ElementsWhat is neodymium?
Neodymium is a silvery metal of the lanthanide row that tarnishes in air.
What is neodymium used for?
The strongest permanent magnets in common use, found in headphones, hard disks, electric vehicle motors and wind turbines. Also lasers and purple glass.
Where the name comes from
From Greek words meaning 'new twin'.
Key facts
- Symbol
- Nd
- Atomic number
- 60
- Atomic mass
- 144.24 u
- Family
- Lanthanide
- Period
- 6
- Group
- none (f-block)
- Block
- f
- State at room temperature
- Solid
- Melting point
- 1,021 °C (1,294 K, 1,870 °F)
- Boiling point
- 3,074 °C (3,347 K, 5,565 °F)
- Density
- 7.01 g/cm³
- Electrons per shell
- 2, 8, 18, 22, 8, 2
- Electron configuration
- [Xe]6s2 4f4
- Common oxidation states
- +3
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 1.14
- First ionisation energy
- 5.525 eV
- Electron affinity
- no value
- Atomic radius (van der Waals)
- 229 pm
- Discovered
- 1885
Place in the periodic table
Neodymium is element number 60. It sits in period 6 (row 6) of the periodic table, in the separate row of lanthanides drawn below the main table, and belongs to the f-block. Just before it comes praseodymium (59), and just after it comes promethium (61).
Family: Lanthanides.
Physical properties
At room temperature neodymium is a solid. It melts at 1,021 °C and boils at 3,074 °C, so it stays liquid over a range of 2,053 degrees. Its density is 7.01 grams per cubic centimetre, so a one-litre block would weigh about 7.01 kilograms. By density it ranks 49th among the 96 elements with a measured value.
Inside the atom
An atom of neodymium has 60 protons in its nucleus and, when neutral, 60 electrons around it. The electrons are arranged in 6 shells: 2, 8, 18, 22, 8, 2. The outermost shell holds 2 electrons. Written in full, the electron configuration is [Xe]6s2 4f4.
Its electronegativity on the Pauling scale is 1.14. This number shows how strongly an atom pulls shared electrons towards itself: fluorine, the strongest, is 3.98. Removing one electron from an atom takes 5.525 electronvolts (about 533 kilojoules per mole). One mole of neodymium weighs 144.24 grams, so a single gram contains about 4.18 × 1021 atoms.
The ring picture is a simple model that only counts the electrons in each shell. Real atoms do not look like this.
Next steps
- Work out the weight of a compound that contains neodymium with the molar mass calculator.
- Compare it with every other element in the sortable list.
- Test yourself with the symbol quiz.
Figures on this page are from PubChem (U.S. National Library of Medicine), as downloaded on 11 November 2026. See About and data sources.