gadolinium

gad·o·lin·i·um

[gad-l-in-ee-uhm]
noun Chemistry.
a rare-earth metallic element. Symbol: Gd; atomic weight: 157.25; atomic number: 64.

Origin:
1885–90; see gadolinite, -ium

gad·o·lin·ic, adjective
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World English Dictionary
gadolinium (ˌɡædəˈlɪnɪəm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
a ductile malleable silvery-white ferromagnetic element of the lanthanide series of metals: occurs principally in monazite and bastnaesite. Symbol: Gd; atomic no: 64; atomic wt: 157.25; valency: 3; relative density: 7.901; melting pt: 1313±°C; boiling pt: 3273°C (approx.)
 
[C19: New Latin, from gadolinite]
 
gado'linic
 
adj

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Gadolinium is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

gadolinium gad·o·lin·i·um (gād'l-ĭn'ē-əm)
n.
Symbol Gd
A malleable, ductile metallic rare-earth element. Atomic number 64; atomic weight 157.25; melting point 1,314°C; boiling point 3,264°C; specific gravity 7.8; valence 3.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
gadolinium   (gād'l-ĭn'ē-əm)  Pronunciation Key 
Symbol Gd
A silvery-white, malleable, ductile metallic element of the lanthanide series that has seven natural isotopes and 11 artificial isotopes. Two of the natural isotopes, Gd 155 and Gd 157, are the best known neutron absorbers. Gadolinium is used to improve the heat and corrosion resistance of iron, chromium, and various alloys and in medicine as a contrast medium for magnetic resonance imaging and as a radioisotope in bone mineral analysis. Atomic number 64; atomic weight 157.25; melting point 1,312°C; boiling point approximately 3,000°C; specific gravity from 7.8 to 7.896; valence 3. See Periodic Table.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

gadolinium

((Gd), chemical element, rare-earth metal of the lanthanoid series of the periodic table. Silvery white and moderately ductile, the metal reacts slowly with oxygen and water. Below 17 C it is ferromagnetic and at very low temperatures, superconducting. Credit for the discovery of gadolinium is shared by J.-C.-G. de Marignac and P.-E. Lecoq de Boisbaudran. Marignac separated (1880) a new rare earth (metallic oxide) from the mineral samarskite; Lecoq de Boisbaudran obtained (1886) a fairly pure sample of the same earth, which with Marignac's assent he named gadolinia, after a mineral in which it occurs that in turn had been named for the Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin. Gadolinium occurs in many minerals along with the other rare earths but is obtained primarily from monazite. It is found also in the products of nuclear fission. Commercial separation depends upon ion-exchange techniques. The metal has been produced by thermoreduction of the anhydrous chloride or fluoride by calcium.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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