated.
Ytterbium connects optical materials with atomic measurement. in fibers can amplify light, while carefully prepared neutral atoms support optical-clock experiments. The species and environment are different. A neutral ground-state configuration is therefore useful reference information, but it does not describe every ion or excited state in a device.
Each section links its supporting references. Descriptions and diagrams were authored for this atlas. Source checks completed. Source checks dated 2026-09-06.
CITE THIS PAGE
Family labels and the group-3 layout are teaching conventions. A table position does not establish an unknown bulk property. Electronic configurations refer to neutral atoms; ions and material environments require their own account.
Read each reference property together with its units, conditions and the reference information below.
Not yet recorded: electron affinity, second ionization energy, ground-state term symbol, van der waals radius, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, electrical resistivity, crystal structure, lattice parameter a, space group, abundance in seawater, abundance in the universe, annual production, supply-risk listing, hazard classification, biological role, cas registry number, pubchem cid, wikidata item. These families are declared and awaiting an ingestion run against the source each names; they are listed here rather than shown as empty rows.
Physical
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Phase at 20 °C
solid
293.15 K, 101.325 kPa
Melting point in K
1097 K
at standard pressure unless noted
Boiling point in K
1469 K
101.325 kPa
Density in g/cm³
6.96 g/cm³
solids and liquids at 293 K; gases at 273 K and 101.325 kPa
Atomic and electronic
Intended reference: Pauling electronegativity scale · Widely tabulated; original in The Nature of the Chemical Bond
Electronegativity in Pauling
1.1 Pauling
Pauling scale
First ionization energy in kJ/mol
603.4 kJ/mol
gas-phase neutral atom, ground state
Covalent radius in pm
187 pm
single-bond covalent radius
Common oxidation states
+2, +3
states met in ordinary compounds; not exhaustive
Occurrence and identity
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Abundance in the crust in mg/kg
3.2 mg/kg
upper continental crust, mass fraction
Has stable isotopes
Yesderived
Discovery year in CE
1878 CEderived
WHERE IT SITS AMONG ITS NEIGHBORS
Electronegativity across period 6
Yb 1.1 Pauling · Ytterbium
Electronegativity across period 6. Exact values.
Cs
0.79
Ba
0.89
La
1.1
Ce
1.12
Pr
1.13
Nd
1.14
Sm
1.17
Eu
1.2
Gd
1.2
Tb
1.1
Dy
1.22
Ho
1.23
Er
1.24
Tm
1.25
Yb
1.1
Lu
1.27
Hf
1.3
Ta
1.5
W
2.36
Re
1.9
Os
2.2
Ir
2.2
Pt
2.28
Au
2.54
Hg
2
Tl
1.62
Pb
2.33
Bi
2.02
Po
2
At
2.2
The trend uses the same reference-property values as the periodic table. Elements with no recorded value are left out of the line rather than drawn at zero.
