Which chemical element is the densest? Detailed answer

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Which chemical element is the densest? Detailed answer

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Which chemical element is the densest?

Either osmium or iridium - depending on how you measure.

Both metals are extremely close to each other in density and have changed places several times in recent years. The third most dense element is platinum, followed by rhenium, neptunium, plutonium and gold. Lead is somewhere far down the list - it's only half as dense as osmium or iridium.

Osmium (Os) is a very rare and very hard blue-silver metal discovered (together with iridium) in 1803 by the English chemist Smithson Tennant (1761 - 1815).

The son of a Richmond curate, Tennant was also the first to show that diamond was a form of pure carbon.

The name "osmium" comes from the Greek osme, "smell". The metal releases highly toxic osmium anhydride (or osmium tetroxide), which has a pungent, irritating odor that can damage the lungs, skin, eyes, and cause severe headaches. Osmium anhydride is actively used in fingerprinting, because its vapors react with even the smallest traces of fat left by the fingers, and form black deposits.

The exceptional hardness and corrosion resistance of osmium have found application in the production of durable gramophone needles, compass needles and soldering on the tip of expensive fountain pens - hence the name of the trade mark "Osmiroid".

Osmium also has an unusually high melting point, 3054°C. In 1897, this circumstance inspired Karl Auer to create an osmium filament for an electric light bulb, far superior in quality to the bamboo fiber used by Edison. Subsequently, osmium was replaced by tungsten, melting at 3407 °C. The trademark "Osram" was registered by Auer in 1906 and is an acronym for the words "OSmium" and "tungsten".

Less than 100 kg of osmium is produced annually in the world.

Iridium (Ir) is a yellowish-white metal, which, like osmium, belongs to the platinum group. The name (Greek iris - "rainbow") was due to the beautiful, varied color of its salts.

Iridium also has an extremely high melting point (2446°C) and is mainly used in the manufacture of crucibles for metal casting and platinum hardening.

Iridium is one of the rarest elements on Earth (eighty-fourth out of ninety-two); however, in a thin layer of rock at the boundary of the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, which arose approximately 65 million years ago, incredibly large reserves of this metal were discovered.

Geologists believe that iridium could only have appeared there from space, and this only reinforces the theory that it was the fall of a giant asteroid to Earth that caused the extinction of dinosaurs.

Author: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

What were Admiral Nelson's last words?

"Drink, drink. Fan, fan. Rub, rub" - "Drink-drink. Wave-mash. Three-three" (English).

These were the very last words spoken by the dying admiral. He was hot and very thirsty. A steward stood nearby, fanning Nelson and bringing lemonade-laced wine to the wounded man's lips, while the ship's chaplain, Dr. Scott, massaged the admiral's chest to ease the pain.

Most historians believe that the dying man said "Kiss me, Hardy" ("Kiss me, Hardy") - in contrast to some others, who offer a more noble "Kismet" (that is, "rock", "fate"). Eyewitnesses testified that Vice Admiral Hardy kissed Nelson twice - once on the cheek and again on the forehead - while he struggled to remain conscious.

Nelson asked the captain of his flagship not to throw his body overboard and to take care of "poor Lady Hamilton". Then he spoke his immortal words. When Hardy kissed the commander for the first time, he said: "Now I am satisfied" ("Now I am satisfied"). Another second later: "Who is that?" ("Who is it?"). When Nelson saw that it was Hardy, he croaked: "God bless you, Hardy" ("God bless you, Hardy"). Shortly thereafter, he muttered, "Thank God I have done my duty" and then "Drink, drink. Wave, roll. Three-three." The admiral collapsed, a doctor was called, and at 16:30 pm Lord Nelson was officially declared dead.

It seems that Nelson deliberately chose to die at the moment of his triumph at Trafalgar. For a guinea a piece, the admiral bought four large silver stars and ordered them to be sewn to his uniform next to the brilliant Neapolitan order of St. Ferdinand. Then he stood in the middle of the deck of the Victoria and stood like that until some French sniper shot him from fifteen meters.

It was a complete victory. And although the British lost 1700 sailors killed and wounded, the British fleet did not lose a single ship. What can not be said about the French and Spaniards: their fleets were completely destroyed, 6000 people were wounded or killed, 20 were captured. The danger of an invasion of Britain was over. Immortality to Nelson is guaranteed.

During the return voyage from Cape Trafalgar, the admiral's body was preserved, immersed in a barrel of brandy. There were rumors that on the way home, the sailors periodically applied to the contents of the barrel, secretly sucking through pasta instead of straws. Nothing like this. The barrel was kept under armed guard, and, according to eyewitnesses, when it was opened upon arrival in Portsmouth, the barrel was almost full to the brim.

True or not, however, the legend has taken root, and in the British Navy there is still the phrase "run a hand to the Admiral" when it comes to a sip of rum secretly from the authorities.

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