Skip to content

Please be aware that some material may contain words, descriptions or illustrations which will not reflect current scientific understanding and may be considered in today's context inaccurate, unethical, offensive or distressing.

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

Creator name

William Crookes

View page for William Crookes

Use this record

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

Link to this record

Embed this record

<iframe src="https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/embed/items/pp_8_34/paper-on-some-new-elements-in-gadolinite-and-samarskite-detected-spectroscopically-by-william-crookes" title="Paper, 'On some new elements in gadolinite and samarskite, detected spectroscopically' by William Crookes" allow="fullscreen" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="500px"></iframe>

Hierarchy

This item is part of:

Related Fellows

Explore the collection

  • 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

    View collection