europium

noun

eu·​ro·​pi·​um yu̇-ˈrō-pē-əm How to pronounce europium (audio)
: a metallic chemical element of the rare-earth group that is used especially in television screens and fluorescent lamps see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of europium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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In the last half of the 20th century, europium, with atomic number 63, came in to wide demand for its role as a color-producing phosphor in video screens, including computer monitors and plasma TVs. Stanley Merzman, Discover Magazine, 21 Aug. 2018 Rare earth elements are a set of 17 metallic elements, such as neodymium, europium, and dysprosium. Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 24 Mar. 2023 All the rare earths, europium is perhaps the most visible. Hugh Aldersey-Williams, Discover Magazine, 21 Sep. 2011 The 17 rare earth metals, some with exotic names like lanthanum and europium, form unusually strong lightweight magnetic materials. Eliza Strickland, Discover Magazine, 15 Oct. 2010 The same goes for the use of europium and terbium in lighting applications. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 20 May 2022 In practice, thorium and uranium are difficult to measure in this way, so in the new study, the researchers propose to instead look for europium—another element produced by neutron star collisions that sports a clearer spectroscopic signature. Marcus Woo, Scientific American, 17 Nov. 2020 But if the findings turn out to be true, a search for stellar europium could help astronomers find the planetary systems most likely to harbor habitable worlds. Marcus Woo, Scientific American, 17 Nov. 2020 During the last 34 million years, the fossils slowly absorbed yttrium, europium, terbium, and dysprosium from the fluid trapped in the mud. Jennifer Frazer, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2020

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Europa Europe

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of europium was in 1901

Dictionary Entries Near europium

Cite this Entry

“Europium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/europium. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

europium

noun
eu·​ro·​pi·​um yu̇-ˈrō-pē-əm How to pronounce europium (audio)
: a soft rare metallic chemical element see element

Medical Definition

europium

noun
eu·​ro·​pi·​um yu̇-ˈrō-pē-əm How to pronounce europium (audio)
: a bivalent and trivalent metallic element of the rare-earth group found in monazite sand
symbol Eu
see Chemical Elements Table

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