lanthanum
noun
lan·tha·num
| \ ˈlan(t)-thə-nəm
\
\
Definition of lanthanum
: a white soft malleable metallic element that occurs in rare-earth minerals — see Chemical Elements Table
Examples of lanthanum in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Russian meteorological agency identified them as isotopes of strontium, two types of barium, and lanthanum but asserted that radiation levels are now normal in cities near the accident, which occurred Aug. 8 in the country’s north. — Andrew E. Kramer, BostonGlobe.com, "Russia identifies four radioactive isotopes from nuclear accident," 26 Aug. 2019 The Russian meteorological agency identified them as isotopes of strontium, two types of barium and lanthanum, but asserted that radiation levels are now normal in cities near the accident, which occurred on Aug. 8 in the country’s north. — Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, "Russia Identifies 4 Radioactive Isotopes From Nuclear Accident," 26 Aug. 2019 Marine scientists at China’s Guangxi Key Laboratory recently deduced the strength of East Asian winter monsoons over the past 150 years by measuring levels of rare earth elements, such as lanthanum and cerium, in each layer of a Porites coral core. — Quanta Magazine, "Cores From Coral Reefs Hold Secrets of the Seas’ Past and Future," 29 May 2018 On a recent visit, Lynas technicians mixed rare earth concentrate, which looks to the untrained eye like unremarkable dirt, into chemical tanks that extract elements like lanthanum and cerium. — Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, "How Rare Earths (What?) Could Be Crucial in a U.S.-China Trade War," 11 July 2018 But Reuters notes that while neodymium costs about $100 per kg and dysprosium costs about $400 per kg, lanthanum and cerium cost about $5 to $7 per kg. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "Toyota’s new magnet won’t depend on some key rare-earth minerals," 28 Feb. 2018 Marine scientists at China’s Guangxi Key Laboratory recently deduced the strength of East Asian winter monsoons over the past 150 years by measuring levels of rare earth elements, such as lanthanum and cerium, in each layer of a Poritescoral core. — Elizabeth Svoboda, Scientific American, "Cores from Coral Reefs Hold Secrets of the Seas’ Past and Future," 6 June 2018 Instead of neodymium or dysprosium, the magnet uses less-expensive rare-earth metals lanthanum and cerium. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "Toyota’s new magnet won’t depend on some key rare-earth minerals," 28 Feb. 2018 The iPhone contains a chorus of eight rare earth elements: neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, gadolinium, europium, lanthanum, and yttrium. — Edward Humes, WIRED, "Your iPhone’s 500,000-Mile Journey to Your Pocket," 12 Apr. 2016These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lanthanum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for lanthanum
lanthanum
noun
lan·tha·num
| \ -nəm
\
\
Medical Definition of lanthanum
: a white soft malleable metallic element that occurs in rare-earth minerals
—symbol La
— see Chemical Elements Table