Platinum :: essays research papers

platinum is a relatively rare, chemically inert, surfacelic element. It symbolis Pt, atomic number is 78, and its atomic weight is 195.09. atomic number 78 is unmatchedof the heaviest substances known. One brick-shaped foot of Platinum weighs 21 timesas much as a cubic foot of water. A grayish-white metal, Platinum has a resolvepoint of 1772 degrees C and a realatively high 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 rarely usedin its pure stage because it is too soft. The third close ductile metal, itcan be drawn into a thread one twenty thousandth part of an inch in thickness.It is extremely repellent 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 out-of-the-way property of being able to absorb large amountsof hydrogen at ordinary temperatures a nd resist it at high temperatures.The first mention of Platinum occurs in the writings of an Italian mendeleviumand poet named Julius Caesar Salinger in 1557. A hieroglypic event madefroma grain of Platinum dated back to the 7th century. recognition for discoveryof Platinum has been given to Don Antonio de Ulloa, a young deputy 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. Brownriggnoted that Platinum was heavier and even more chemically inert than atomic number 79 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 direct with Carbo n.Platinum is used extensivelyin modern industrial ordination because of its chemical inertness, high meltingpoint, and extraordinary catalytic properties. platinum is worthy 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.