“…These three elements are also characterized by their colorless salts, sparingly soluble double alkali sulfates (a distinction of Y from the so-called yttrium earths), single isotopes (21), lower paramagnetic susceptibilities, absence of absorption spectra in the visible, doublets in the spark spectra (22), and band spectra of ScO, YO, and LaO (23). Also from the standpoint of basicity Y should be followed by La more closely than by Lu because basicity increases downward for succeeding elements in a given column and, since the basicity of the rare earths decreases from left to right, Lu is less basic than Y, the value of the latter being between Nd and Sm (24), (25). Similar conclusions are indicated by the work of Rolla and Piccardi (26) on ionization potential data.…”