Element category: lanthanide, sometimes considered a transition metal
Lutetium is a silvery-white, hard, dense, rare earth metal, belonging to the lanthanides group. It is the hardest and the densest of the lanthanides.
Lutetium is one of the most difficult elements to prepare therefore it has very few commercial uses. It can be used as catalysts for cracking hydrocarbons in the petrochemical industy. Lutetium isotopes are used to determine the meteorites' age and as a pure beta emitter, using lutetium which has been exposed to neutron activation.