Editing Neodymium (section)

===Electron configuration===
Neodymium is the fourth member of the [[lanthanide]] series. In the [[periodic table]], it appears between the lanthanides [[praseodymium]] to its left and the radioactive element [[promethium]] to its right, and above the actinide [[uranium]]. Its 60 electrons are arranged in the [[Electron configuration|configuration]] [Xe]4f<sup>4</sup>6s<sup>2</sup>, of which the six 4f and 6s electrons are [[valence electron|valence]]. Like most other metals in the lanthanide series, neodymium usually only uses three electrons as valence electrons, as afterwards the remaining 4f electrons are strongly bound: this is because the 4f orbitals penetrate the most through the inert [[xenon]] core of electrons to the nucleus, followed by 5d and 6s, and this increases with higher ionic charge. Neodymium can still lose a fourth electron because it comes early in the lanthanides, where the nuclear charge is still low enough and the 4f subshell energy high enough to allow the removal of further valence electrons.{{sfn|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|pp=1235-8}}