What is Lanthanides and Actinides? | Types, Definition, Structure, Function & Facts
What is Lanthanides and Actinides?
Lanthanides and actinides are groups of elements in the periodic table. These are the elements commonly listed under the main section of the periodic table. There are thirty elements in total in lanthanide and actinide. They are often referred to as “inner transition metals”.
Lanthanides
Lanthanides are elements with atomic numbers from 57 to 71. These 15 metals (along with scandium and yttrium) are commonly referred to as the rare earth elements. These are all silvery-white metals commonly found in the same ore. They are called lanthanides because they exhibit similar chemical properties to lanthanum, the first element of the group.
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Actinides
Actinides are 15 elements with atomic numbers between 89 and 103. They are named after the first element in the series, actinium. The actinides group mainly consists of man-made elements with some exceptions such as uranium and thorium. Actinide is best known for the elements uranium and plutonium used in nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs.
Interesting Facts about Lanthanides and Actinides
Lanthanides and actinides are mainly located in the “f block” of the periodic table.
Lanthanide is used in products such as hybrid vehicles, superconductors, and permanent magnets.
Americium actinide is used in smoke detectors. Elements with an atomic number higher than uranium (92) are often referred to as “transuranic”. Many of these elements are man-made under the conditions of nuclear reactors.
The first actinides discovered were uranium and thorium.
The name “actinium” comes from the Greek word “aktis” which means beam or ray.
Actinides and lanthanides are highly reactive with halogen group elements.
All lanthanides have at least one stable isotope with the exception of promethium.