Dysprosium is a chemical element with the symbol Dy and atomic number 66. It is a rare earth element with a metallic silver luster. Dysprosium is never found in nature as a free element, though it is found in various minerals, such as xenotime.
Three reasons Dysprosium stands out
1
Rare earth metal used in EVs.
2
It has the highest magnetic moment of any element, making it critical for powerful compact motors.
3
It is added to neodymium magnets to prevent them from losing their strength at high operating temperatures.
Making permanent magnets survive the heat
Dysprosium has a very large magnetic moment. Adding it to neodymium magnets helps them resist demagnetization at high operating temperatures, an advantage in compact motors and generators. The trade-off is supply: dysprosium is scarce, difficult to separate, and a target for recycling and material-saving designs.
Recognizing Dysprosium in Elementle
If Dysprosium is the mystery element, guesses below atomic number 66 point up and guesses above it point down. Its symbol is Dy: a green letter matches the same position in that symbol, while a yellow letter belongs in another position.
The family clue turns green for lanthanide guesses. Compare Terbium (Tb), number 65 and Holmium (Ho), number 67: they share the family clue, but their atomic numbers and symbols help you tell them apart.
Values are reference data, not a specification for every temperature, pressure, or allotrope. Unknown properties are left unavailable. Superheavy-element predictions remain uncertain.
The introduction and original editorial story are adapted from Wikipedia contributors via Periodic-Table-JSON. Element descriptions and their adaptations are available under CC BY-SA 3.0. Numerical attributes use the PubChem periodic-table dataset, retrieved September 22, 2026.