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The Heaviest of Heavy Metal - FlickerOfLight - 09-13-2024
The Heaviest Metal on the Planet
Osmium, which has a bulk density nearly twice that of lead. Osmium has a specific gravity of almost 22 1/2, making it the densest naturally occurring element known. Its high density is due to the strong bonding between its atoms, which are arranged in a complex crystal structure.
In 1803AD, Osmium was discovered by Smithson Tennant when dissolving an impure sample of platinum in aqua regia, a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids. He was able to determine that the black powder left behind after dissolving the platinum was actually a mixture of two new elements, indium and osmium.
The name Osmium is derived from the Greek word osme, which means odor. Osmium derived its name due to the strange smell of the compound Tennant was working with, which was osmium tetroxide.
Osmium’s claim to fame is that it is the densest of all the elements. It is also a member of the platinum group metals or PGMs (along with Ruthenium, Rhodium, Palladium, Iridium and Platinum) as well as being a transition metal.
Basic Information
Table 1. Basic Properties of Osmium
Osmium is a rare element and found in the Earth's crust. Osmium-rich ores include Osmiridium and Iridosmine of which the former is the most common.Osmium is also found in all ores of platinum.
The largest known primary reserves of osmium include the Bushveld igneous complex in South Africa, however the huge copper-nickel deposits near the Norilsk in Russia and the Canada-based Sudbury basin are also important osmium sources.
Osmium consists of seven naturally occurring isotopes. Of these 6 are considered stable and the 7th, Osmium 186 has a half life of 2x1015 years, making it stable for all practical purposes. Several radioactive isotopes of Osmium also exist.
Production of Osmium
Osmium concentrates are produced as a by-product of nickel and copper mining or alternatively while isolating the platinum metal from its ores. Osmium is then separated from other platinum group metals by distillation or organic solvent extraction to yield volatile Osmium tetroxide OsO4 which is then collected and precipitated using KOH. The resultant salt is reduced and roasted to yield a fine power of Osmium.
Health Aspects
Some of the osmium compounds are very dangerous and cause irritation to throat, lungs, skin and eyes. Extreme care is needed while handling the compounds. One needs to be very careful while handling the most widely used osmium compound, osmium tetroxide (OsO4).
Key Properties
The key properties of osmium are listed below
Osmium is a bluish-white and shiny metal.
Osmium is very hard and is brittle even at very high temperatures
Osmium has the lowast vapor pressure and the highest melting point among the platinum group of metals
Osmium’s density is slightly more than iridium hence is credited as the heaviest element
Osmium can be dissolved by acids or aqua regia only if exposed to these liquids for a long period.
The metal reacts with oxygen to form osmium tetroxide (OsO4) after heating.
Osmium tetroxide is highly toxic and the only essential commercial compound of osmium.
Applications
Due to its rarity and hence expense, osmium has a limited number of applications. Applications of osmium include:
Osmium can be used as an alloying agent, where it adds hardness to the resultant metal. Examples include platinum or indium
Certain alloys of osmium and platinum are used in the manufacture of specialized laboratory equipment
Finely divided osmium metal can be used as a catalyst e.g. in the process of forming ammonia by combining hydrogen and nitrogen.
Hard alloys can be produced by using Osmium. Osmium alloys are used in ball point pen tips, fountain pen tips, record player needles, compass needles and electrical contacts.
Early light bulb filaments used osmium. This was later replaced by tungsten which was found to be easier to work with.
Due to its inertness, osmium-platinum is used to make surgical instruments and pacemakers
Osmium tetroxide is highly volatile and strongly oxidizing and is beneficial in the chemical industry as long as one takes sufficient precautions.
Osmium tetroxide is used for staining biological samples for microscopic examination and for fingerprint detection.
Osmium tetroxide has an unpleasant chlorinelike odor, which prompted Tennant to name the element using the Greek word osme, "a smell."
There you have it. The heaviest metal on earth.[/color][/color]
RE: The Heaviest of Heavy Metal - Bally002 - 09-13-2024
Learned something new. Cheers.
Expensive fishing sinkers.
Kind regards,
Bally)
RE: The Heaviest of Heavy Metal - Schmoe - 09-14-2024
Didn't they find osmium in the chest implants in the Nazca mummies? I know I heard that mentioned, but I'm not sure if it's been confirmed.
RE: The Heaviest of Heavy Metal - FlickerOfLight - 09-14-2024
(09-14-2024, 03:36 AM)Schmoe Wrote: Didn't they find osmium in the chest implants in the Nazca mummies? I know I heard that mentioned, but I'm not sure if it's been confirmed.This is what my quick search came up with.
Looks like a yes, and no.
osmium has been mentioned in connection with the chest implants of mummies, specifically the Nazca Mummies from Peru. According to various sources, including presentations and interviews, osmium was found in the metal implants of these mummies.
Prof. Zuniga Aviles Roger, leader of the mummy project, mentioned in an interview that the metal implant in the Josefina mummy is coated with osmium.
The Mexican hearing on the Nazca Mummies mentioned the presence of osmium in the chest plates.
Some sources suggest that osmium was found in significant quantities in the implants, although others have questioned the accuracy of these claims.
RE: The Heaviest of Heavy Metal - EndtheMadnessNow - 09-14-2024
Never heard of that heavy metal, till now.
Each cube in the vid is $12,250.00. Sold out!
Quote:Material and methods: We had the opportunity to obtain skin samples of two Egyptian mummies. One of them was embalmed between 150 BC-90 AC. The skin was studied by transmission electron microscopy. As the mummified materials had dried out and shrunk, it was necessary to rehydrate them for ultrastructural observation. Skin samples were fragmented into small pieces before fixation with 2 p. 100 glutaraldehyde in sodium cacodylate buffer for 10 days (allowing for removal of the materials used for embalming). The samples were then washed in the same buffer for 10 days. After washing the pieces were post-fixed with 1 p. 100 osmium tetroxyde, dehydrated and embedded in Epoxy medium.Preservation of cutaneous structures of egyptian mummies
(09-14-2024, 04:10 AM)FlickerOfLight Wrote:(09-14-2024, 03:36 AM)Schmoe Wrote: Didn't they find osmium in the chest implants in the Nazca mummies? I know I heard that mentioned, but I'm not sure if it's been confirmed.This is what my quick search came up with.
Looks like a yes, and no.
osmium has been mentioned in connection with the chest implants of mummies, specifically the Nazca Mummies from Peru. According to various sources, including presentations and interviews, osmium was found in the metal implants of these mummies.
Prof. Zuniga Aviles Roger, leader of the mummy project, mentioned in an interview that the metal implant in the Josefina mummy is coated with osmium.
The Mexican hearing on the Nazca Mummies mentioned the presence of osmium in the chest plates.
Some sources suggest that osmium was found in significant quantities in the implants, although others have questioned the accuracy of these claims.
One source I got chuckle from...
![[Image: TZjIQBS.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/TZjIQBS.jpg)
9 Undebatable Scientific Reasons the Nazca Mummies aren’t Aliens