Soft, silvery-white metal. Stable in air due to the formation of oxide film. Reacts with water to form hydrogen (H2). Used as yttrium phosphors to give red colors in television CRT screens; in X-ray filters, superconductors; super-alloys.
Diagnostic tests:
There are no simple diagnostic tests to identify yttrium.
X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is commonly employed to identify and
analyze this element.
References
Emsley, J., 1991; THE ELEMENTS : Sec. Ed.,
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 251 p.
(* - Mineral Name Is Not IMA Approved)
(! - New Dana classification added or changed from Danas New Mineralogy)
(? - IMA Discredited Mineral Species Name)
There are 165 minerals with Y in the Mineralogy Database.