europiumn.
/jᵿˈrəʊpɪəm/, U.S. /jəˈroʊpiəm/, /juˈroʊpiəm/ Chemistry.
A soft, silvery-white chemical element, atomic number 63, which is a rare earth metal of the lanthanide series. Symbol Eu.Europium oxide is used with yttrium oxide as a red phosphor in colour television screens.
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europium1901
1901 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 80 ii. 511 The oxide of the new element europium..has been obtained so pure that it does not give any indication of the samarium spectra.
1938 Nature 24 Sept. 579/2 Comparison of the lattice constants..shows that in this respect europium compounds approximate more closely to strontium than to barium compounds.
1967 New Scientist 3 Aug. 253/1 All the europium obtained in Britain is extracted from an ore known as bastnaesite.
2004 P. Ball Elements vii. 153 The reds of colour TVs were never very vibrant until, in the early 1960s, manufacturers started to use europium.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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