Lannion - Lanthanum Trading Card

The wizard, Lannion represents the element Lanthanum in the Magical Elements of the Periodic Table. With just a wave of his staff, Lannion can make light look different and trick your eyes. He can make things that aren't really there, change how you see things, and play tricks on your eyes. Lanthanum comes from the Greek word lanthanein, meaning “to lie hidden” because it was found as a impurity in cerium nitrate. Rare earth elements (lanthanides) are not really rare. They are just difficult to extract because they share many properties with each other. In fact, Thulium, the rarest lanthanide, is more available than mercury or arsenic, which no one considers rare substances. Blue pigments have a cool history with powerful civilizations. The Egyptian pharaohs had Egyptian blue, the Han Chinese created Han blue, and the Maya made Maya blue. Cobalt blue is a super intense colour but also super toxic, while Lanthanum blue is almost just as vibrant and safe to use. Small amounts of lanthanum are present in many pool products to remove the phosphates that feed algae. Lanthanum-modified bentonite (or phoslock) is used to remove phosphates from water in lake treatments.