Praseodymium (Pr)
"The Welder's Friend, a hero who protects eyes from dangerous light with special yellow-green glass."
A memorable persona to anchor Pr in your mind.
6.77
Grams per cm³
931
Celsius (°C)
239
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Praseodymium is found in the glass in a welder�s or glassblower�s safety goggles.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1885
Discovered By
Carl Auer von Welsbach
Origin of Name
"The name is derived from the Greek 'prasios didymos' meaning green twin."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
140.908 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
3520°C
Electron Configuration
[Xe] 4f36s2
1st Ionization Energy
5.464 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"Praseodymium is a soft, silvery, malleable metal."
Did You Know?
Its name is a combination of the Greek words 'prasios', meaning 'leek-green', and 'didymos', meaning 'twin', because it produces a green line in its spectrum and was difficult to separate from its 'twin' element, neodymium.
Glass containing praseodymium, known as didymium glass, has a distinctive yellow-green color and is used in welders' and glassblowers' goggles because it blocks the yellow light and infrared radiation from hot flames.
When alloyed with magnesium, it creates a high-strength metal used in aircraft engines.
The permanent magnets used in the direct-drive generators of some wind turbines contain praseodymium to improve their performance.