Samarium was the first element on the periodic table to be named after a real, as opposed to a mythical, person.
It is a lanthanoid and alloys of it are useful in magnets, which can be thousands of times stronger than iron magnets.
These magnets are found in headphones and high-end magnetic pickups for electric guitars and basses.
Samarium magnets were also used in the motors of one of the earliest solar-powered electric aircraft, the Solar Challenger, says Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, in episode 72 of Elemental.
Photo: RNZ
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The Elemental podcast is celebrating 150 years since the periodic table was first published by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev.
Find out more about events during the United Nation’s International Year of the Periodic Table.
Professor Allan Blackman is at Auckland University of Technology.
