What is Lanthanum?
Lanthanum is a metallic chemical element in the rare earth group on the periodic table. There are a number of commercial uses for lanthanum, ranging from lighting to medication for the treatment of kidney failure. Most consumers do not interact directly with this element, although they may own products with components made from lanthanum. It should be noted that although lanthanum is called a “rare earth” metal, it is not in fact rare at all, and it is fairly abundant on Earth. In its pure form, lanthanum is extremely soft, and it has a silvery white color. The metal is so malleable that it can almost be worked by hand, and it can be easily cut through with a knife. Pure lanthanum is rather unusual in nature; this element is usually isolated from minerals or metallic compounds which have traces of lanthanum. The element is extremely reactive for a member of the rare earth group, and it is identified by the symbol La on the periodic table of elements. The atomic number of this element i
