Berlin, Germany/berlin054
Previous | Home | Next"Cerite. (Ca,Mg)2SE8[SiO4]7 3H2O. Sample for discovery of cerium. Riddarhyttan, Västmanland, Sweden." Klaproth discovered cerium in this sample from Sweden. "SE" = "seltene Erde" = "rare earths (landthanides)." He called his discovered element "ochroite." Simultaneously, the new element was being discovered by Berzelius and Hisinger in Sweden who named it "cerite." There was a dispute as to the priority of discovery, but Klaproth, ever the gentleman, did not dispute the decision made by the editor of the German Journal (Gehlen's Neues Allgemeines Journal der Chemie) to give the honor to Berzelius and Hisinger, even though Klaproth's paper actually appeared first in Gehlen's Journal. Today both Klaproth and Berzelius/Hisinger are considered co-discoverers. Cerite soon proved to hold many of the lighter rare earths, whose atomic radium was similar to that of cerium. Interestingly, the lighter rare earths (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd) are the larger rare earths (i.e., larger atomic radius). (See gadolinite below, which holds the heavier rare earths).
