Ytterbium was discovered in 1878 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac. Its name derives from the word "Ytterby" which is a town in Sweden.
Ytterbium's melting point is at 824.0 C (1097.15 K, 1515.2 F) and its boiling point is at 1466.0 C (1739.15 K, 2670.8 F).
Ytterbium is a soft, malleable, ductile, silvery metal.
Ytterbium reacts slowly with cold water and air.
Ytterbium is naturally composed of seven stable isotopes: 168-Yb, 170-Yb, 171-Yb, 172-Yb, 173-Yb, 174-Yb (the most abundant), and 176-Yb.
Ytterbium is extracted from minerals monazite, euxenite, and xenotime.
Ytterbium's main producers are China, the USA, Brazil, India, and Australia.
Ytterbium has very few practical applications: as a source of gamma rays in portable x-rays machines, in atomic clocks, as a dopant in stainless steel and solid state lasers, and a few others.
Ytterbium is considered to be a toxic element and it is a skin and eye irritant.
Ytterbium metal dust combust easily and the fire produced is hard to be extinguished.