Dysprosium reacts more readily with air and water than most other lanthanide metals. Although it was discovered in 1886, it could not be purified until the 1950s. This metal is often used with neodymium to make magnets used in automobile batteries, wind turbines and generators.
Summary of properties (Dy)
| Atomic weight | 162.500(1) |
| Discoverer (year) | Lecoq de Boisbaudran, Paul-Émile (1886) |
| Natural form | metallic solid (hexagonal) |
| Electron configuration | [Xe] 4f 10 6s2 |
| Melting point (ºC) | 1412 |
| Boiling point (ºC) | 2562 |
| Abundance in earth's crust (ppm) | 5.2 |
| Isotope (abundance) | 156Dy (0.056), 158Dy (0.095), 160Dy (2.329), 161Dy (18.889), 162Dy (25.475), 163Dy (24.896), 164Dy (28.260) |
| Density g/cm3 | 8.55 |
| Van der Waals radius (pm) | 231 |
| Covalent radius (pm) | 180 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 1.22 |
| Vaporization enthalpy (kJ/mol) | 293.00 |
| Enthalpy of fusion (kJ/mol) | 11.06 |
| Specific heat capacity (J/g·K) at 25ºC and 1 atm | 0.17 |
| Thermal conductivity (W/cm·K) at 25ºC and 1 atm | 0.110 |
| Oxidation state | +3 |
| Electron affinity (eV) | >0 |
| 1st Ionization potential (eV) | 5.9389 |
