Platinum
Platinum is an element (symbol PT, atomic number 78) of the
platinum group (which includes palladium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium, and rhodium). Platinum
is thirty times scarcer than gold in its occurrence on the earth’s surface. It is normally
found in conjunction with ores of nickel and copper, and wasn't identified until the late
1500s (by the Italian humanist Julius Caeser Scaliger).
The name platinum derives from the Spanish 'platina,' or little
silver. Early Spanish miners in the New World encountered and dismissed it as an immature
form of silver that needed to grow up.
Platinum is a chemical catalyst, and over half the platinum
mined in a year goes into catalytic converters in automobiles. Jewelry is the second
most common use of platinum, with industrial and laboratory uses taking the balance.
Platinum melts at 3221.6 degrees Fahrenheit, will not tarnish,
and is mined chiefly in South Africa, Russia, and Canada. Some thirty tons a year of platinum
is mined worldwide, compared to about 2,600 tons of gold. |
