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lutetium
noun
lu·te·tium
lü-ˈtē-sh(ē-)əm
: a metallic chemical element of the rare-earth group that has few practical applications but is sometimes used as a catalyst in cracking and as a radiation source for treatment of certain cancers see Chemical Elements Table
Examples of lutetium in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Since 2015 a working group at the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has been refereeing a debate over which elements should go in the third column of the table: lanthanum and actinium (elements 57 and 89) or lutetium and lawrencium (71 and 103).
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 14 May 2024
What gave Dias’ most recent paper its pizzazz was its claim to have produced superconductivity in a compound of the artificial metal lutetium and hydrogen and doped with nitrogen, at about 69.5 degrees Fahrenheit and 145,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2023
The new material, called nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride, is a blend of hydrogen, the rare-earth metal lutetium and nitrogen.
—Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 10 Mar. 2023
After the retraction by Physical Review Letters, most of the authors of the lutetium hydride paper concluded that the research from their paper was flawed too.
—Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 7 Nov. 2023
In the Nature paper, Dr. Dias and his co-authors described how lutetium hydride — a material made of lutetium, a silvery-white metal, and hydrogen — gained new electronic properties when a tiny bit of nitrogen was added.
—Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023
The team at Rochester started with a small, thin foil of lutetium, a silvery white metal that is among the rarest of rare earth elements, and pressed it between two interlocking diamonds.
—Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2023
Salamat has used imaging methods that reveal where the heavy lutetium atoms are within the compound, but the team isn’t yet certain about the configuration of the lighter hydrogen and nitrogen atoms.
—Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 10 Mar. 2023
For the past few years, Dias’ team has worked on a superhydride based on lutetium.
—Quanta Magazine, 8 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lutetium.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Latin Lutetia, ancient name of Paris
First Known Use
1907, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near lutetium
Cite this Entry
“Lutetium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lutetium. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Kids Definition
lutetium
noun
lu·te·tium
lü-ˈtē-sh(ē-)əm
: a soft metallic chemical element see element
Medical Definition
lutetium
noun
lu·te·tium
variants
also lutecium
: a metallic element of the rare-earth group
—symbol Lu
see Chemical Elements Table
More from Merriam-Webster on lutetium
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lutetium
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