TechnologyAugust 18, 2026

erbium

UR-bee-um

Definition

A rare-earth metallic element, typically used in this context as the source material for creating photons in fiber-optic communications.

Etymology

The name is derived from Ytterby, a village in Sweden near where the mineral containing the element was first discovered; it is one of several elements named after that specific location.

In the news

The researchers used erbium as the specific photon source in their experiments because it is already a standard element in existing fiber-optic technology.

TUM Creates Single-Photon Sources for Quantum Tech

Read the full article ↗

Mirage News

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