{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.ytterbium","code":"thing-q1855","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1855/","name":"ytterbium","alternateNames":["ytterbium-148","ytterbium-149","ytterbium-150","ytterbium-151","ytterbium-151m1","ytterbium-151m2","ytterbium-151m3","ytterbium-152","ytterbium-153","ytterbium-153m","ytterbium-154","ytterbium-155"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.MAT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A chemical element with symbol Yb and atomic number 70, a soft silvery lanthanide obtained from monazite, xenotime and ion-adsorption clays, used as a dopant in fibre lasers and amplifiers, in stainless steel improvement, in stress gauges, in ytterbium-based optical atomic clocks and in the radioisotope ytterbium-169 as a gamma source for radiography; ytterbium has seven stable isotopes and many radioactive ones, and is one of four elements named after the Swedish village of Ytterby.","purpose":"Let an agent identify ytterbium and its properties, relay isotopes, production and uses from reference sources, explain its roles in lasers and atomic clocks, and distinguish it from yttrium and neighbouring lanthanides.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Fibre laser dopant","Optical clock element","Divalent chemistry","Ytterby naming"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"identify","name":"Identify","description":"What ytterbium is.","layers":[{"id":"properties","name":"Properties","description":"Properties.","findings":[{"id":"properties-finding","name":"Properties","description":"Properties.","questions":[{"text":"What are the physical and chemical properties of ytterbium?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about ytterbium, yttrium or a neighbouring lanthanide?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"isotopes","name":"Isotopes","description":"Isotopes.","findings":[{"id":"isotopes-finding","name":"Isotopes","description":"Isotopes.","questions":[{"text":"Which isotopes exist, and how is ytterbium-169 used?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific isotope?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"source","name":"Source","description":"Occurrence and production.","layers":[{"id":"occurrence","name":"Occurrence","description":"Occurrence.","findings":[{"id":"occurrence-finding","name":"Occurrence","description":"Occurrence.","questions":[{"text":"Where does ytterbium occur, and how is it separated?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits rare earth mining?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"supply","name":"Supply","description":"Supply.","findings":[{"id":"supply-finding","name":"Supply","description":"Supply.","questions":[{"text":"Who produces ytterbium, and how is it traded, with sources?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Uses.","layers":[{"id":"lasers","name":"Lasers","description":"Lasers.","findings":[{"id":"lasers-finding","name":"Lasers","description":"Lasers.","questions":[{"text":"How are ytterbium-doped fibre and disk lasers used in industry?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits fibre laser?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"clocks","name":"Clocks","description":"Clocks and quantum.","findings":[{"id":"clocks-finding","name":"Clocks","description":"Clocks.","questions":[{"text":"How are ytterbium atoms used in optical clocks and quantum computing, as research reports?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History.","layers":[{"id":"discovery","name":"Discovery","description":"Discovery.","findings":[{"id":"discovery-finding","name":"Discovery","description":"Discovery.","questions":[{"text":"How was ytterbium discovered by Marignac in 1878 and separated by Urbain and Auer von Welsbach?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Ytterby?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"metrology","name":"Metrology","description":"Metrology.","findings":[{"id":"metrology-finding","name":"Metrology","description":"Metrology.","questions":[{"text":"How might ytterbium clocks contribute to redefining the second?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the definition of the second?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain ytterbium's properties and its uses in lasers, clocks and gauges.","Report supply and production figures with source and year."],"mustNot":["Advise handling ytterbium metal or powders without proper protection, since finely divided metal is a fire risk.","Operate high power fibre lasers it is not authorized to control.","Misstate the origin of ytterbium to hide its supply chain.","Present optical clock precision claims without the measurement they come from."],"requiresHuman":["Energising a high power laser or releasing one to service."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["High power fibre lasers can blind and burn at a distance, including from reflections.","Rare earth processing waste affects communities near plants."],"affectedParties":["Laser operators and bystanders","Communities near processing sites","Workers handling the metal"]},"owners":{"steward":"The holder of each stock; mining rights are granted by the state where it is mined.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q19569","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"lanthanide","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"fiber laser","type":"related","note":"as a dopant"},{"target":"optical clock","type":"related","note":"as a reference atom"},{"target":"lutetium","type":"related","note":"element 71"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.ytterbium","Wikidata: Q1855 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1855)","symbol: Yb","CAS: 7440-64-4"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["atomic number: 70 Z","standard atomic weight: 173.045 u","melting point: 824 degrees C","stable isotopes: 7 count - Yb-168 to Yb-176"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Element 70, symbol Yb","Lanthanide of fibre lasers and optical clocks","Yttrium is a different element; thulium and lutetium are the neighbouring lanthanides","A soft silvery metal that slowly oxidises in air."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["relay properties and isotopes","explain production and uses","explain laser and clock roles","distinguish from related elements"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing with yttrium","Radiation safety for isotope sources","Supply concentration"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Chemical safety data sheets","Radiation rules for ytterbium-169 sources","Rare earth trade rules"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Lasers, atomic clocks, radiography and alloys.","ytterbium metal","ytterbium compounds such as the oxide","stable isotopes from ytterbium-168 to ytterbium-176 and radioactive isotopes including ytterbium-169 and light isotopes from ytterbium-148","ytterbium-doped lasers and amplifiers","ytterbium in atomic clocks and quantum computing"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1855: ytterbium","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1855","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Ytterbium","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ytterbium","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should ytterbium-doped fibre laser be a separate entry?","How should reference data be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming short-lived isotopes and isomers; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1855/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1855/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T01:10:31Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:55+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}