EUROPIUM  , a metallic chemical

element, symbol Eu, atomic weight 152.0 (0=16) . The oxide Eu O3 occurs in very small quantity in the minerals of the rare earths, and was first obtained in 1896 by E, A . Demarcay from Lecoq de Boisbaudran's samarium; G . Urbain and H . Lacombe in 1904 obtained the pure salts by fractional crystallization of the nitric acid solution with magnesium nitrate in the presence of bismuth nitrate . The salts have a faint pink colour, and show a faint absorption spectrum; the spark spectrum is brilliant and well characterized .