摘要
稀土元素共有十七種元素。這些元素之發現，前後只有兩百年的歷史；最初僅應用於陶瓷與玻璃工業、鋼鐵工業。稀土元素之發展為多方面的用途，是近幾十年的事；現在已成為工業上，尤其是尖端科技發展的重要原料。在能源工業方面，石油裂解所用的一種催化劑，其成分即為非晶矽酸鋁加5％〜10％的稀土金屬；釓金屬可製造核能發電反應爐中之控制棒。大部份之稀土元素為燐光體，可作為彩色電視、霓虹燈、光視燈與展示器等之原料。本文主要在介紹稀土元素之特性，在自然界中之分佈情形；元素之分離與精製方法，及其在工業中各方面之用途。
關鍵字
無資料並列摘要
There are 17 rare earth elements in the world. The discovery of these elements had been Spanned about two hundred years, from B. C. 1974 to 1945. These elements were first applied only in ceramics, glass and steel industries. In last decades, the uses of these elements have been greatly expanded, now they are very important industrial raw materials, especially in the hi-tech industries. This paper describes the characteristics of the rare earth elements, their distribution in the nature, the processes of separation and refinement, as well as their applications in industries.