The hardest metal - what is it like?

The most heavy metals are the platinum group, because they have the highest density. Among them, the heaviest are osmium and iridium. This is the hardest material. The density index of these metals is almost the same, except for a slight error in the calculations.

The discovery of iridium occurred in 1803. It was discovered by the English chemist Smithson Tennate, exploring the natural platinum, delivered from South America. In the Greek translation, the name "iridium" means "rainbow".

Obtaining the hardest metal (iridium) is very difficult, it is almost not in nature. Often a significant amount of it is contained in meteorites that fell to the ground. According to most scientists, the content on our planet of iridium should have been much greater. But in connection with the special property of this metal - siderophilicity (similarity with iron), it sank to the very depths of the earth's interior during the process of forming the core of the Earth.

Iridium is the hardest metal, which is very difficult to treat both thermally and chemically. It does not react with acids, combinations of acids at temperatures less than one hundred degrees. This metal is subject to oxidation processes when lowering into a solution consisting of a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acid (royal vodka).

Scientific interest as a source of electrical energy is the isotope of heavy metal - iridium-192m2, since the half-life of this metal is very large - 241 years. A wide application of iridium found in industry and paleontology - it is used to produce pen pens, determine the age of the layers of the earth.

The discovery of Osmium occurred randomly in 1804. This most solid metal was discovered in the chemical composition of the sediment dissolved in royal vodka platinum. The name "osmium" comes from the ancient Greek word "smell". In the nature of this metal is almost none. Most often it is found in the composition of polymetallic ore. As well as iridium, osmium is almost not subject to mechanical influence. One liter of osmium is much heavier than ten liters of water. But this property of the given metal has not yet found its application anywhere.

The hardest osmium metal is mined at Russian and American mines. However, South Africa is recognized as its richest deposit. Osmium is often found in iron meteorites.

Of particular interest is osmium-187, exported only by Kazakhstan. It is used to determine the age of meteorites. One gram of this isotope costs 10 thousand US dollars.

The industry mainly uses a hard alloy of osmium with tungsten (osram) for the production of incandescent lamps. Osmium is also a catalytic agent in the production of ammonia (ammonia). It is rare that cutting parts for instruments in surgery are made of this metal.

Both heavy metals - osmium and iridium - are almost always contained in one alloy. This is a certain pattern. And for their separation, you need to make a lot of effort, because they are not as soft as, for example, silver.