Platinum Essay Example For Students

Platinum Essay subject = Chemistrytitle = Platinum Platinum is a relatively rare, chemically inert, metallic element. It symbolis Pt, atomic number is 78, and its atomic weight is 195.09. Platinum is oneof the heaviest substances known. One cubic foot of Platinum weighs 21 timesas much as a cubic foot of water. A grayish-white metal, Platinum has a meltingpoint 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 seldom usedin its pure stage because it is too soft. The third most ductile metal, itcan be drawn into a thread one twenty thousandth part of an inch in thickness. It is extremely resistant 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 unusual property of being able to absorb large amountsof hydrogen at ordinary temperatures and resist it at high temperatures. The first mention of Platinum occurs in the writings of an Italian physicianand poet named Julius Caesar Salinger in 1557. A hieroglypic character madefroma grain of Platinum dated back to the 7th century. Credit for discoveryof Platinum has been given to Don Antonio de Ulloa, a young lieutenant 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 Gold 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 directly with Carbon. Platinum is used extensivelyin modern industrial society because of its chemical inertness, high meltingpoint, and extraordinary catalytic properties. platinum is valuable 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. Platinumis used extensively in the jewelry industry for setting diamonds and otherprecious stones. Rocket and jet engine parts often contain Platinum alloysbecause they must withstand high temperatures for long periods of time. Atpetroleum refineries, finely divided Platinum is used as a catalyst in upgradingthe octane of gasoline. In automobiles, converters containing Platinum-Palladiumalloys reduce air pollution from exhaust gases. High quality optical glassfor television picture tubes and eyeglasses is melted in pots lined with nonreactivePlatinum alloys. A form of Platinum,cisplatin, stops cancer cell divisionand disrupts its growth pattern.