 When the europium @-@ doped yttrium <unk> red phosphor was discovered in the early 1960s , and understood to be about to cause a revolution in the color television industry , there was a scramble for the limited supply of europium on hand among the monazite processors , as the typical europium content in monazite is about 0 @.@ 05 % . However , the <unk> bastnäsite deposit at the Mountain Pass rare earth mine , California , whose lanthanides had an unusually high europium content of 0 @.@ 1 % , was about to come on @-@ line and provide sufficient europium to sustain the industry . Prior to europium , the color @-@ TV red phosphor was very weak , and the other phosphor colors had to be muted , to maintain color balance . With the brilliant red europium phosphor , it was no longer necessary to <unk> the other colors , and a much brighter color TV picture was the result . Europium has continued to be in use in the TV industry ever since as well as in computer monitors . Californian bastnäsite now faces stiff competition from Bayan Obo , China , with an even " <unk> " europium content of 0 @.@ 2 % . 
