Paper, 'On some new elements in gadolinite and samarskite, detected spectroscopically' by William Crookes
Reference number: PP/8/34
Date: 1886

Description
Crookes writes: 'The recent discovery by my distinguished friend M. de Boisbandran on the existence of a new element which he calls Dysprosium makes it unadvisable on my part, as a fellow investigator in spectroscopic research, to delay any longer the announcement of some of the results I have obtained during the fractionations of the samarskite and gadolinite earths. I will first take the earths which give absorption-spectra when their solutions are examined by transmitted light. These occur chiefly at the higher end, beginning with didymium and proceeding, through samarium, holmium, &c., to erbium, which is one of the least basic. The earths which give phosphorescent spectra chiefly occur at the lower end, but each group overlaps the other; for instance yttria occurs above erbia.'
Annotations in pencil and ink. Includes one diagram of spectra.
Subject: Spectroscopy / Mineralogy
Received 8 June 1886 / 9 June 1886. Read 10 June 1886.
A version of this paper was published in volume 40 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On some new elements in gadolinite and samarskite, detected spectroscopically'.
- Reference number
- PP/8/34
- Earliest possible date
- 1886
- Physical description
- Ink and coloured pencil on paper
- Page extent
- 4 pages
- Format
- Printed
Diagram
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Citation
William Crookes, Paper, 'On some new elements in gadolinite and samarskite, detected spectroscopically' by William Crookes, 1886, PP/8/34, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/pp_8_34/paper-on-some-new-elements-in-gadolinite-and-samarskite-detected-spectroscopically-by-william-crookes, accessed on 21 June 2025
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DOI: 10.1098/rspl.1886.0076
Hierarchy
This item is part of:
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Scientific papers published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society volume 40, 1886
1886 Reference number: PP/8
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William Crookes
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Proceedings Papers
The archival collection known as 'Proceedings Papers' is comprised of manuscripts and occasional proofs of scientific papers sent to the Royal Society which were read before meetings of Fellows and printed in full in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.
Dates: 1882 - 1894
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