Dysprosium is a chemical element wi the seembol Dy an atomic nummer 66. It is a rare yird element wi a metallic siller luster. Dysprosium is never foond in naitur as a free element, tho it is foond in sindry minerals, sic as xenotime. Naiturally occurrin dysprosium is componed o 7 isotopes, the maist abundant o which is 164Dy.
Dysprosium wis first identified in 1886 bi Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, but wis nae isolatit in pur fairm till the development o ion exchange techniques in the 1950s. Dysprosium is uised for its heich thermal neutron absorption cross-section in makin control rods in nuclear reactors, for its heich magnetic susceptibility in data storage applications, an as a component o Terfenol-D. Soluble dysprosium salts are mildly toxic, while the insoluble salts are considered non-toxic.