n. Symbol La A soft, silvery-white, malleable, ductile element of the lanthanide series, obtained chiefly from the minerals monazite and bastnaesite and used in glass manufacture and with other rare-earth elements in carbon lights for movie and television studio lighting. Atomic number 57; atomic weight 138.91; melting point 920°C; boiling point 3,464°C; specific gravity 6.145 (at 25°C); valence 2, 3. See Periodic Table. [New Latin, from Greek lanthanein, to escape notice (from the finding of the element hidden in oxide of cerium).] |
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