Definition of "erbium" [er•bi•um]

• A soft, malleable, silvery rare-earth element, used in metallurgy and nuclear research and to color glass and porcelain. Atomic number 68; atomic weight 167.26; melting point 1,497°C; boiling point 2,900°C; specific gravity 9.051; valence 3. See Table at element. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The elements, such as erbium and ytterbium, amplify light signals when excited by a laser."
• "Made of polarized glass, the lenses boast a number of "best in shows": at just 1.8 mm thick they claim to be the thinnest in the world; they contain an impressive number of rare minerals like neodymium and erbium, which filter color while maintaining clarity; and they have 10 layers of antiglare coating."
• "Dermabrasion, a technique to vaporize the skin by way of electrocautery or ablative lasers such as CO2 or erbium: YAG lasers, can remove raised scars."