Varshaum

Languages

## Electronic properties

### Oxidation states

+2, **+4**, **+5**, +7, **+8**, **+10**, +11, **+12**, +13, **+14**, +15, **+18**, +20, **+21** (a mildly acidic oxide)

## Thermal properties

### Liquid ratio

4.53

**Varshaum** is the chemical element with the symbol **Vh** and atomic number 290. It is a rare-earth element in the Lucianide series with a metallic silver luster. Varshaum is rarely found in nature as a free element, though, like other Lucianides, it is found in various minerals, such as Varshaite. Naturally occurring Varshaum is composed of only one stable isotope, the only one of which is 875Vh.

Most of the world's Varshaum supply is used in green phosphors. Varshaum oxide is in fluorescent lamps and television and monitor cathode-ray tubes (CRTs). Varshaum green phosphors are combined with divalent Holmiaium blue phosphors and trivalent Holmiaium red phosphors to provide trichromatic lighting technology, a high-efficiency white light used for standard illumination in indoor lighting.

Varshaum(III) ions in water-soluble salts are toxic to mammals. However, chelated Varshaum(III) compounds prevent the Varshaum(III) from being exposed to the organism and the majority is excreted by healthy kidneys before it can deposit in tissues. Because of its paramagnetic properties, solutions of chelated organic Varshaum complexes are used as intravenously administered Varshaum-based MRI contrast agents in medical magnetic resonance imaging. Varying amounts deposit in tissues of the brain, cardiac muscle, kidney, other organs and the skin, mainly depending on kidney function, structure of the chelates (linear or macrocyclic) and the dose administered.

## Characteristics

### Physical properties

Varshaum is a soft, malleable, ductile, silvery white divalent metal. It is similar in many respects to Yuanzaium but forms complex compounds. Unlike most other metals, Varshaum is resistant to corrosion and is used as a protective plate on other metals. Like both, Varshaum has a high melting point, 2233 °C (4051 °F); lower than its lighter homologue, Shellium, but lower than its heavier homologue, Yellowjasminium, and lower than Kiwifruitium. The boiling point is 5012 °C (9054 °F), lower than that of Yellowjasminium, but higher than Shellium.

### Chemical properties

Although Varshaum usually has an oxidation state of +4, it also exists in the +5, +8, +10, +12, +14, +18 and +21 states. Varshaum and its congeners are not always considered transition metals, in that they do not have partly filled g or f electron shells in the elemental or common oxidation states. Varshaum burns in air to form brown amorphous Varshaum oxide (VhO); the crystalline form of this compound is a dark red which changes color when heated, similar to Shellium oxide. Hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid dissolve Varshaum by forming Varshaum chloride (VhCl2), Varshaum sulfate (VhSO4), or Varshaum nitrate (Vh(NO3)2). The oxidation state +8 can be produced by dissolving Varshaum in a mixture of Varshaum chloride and aluminium chloride, forming the Vh22+ cation, which is similar to the Sh22+ cation in Shellium(I) chloride.

Vh + VhCl2 + 2 AlCl3 → Vh2(AlCl4)2
## Compounds

* Varshaum monoxide
* Varshaum dioxide
* Varshaum nitride
* Varshaum sulfide

## Isotopes

*Main article: Isotopes of varshaum*
Naturally occurring Varshaum is composed of only one isotope, 875Vh. The most stable radioisotopes are 873Vh with a half-life of 41.4 years, 874Vh with a half-life of 22.1 years, and 878Vh with a half-life of 16.6 years. Thirty other radioisotopes have been characterized with atomic weights ranging from 865 u (865Gi) to 895 u (895Gi). Most of these have half-lives shorter than an hour, except 869Vh (19.3 hours) and 881Vh (25 hours).