Is osmium the rarest element?

Osmium is the rarest of the stable elements: its average abundance in the Earth’s crust is about 1 gram per 200 tonnes. Today, osmium is obtained commercially as a by-product of refining nickel and some of the more common platinum-group metals.

How common is osmium?

Osmium is a rare element and found in the Earth’s crust. Osmium-rich ores include Osmiridium and Iridosmine of which the former is the most common. Osmium is also found in all ores of platinum.

What’s special about osmium?

It is the densest of all the elements and is twice as dense as lead. Osmium has only a few uses. It is used to produce very hard alloys for fountain pen tips, instrument pivots, needles and electrical contacts. It is also used in the chemical industry as a catalyst.

Is osmium found in space?

Osmium is most commonly found in impact craters created by meteorites, so osmium is depicted as part of a meteor in space.

Is osmium safe to touch?

Osmium tetroxide is highly volatile and penetrates skin readily, and is very toxic by inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact.

Is Iridium more rare than osmium?

Iridium is one of the rarest metals in the Earth’s crust, with annual production of just three tonnes. Iridium is nearly as dense as the densest metal osmium and is the most corrosion-resistant metal element, resistant to air, water, salts and acids.

How do I get osmium?

Osmium is a Metal Commodity. It cannot be purchased from Commodities Markets, and must be mined from asteroids in metallic or metal-rich Planetary Ring Systems.

What are 5 interesting facts about osmium?

Facts About Osmium

• Atomic Number: 76 Atomic Symbol: Os Atomic Weight: 190.23 Melting Point: 5,491.4 F (3,033 C) Boiling Point: 9,053.6 F (5,012 C)
• Word origin: Osmium comes from the Greek term osme, which means smell, scent, odor.

Is osmium stronger than diamond?

Researchers from us-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (llnl) have discovered that osmium, a metal, is harder than diamond. It withstands compression better than any other material.

How was osmium discovered?

Word origin: Osmium comes from the Greek term osme, which means smell, scent, odor. Discovery: British chemist Smithson Tennant discovered osmium in 1803 in the residue left when crude platinum was dissolved by aqua regia. Osmium is produced as a by-product of nickel refining.

What is the most rare thing in the universe?

He designed a rocking horse made of 24-carat gold. Scientists have spotted the “rarest event ever recorded”, in a major breakthrough as part of attempts to solve a dark matter mystery.

Why is osmium so rare and valuable?

This makes osmium both strange and valuable. In fact, it is so strange that it is the least abundant element in the earth’s crust. For every 1 gram of osmium, there are 307,333,333 grams of oxygen, the most abundant element. This scarcity is reflected in the metal’s price (per ounce).

What are the grading factors for osmium?

Precious metals, such as osmium have several grading factors for their value. These include rarity, uses and usefulness and availability. Naturally occurring osmium is the least abundant element known. With an abundance rate of 50 parts per trillion, the value of metallic osmium increases.

How many isotopes of osmium are there?

Osmium has been observed to have seven naturally occurring isotopes, one of which is unstable. The seventh isotope, 186Os, is still characterized as unstable, however when undergoing alpha decay it experiences such a long half-life (140,000 times the age of the universe) that it can be considered stable.

What is the rarest metal you have never heard of?

7 Rarest Metals Which You Never Heard Of 1 Osmium. Osmium is the densest stable element. 2 Iridium. Iridium is found associated with osmium as the alloy “iridosmium” 3 Palladium. Palladium is found in similar mineral settings as other PGMs. 4 Ruthenium and Rhodium. Both these minerals are again by-products of other PGMs