Platinum

Platinum has many people who can lay claim to it's discovery- Ulloa, in 1735, Wood in 1741, and Julius Scaliger of Italy in 1735. The word "platinum" comes from the Spanish word for "little silver", "platina". It is found in it's natural state, usually with other metals nearby belonging to the same family- such as osmium, iridium, and palladium. It can also be found in sperrylite.

It is a ductile and very soft silver metal... while it does not oxidize at all, it does corrode when touched by cyanides, halogens, sulfur, and caustic alkalis. It takes TWO acids to dissolve platinum- one acid or the other will not dissolve it alone. They need to be combined to make aqua regia.

Way back when, platinum was used in it's pure form by the Native Indians... now, platinum is combined with many other things to make:

• Jewelry
• Wire
• Crucible and vessels for lab work
• Electrical contacts
• Thermocouples
• Dentistry tools