Gadolinium
Gadolinio (Gd, Z=64)
- Date
- 1880 · confidence high
- Place
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Credited to
- Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
- People
- 👤 Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac1817–1894
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
Marignac observed new spectral lines in didymium and gadolinite; Lecoq de Boisbaudran isolated it in 1886.
First element named after a person (Johan Gadolin).
What it led to
- Contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging
- Magnetic refrigeration
- Neutron detectors and reactor shielding
Built on
- Spectroscopy
- Gadolinite from Ytterby
Made possible
- Gadolinium MRI contrast agent
- Magnetocaloric refrigerator