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Discovery: British chemist Smithson Tennant discovered osmium in 1803 in the residue left when crude platinum was dissolved by aqua regia. Osmium is produced as a by-product of nickel refining. The element occurs in the mineral iridosule and in platinum-bearing river sands in the Urals, North America and South America.
How was osmium discovered?
Discovery: British chemist Smithson Tennant discovered osmium in 1803 in the residue left when crude platinum was dissolved by aqua regia. Osmium is produced as a by-product of nickel refining. The element occurs in the mineral iridosule and in platinum-bearing river sands in the Urals, North America and South America.
How did osmium get its name?
By a combination of acid and alkali treatments he eventually separated it into two new metal elements, which he named iridium and osmium, naming the latter on account of the strong odour it gave off. Its name is derived from osme the Greek word for smell.
Where is osmium found?
Osmium occurs in iridosule and in platinum-bearing river sands in the Urals, North America, and South America. It is also found in the nickel-bearing ores of Sudbury, Ontario region along with other platinum metals.
When was osmium found?
1803.
Is osmium harder than diamond?
Researchers from us-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (llnl) have discovered that osmium, a metal, is harder than diamond. It withstands compression better than any other material.
How much osmium is in the world?
Osmium is the rarest of the stable elements: its average abundance in the Earth’s crust is about 1 gram per 200 tonnes.
What’s the heaviest metal on earth?
Osmium is one of the heaviest materials on earth, weighing twice as much as lead per teaspoon. Osmium is a chemical element in the platinum group metals; it’s often used as alloys in electrical contacts and fountain pen nibs.
Is osmium safe to handle?
Health effects of osmium Osmium tetroxide, OsO4, is highly toxic. Concentrations in air as low as 10–7 g m–3 can cause lung congestion, skin damage, and severe eye damage. The oxide, in particular, should only ever be handled by a properly qualified chemist.
How much is osmium worth?
Osmium is still not as expensive as Gold, being around $400 USD per ounce compared $1,300 USD per ounce.
Is osmium used in jewelry?
Osmium can be used in jewelry since it became possible to crystallize it. Hublot for example made use of this in clock faces for exclusive wrist watches. In more recent times, jewellers no longer create jewellery with osmium alone, but replace the traditional diamond, which is not as easy to work with, with osmium.
Does osmium shatter?
Pure osmium is a very hard, lustrous (shiny), bluish-white or silvery metal. Osmium is also very brittle, which means that it will shatter into small pieces. Of all the metals in the platinum group, osmium has the highest melting temperature.
Which is the strongest element?
Osmium Pronunciation /ˈɒzmiəm/ (OZ-mee-əm) Appearance silvery, blue cast Standard atomic weight A r , std (Os) 190.23(3) Osmium in the periodic table.
What is the symbol of osmium?
Os
What does osmium smell like?
Osmium tetroxide has a characteristic, unpleasant, irritating odour similar to that of chlorine and ozone with a touch of garlic.
Why is osmium the densest element?
Why Osmium Is Densest When Heavier Elements Exist Osmium (and iridium) have a very small atomic radius, so the mass is packed into a small volume. The electrons orbit the atomic nucleus so fast their apparent mass increases and the s orbital radius decreases.
Can you crush a diamond with a hammer?
As an example, you can scratch steel with a diamond, but you can easily shatter a diamond with a hammer. The diamond is hard, the hammer is strong. This makes the diamond incredibly hard and is why it is able to scratch any other material. Steel, on the other hand, has an ionic structure.
What’s the hardest thing in the world?
Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance found on Earth.
What is the hardest thing on earth?
(PhysOrg.com) — Currently, diamond is regarded to be the hardest known material in the world. But by considering large compressive pressures under indenters, scientists have calculated that a material called wurtzite boron nitride (w-BN) has a greater indentation strength than diamond.
Can osmium be purchased?
The crystalline, non-hazardous form of osmium, also referred to as “osmium” on this website, is available for purchase only since 2014. Due to its extraordinary rarity and high value density, crystalline osmium is used exclusively in the manufacture of premium jewellery and timepieces, and as a store of value.
Why is osmium so expensive?
Osmium tetroxide is expensive because osmium is a rare element. Osmium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth’s crust. Osmium is obtained as a by-product from nickel and copper processing. The US production of Os is probably only about 75 kg/year.
Is osmium heavier than steel?
Answer 1: Osmium is the most dense metal! Many people are familiar with lead (11.3 kg/L), but osmium is twice as dense (22.6 kg/L)!Nov 18, 2011.
What is the heaviest natural thing on earth?
Uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element in the world and was first found in the silver mines in the Czech Republic. Uranium was initially called pecheblende or “bad luck rock” because it was typically found when a vein of silver ore was drying up.
What is the heaviest rock on Earth?
Such examples of the heaviest or densest rocks are peridotite or gabbro. They each have a density of between 3.0 to 3.4 grams per cubic centimetre.
What is the lightest metal on earth?
Magnesium is the lightest structural metal and abundantly available in the earth’s crust and seawater. Magnesium is the third most commonly used structural metal, following steel and aluminum.
Can you eat osmium?
* Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Osmium Tetroxide is handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, smoking, or using the toilet.
Is osmium the strongest metal?
Osmium is the densest substance known and the hardest of all platinum group metals (PGMs). It is ten times harder than platinum itself. Osmium also has a higher melting point than the other platinum group metals.
What is the most expensive metal in the world?
Rhodium. The title of the most expensive precious metal in the world goes to Rhodium. This precious metal is extremely rare and can be best described as a silver-white, hard, corrosion-resistant inert transition metal. Rhodium is a member of the platinum group and a noble metal.
How much is 1 kg of osmium?
conversion result for osmium: From Symbol Result 1 kilogram kg – kilo 1,000.00.
What is the rarest metal on earth?
The rarest stable metal is tantalum. The rarest metal on earth is actually francium, but because this unstable element has a half life of a mere 22 minutes, it has no practical use.
Is osmium stronger than titanium?
Titanium, unlike osmium, has a very low density but a high strength. Consequently, titanium is noted for having the highest tensile strength-to-density ratio of any metallic element on the periodic table.
