Platinum :: essays research papers

platinum is a relatively rare, chemicly inert, metallic element. It symbolis Pt, atomic scrap is 78, and its atomic weight is 195.09. platinum is oneof the heaviest substances known. One cubic stem of platinum weighs 21 timesas much as a cubic foot of water. A grayish-white metal, Platinum has a melting layer of 1772 degrees C and a realatively lofty boiling point of 3827 degreesC. It has a high fusing point, is bendable and malleable, expands slightlyupon heating, and has high electrical resistance. Platinum is seldom employin its pure stage because it is too soft. The third most ductile metal, itcan be drawn into a thread one cardinal thousandth part of an inch in thickness.It is extremely resistant to flak catcher by air, water, single acids and commonplacereagents, but does dissolve in sulphurous aqua regia, a mixture of nitric and hydrochloricacids. Platinum has the unusual lieu of being able to absorb large amountsof hydrogen at ordinary temperatures and resist i t at high temperatures.The first mention of Platinum occurs in the writings of an Italian physicianand poet named Julius Caesar Salinger in 1557. A hieroglypic character makefroma grain of Platinum dated back to the 7th century. Credit for breakthroughof 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 like metal from the Pinto River. The first thorough study of Platinumwas conductd in1750 by the English physician William Brownrigg. Brownrigg remark that Platinum was heavier and even more chemically inert than Gold was.Platinum forms useful alloys with many other metals, including Iridium,Palladium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Osmium, Gold, Nickel, Cobalt, and Tungsten.At high temperatures Platinum in like manner reacts with Chlorine, Fluorine, Phosphorus,Arsenic and Sulfur. Among the transition metals, Platinum has the greatesttendencies to bond directly with Carbon.Plati num is used extensivelyin modern industrial society because of its chemical inertness, high meltingpoint, and extraordinary catalytic properties. platinum is valuable for labapparatus, 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.