Samarium was discovered in 1879 by P.E. Lecoq and was named after the mineral "Samarskite" which, in turn, was named after the Russian mine official, Colonel V.E. Samarsky. A lanthanide group element, samarium is a silvery-white metal which is found in the minerals allanite, cerite, gadolinite and its namesake, samarskite; it has an abundance on earth of 7.9 ppm. It is relatively stable in dry air but oxidises on contact with moisture. Applications of the metal are limited, but it finds uses in the glass, ceramics and electronics industries and also in the manufacture of permanent magnets (when combined with cobalt).
Powder - Small particles with an approximately defined size range. Those materials described as alloy precursors are not true alloys - they are made by sintering a blend of powders of the component metals to achieve alloying by diffusion. The resultant cake is ground and sieved to the required particle size range. Unless otherwise stated, the particle sizes shown are for guidance only. We do not guarantee either any particular size distribution between the quoted minimum and maximum sizes, or a specific particle shape.