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Metallic with a bright silvery-white lustre. Dysprosium belongs to the lanthanoids. It is relatively stable in air at room temperatures, it will however dissolve in mineral acids, evolving hydrogen. It is found in from rare-earth minerals. There are seven natural isotopes of dysprosium, and eight radioisotopes, Dy-154 being the most stable with a half-life of 3*10^6 years. Dysprosium is used as a neutron absorber in nuclear fission reactions, and in compact disks. It was discovered by Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1886 in France. Its name comes from the Greek word dysprositos, which means hard to obtain.
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