Ytterbium

Ytterbium is the fourth and final element named after the village of Ytterby, Sweden — making this tiny Swedish town the most celebrated village in chemistry history. Discovered in 1878 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac, ytterbium was separated from a mineral called erbia, which itself was named after Ytterby. It took until 1953 before truly pure ytterbium was produced.

Ytterbium is used in stress gauges that measure the force of explosions and earthquakes — under pressure, ytterbium's electrical resistance changes dramatically. It is also being investigated for next-generation atomic clocks that could be even more accurate than cesium clocks. Ytterbium-doped fiber lasers are used in manufacturing for cutting and welding metals with extreme precision.

Ytterbium's symbol 'Yb' is a distinctive two-letter element in Spellement. While 'yb' is extremely rare in English, partial emphasis lets spellers use 'y' or 'b' individually. The 'y' option is especially useful since it can function as either a vowel or consonant in word building.