An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A ductile silvery-white metallic → chemical element; symbol Eu. → Atomic number 63; → atomic weight 151.96;
→ melting point about 820°C;
→ boiling point about 1,600°C; → specific gravity 5.25 at 25°C. Europium occurs in monazite and bastnaesite and is used to dope → lasers and to absorb → neutrons in research. It was separated from the mineral samaria in magnesium-samarium nitrate by the French chemist Eugène-Anatole Demarçay (1852-1904) in 1901.

See also: Named after the continent Europe, → Europa.