Encyclopedia Britannica (2024)

[Rene]

An interesting update.

It shows the rare-earths as a discrete set, which is a good idea given how frequently the term rare earths is used these days.

The metalloids include Bi and Po, whereas the elements most commonly referred to as metalloids are B, Si, Ge, As, Sb and Te.

There is no excuse for showing Po as a metalloid given its many metallic properties.

It may be that Bi has been included as a metalloid given its semi-metallic band structure. That said, Bi shows up on only about 6% of lists of metalloids. It seems that the editors at EB have forgotten that an encyclopedia should reflect the literature rather than setting the agenda.

René