Platinum :: essays research papers

platinum is a relatively rare, chemically inert, metallic element. It symbolis Pt, atomic number is 78, and its atomic weight is 195.09. Platinum is oneof the heaviest substances known. unmatched cubic foot of Platinum weighs 21 timesas much as a cubic foot of water. A grayish-white metal, Platinum has a thawpoint of 1772 degrees C and a realatively extravagantly boiling point of 3827 degreesC. It has a high fusing point, is ductile and malleable, expands slightlyupon heating, and has high electrical resistance. Platinum is seldom applyin its pure stage because it is too soft. The third most ductile metal, itcan be drawn into a thread one twenty 1000th part of an inch in thickness.It is extremely resistant to attack by air, water, single acids and ordinaryreagents, but does dissolve in hot aqua regia, a mixture of nitric and hydrochloricacids. Platinum has the unusual property of being able to absorb large amountsof hydrogen at ordinary temperatures and resist it at high tempe ratures.The first mention of Platinum occurs in the writings of an Italian physicianand poet named Julius Caesar Salinger in 1557. A hieroglypic character madefroma grain of Platinum dated prickle to the 7th century. Credit for discoveryof Platinum has been given to Don Antonio de Ulloa, a young lieutenant in theSpanish Navy. The metal was referred to as the "platina de Pinto", meaningthe siver worry metal from the Pinto River. The first thorough study of Platinumwas conductd in1750 by the English physician William Brownrigg. Brownriggnoted that Platinum was heavier and even more chemically inert than funds was.Platinum forms useful alloys with many other metals, including Iridium,Palladium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Osmium, Gold, Nickel, Cobalt, and Tungsten.At high temperatures Platinum also reacts with Chlorine, Fluorine, Phosphorus,Arsenic and Sulfur. Among the transition metals, Platinum has the greatesttendencies to bond directly with Carbon.Platinum is used extensivelyin modern industrial society because of its chemical inertness, high meltingpoint, and extraordinary catalytic properties. platinum is valuable for laboratoryapparatus, such as tongs, combustion boats, crucibles and evaoporating dishes.It is also used for thermometers in furnaces, for electrodes in making quantitativechemical analyses, and for corrosion and heat-resistant instruments.