Lutetium is an element in the rare earth family of metals, and has the atomic symbol Lu, atomic number 71, and atomic weight 175. It is the last member of the lanthanide d-block of elements, but unlike most other rare earths it does not have any magnetic moment. It is difficult and expensive to obtain in a usable quantity, and has only a few commercial applications. It is used in the production of pure beta emitters for particle physics experiments, and as a dopant for gadolinium gallim garnet (GGG) for magnetic bubble memory devices.
A new three-dimensional positron emission tomography detector based on lutetium oxyorthosilicate crystals has been developed for use with the high resolution optical system of the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The lutetium oxyorthosilicate detector modules decrease the detector dead time by a factor of 14 compared to the conventional bismuth germanate detector modules and provide isotropic resolution of 4 nm.
Molecular structures of neutral and cationic lutetium doped germanium clusters LuGen(+/-) (n = 6
Lutetium was discovered independently in 1907-08 by Carl Auer von Welsbach and Georges Urbain. It was originally called cassiopeium, but Urbain’s suggested name lutecium, taken from the Latin word for Paris, was adopted instead. The element has 33 radioactive isotopes, ranging in mass from 150 to 184, with the most stable being lutetium-176, which is used for dating meteorites.