Lanthanum (La)

NUM: 57
SYMBOL: La
CATEGORY: Lanthanide

Lanthanum is a soft, ductile, silvery-white metallic chemical element, the namesake of the lanthanide series.

Carl Gustaf Mosander discovered lanthanum in 1839 hidden within cerium nitrate, naming it from the Greek for 'to lie hidden'.
It is the soft, silvery first member of the lanthanide series and can be cut with a knife.
Lanthanum raises the refractive index of premium camera lens glass and forms the hydrogen-storing alloy in nickel-metal hydride batteries.