Ytterbium
A rare earth used in atomic clocks and stress gauges.
Inside the Ytterbium atom
Switch between Bohr and Quantum Cloud modes to compare a simple teaching model with a more realistic probability-based view, and follow the guided tour to explore the Ytterbium atom step by step.
Electron configuration
[Xe] 4f14 6s2
A neutral Ytterbium atom has 70 electrons (equal to its proton count). Choosing a different isotope above changes only the neutron count.
Shell distribution
Electrons fill inner shells before outer ones; the outermost (valence) shell drives the element's chemistry.
Physical & atomic properties
- State (room temp)
- Solid
- Melting point
- 1097 K (824 °C)
- Boiling point
- 1469 K (1196 °C)
- Density
- 6.965 g/cm³
- Electronegativity
- 1.1 Pauling
- Atomic radius
- 175 pm
- 1st ionization energy
- 603 kJ/mol
- Category
- Lanthanides
Discovery & naming
- Discovered
- 1878
- Discovered by
- Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
- Origin of name
- Ytterby, a village in Sweden.
Notable uses
Atomic clocks and strengthening stainless steel.
Where Ytterbium comes from
Several comparable sources
Both slow neutron capture in dying stars and rapid capture in explosive events contribute meaningfully.
Simplified origin map — many elements form through more than one astrophysical pathway.
Summary
- Atomic number
- 70
- Atomic mass
- 173.05
- Category
- Lanthanides
- Group · Period
- — · 6
- Block
- f-block
- Shells
- 2 · 8 · 18 · 32 · 8 · 2