ytterbium

noun

yt·​ter·​bi·​um i-ˈtər-bē-əm 

: a soft metallic element of the rare-earth group that occurs especially with other rare earth elements in minerals and that has few commercial uses see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of ytterbium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This system uses an isotope of ytterbium for qubits and barium ions for cooling. —Paul Smith-Goodson, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024

Its newest quantum computer uses ytterbium atoms capable of scaling to upwards of 1,200 qubits. —Paul Smith-Goodson, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024

In plain English, that means ytterbium has only two quantum levels that can be accessed in its lowest state. —Paul Smith-Goodson, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024

Much of the work so far uses rubidium and cesium atoms, but the physicist Jeff Thompson at Princeton University prefers encoding the information in the nuclear spin states of metal atoms such as strontium and ytterbium, which have even longer coherence times. —Philip Ball, Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Ytterby, town in southern Sweden

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

ytterbium

noun

yt·​ter·​bi·​um i-ˈtər-bē-əm 

: a metallic element that occurs in several minerals see element

Medical Definition

ytterbium

noun

yt·​ter·​bi·​um i-ˈtər-bē-əm 

: a bivalent or trivalent metallic element of the rare-earth group that resembles yttrium and occurs with it and related elements in several minerals

—symbol Yb see Chemical Elements Table