Erbium | Chemistry

Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Erbium, 68, Ottawa School of Art, Munster Hamlet ON

Erbium: One of erbium oxide’s best known traits is its light pink colour, and it is often used as a glaze on glass and ceramics, which I felt was an important trait to represent. The ink holder is a ceramic pot and the spectacles on the table are pink. The spectacles are used to represent Carl Mosander, the scientist who discovered erbium in 1843. Erbium was discovered in Sweden so I chose to include a map of Sweden. Since erbium is one of the 50 earth elements, I included the Earth in the background. To create this picture I chose to use acrylic paint. Original artwork completed by Kelly Hein.

Student, Kelly Hein, Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa Ontario Canada

Atomic properties*

Name:

Erbium

Symbol:

Er

Atomic number:

68

Atomic mass:

167.26 amu

Melting point:

1529ºC

Boiling point:

2868ºC

Density:

9.07 g/cm³

Electronegativity:

1.24

# of Isotopes:

1

State:

Solid

Colour:

Silvery-white**

Classification:

Metallic**

* Haynes, W. M. (2011). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 91st edition: http://www.hbcponline.com/ Retrieved April 7, 2011

** Winter, M. (2010). Home of the Periodic Table. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Web Elements: http://www.webelements.com/