Tuesday, February 24, 2009
At first , in class , Mr Lim said he thought that Gold is the densest element , none of us really knew the exact answer , so i went to research on it and this is what i found , most websites state that the densest element is either iridium or osmium .
Osmium
Osmium (Greek osme meaning "smell") was discovered in 1803 by Smithson Tennant and William Hyde Wollaston in London, England.[1] The discovery of osmium is intertwined with that of platinum and the other metals of the platinum .
Osmium is generally considered to be the densest known element, narrowly defeating iridium . However, calculations of density from the space lattice may produce more reliable data for these elements than actual measurements and give a density of 22650 kg/m3 for iridium versus 22610 kg/m³ for osmium. Definitive selection between the two is therefore not possible at this time. If one distinguishes different isotopes, then the highest density ordinary substance would be 192Os. The extraordinary density of osmium is a consequence of the lanthanide contraction.
Iridium
Iridium was discovered in 1803 by Smithson Tennant among insoluble impurities in natural platinum from South America. It is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust, with annual production and consumption of only three tonnes. However, iridium does find a number of specialized industrial and scientific applications. Iridium is employed when high corrosion resistance and high temperatures are needed, as in spark plugs, crucibles for recrystallization of semiconductors at high temperatures, electrodes for the production of chlorine in the chloralkali process, and radioisotope thermoelectric generators used in unmanned spacecraft. Iridium compounds also find applications as catalysts for the production of acetic acid. One of the lesser-known members of the platinum group metals, iridium is white, resembling platinum, but with a slight yellowish cast. It possesses quite remarkable chemical and physical properties.
The Iridium has a density of 22650 kg/m3.
As the information states that the two elements are about of the same density , but i think that Osmium should be denser ...
Osmium
Osmium (Greek osme meaning "smell") was discovered in 1803 by Smithson Tennant and William Hyde Wollaston in London, England.[1] The discovery of osmium is intertwined with that of platinum and the other metals of the platinum .
Osmium is generally considered to be the densest known element, narrowly defeating iridium . However, calculations of density from the space lattice may produce more reliable data for these elements than actual measurements and give a density of 22650 kg/m3 for iridium versus 22610 kg/m³ for osmium. Definitive selection between the two is therefore not possible at this time. If one distinguishes different isotopes, then the highest density ordinary substance would be 192Os. The extraordinary density of osmium is a consequence of the lanthanide contraction.
Iridium
Iridium was discovered in 1803 by Smithson Tennant among insoluble impurities in natural platinum from South America. It is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust, with annual production and consumption of only three tonnes. However, iridium does find a number of specialized industrial and scientific applications. Iridium is employed when high corrosion resistance and high temperatures are needed, as in spark plugs, crucibles for recrystallization of semiconductors at high temperatures, electrodes for the production of chlorine in the chloralkali process, and radioisotope thermoelectric generators used in unmanned spacecraft. Iridium compounds also find applications as catalysts for the production of acetic acid. One of the lesser-known members of the platinum group metals, iridium is white, resembling platinum, but with a slight yellowish cast. It possesses quite remarkable chemical and physical properties.
The Iridium has a density of 22650 kg/m3.
As the information states that the two elements are about of the same density , but i think that Osmium should be denser ...
what we could have been, 2:26 AM.
