Element category: lanthanide
Samarium is a silvery metal belonging to the lanthanide group of the periodic table. It slowly oxidizes at room temperature and has a relatively stable oxidation state like europium.
Samarium was discovered in 1879 and named after the mineral samarskite from which it was isolated. Samarium is a chemical element with symbol Sm and atomic number 62.It is a hard silvery metal which easily oxidizes in air. Like zinc, samarium is a rare earth metal which has the similar hardness and density to zinc. amarium is paramagnetic at room temperature.
The main application of samarium is in samarium-cobalt magnets (SmCo5 or Sm2Co17 magnets), which are strong permanent magnets only second to neodymium magnets. It is also used as a catalyst in certain organic reactions.
Samarium oxide (Sm2O3), or samaria, is an important samarium compound of samarium element. It is often added to glass and ceramic to absorb infrared radiation.