Osmium

Osmium is an important transition metal whose color is bluish white or bluish black and is derived from an alloy composed of iridium and osmium. It is one of the important members of the popular Platinum Group Metal. Its symbol in the periodic table is Os. Osmium’s atomic number is 76 and its group number is 8. Atomic Weight is 190.2 and Atomic Volume is 8.49 cm3/ mol. It consists of seven isotopes.

Physical Properties of Osmium

Facts about Osmium

Osmium was discovered in 1803 by Smithson Tenant William Hyde Wollaston in England. The term Osmium is derived from a Greek word ‘osmë’ which means ‘odor’.

Uses of Osmium

Osmium is highly toxic and so, it is mixed with other metals before application. It is used to make the nibs of fountain pen and casing of sharp weapons. It is also used to detect fingerprints. Osmium is that it is also used for alloys with high temperature.

Production Details of Osmium

The production of Osmium on a world wide basis amounts to 0.60 tones per year. Turkey enjoys the largest concentration of Osmium which amounts to 127,000. Bulgaria is also known to have huge amount of osmium concentration amounting to 2500 tons. It is found in abundance in the Ural Mountains, and also in North and South America. It also occurs in the Sudbury, Ontario region along with its other members of platinum group.

Osmium’s average value is about $25,000 per gram. One unique characteristic of Osmium is that it is densest of all the other elements. It is also very rare.