Discovered in: 1794

Discovered by: Johann Gadolin of Finland

Description: Named after a city in Sweden, yttrium is a soft, gray-white metal. It is fairly stable in air (as long as it is not ground up), but reacts with water, acids and bases. Moon rocks show an unusually high yttrium content. Yttrium is used as a phosphor in TV screens, producing the red color. Other uses include a microwave filter as well as a catalysts. When alloyed with aluminum, magnesium and chromium, it acts to strengthen those metals. It is also used as a material in superconductors and lasers. An isotope of yttrium, Y90, is used in needles for certain surgical procedures.

Biological Rating: No known benefit to life processes.

Biological Benefits: Yttrium has no know biological use.

Percentage Amount in the Human Body: Near 0 %

Obtained from: Yttrium is present in nearly all rare-earth minerals. It is obtained by mining the minerals bastnasite, fergusonite, monazite, samarskite and xenotime, which are mined in the USA, China, Australia, India and Brazil.

Other yttrium-bearing minerals include gadolinite and polycrase.

Discovered by: Martin Heinrich Klaproth of Germany

Description: Named for the gemstone in which it was first discovered (which itself is named from the Arabic word meaning "gold color"), zirconium is a hard, lustrous, gray-white metal. It is common in very cool stars and has been found in the Sun and in meteorites. Zirconium seems to be common in Moon rocks. It is resists water, most acids and bases, so much so that it is used as a shield against corrosive compounds in the chemical industry. It will react with air under certain circumstances. Zirconium is used for steel alloys and colored glazes. It is not effected by the bombardment of neutrons, so it is used as an inner lining in nuclear reactors. Zirconium compounds are used for bricks, ceramics and abrasives, flashbulbs, explosive primers, lamp filaments and artificial gemstones. It is super conductive at low temperatures and is used in superconducting magnets. It is also used in deodorants.

Biological Rating: No known benefits to life processes.

Biological Benefits: Zirconium has no known biological use.

Percentage Amount in the Human Body: 0.000001 %

Obtained from: Zirconium is chiefly obtained from zirconium dioxide (baddeleyite) and zircon. These relatively heavy minerals are found in placer deposits and wind-worked sands, and are mined in Australia, South Africa, the USA, Russia and Brazil.