about Osmium
Occurrence
The information one can find about osmium varies from source to source, especially regarding the incidence of osmium in the earth’s crust. Common figures indicate that osmium’s occurrence in the earth’s crust is a mere 0.001 ppm, which would be extremely rare. However, these numbers are extrapolated, and for this reason the rarer a metal is, the less accurate they tend to be. Osmium is usually associated with the other platinum metals ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, palladium, and…
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Fields of application
Many applications of osmium take advantage of its high abrasion resistance. Alloys containing osmium has been used in the production of phonograph needles and fountain pen tips. The most notable industrial use of osmium occurred in the early twentieth century, when German company Osram used the element in the production of lightbulb filaments. The name of the company, which is still in use today, even derives from Osmium; “Os” for Osmium, and “ram” from wolfram, …
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products
Osmium products for purchase by investors are divided into semi-finished products, ready-cut prepared products for the jewelry industry, and finished jewelry pieces. All products have an Osmium Identification Code with which they can be found in the international Osmium World Database. The purpose of the database is to facilitate importation/exportation, customs clearance, provide proof of ownership, and allow individuals to conduct business with clear proof of authenticity.
Semi-finish…
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Discoverer
Due to its high melting point, it wasn’t until the 18th century that crude platinum was successfully melted for the first time. This was done by concentrating the sun’s light in a large concave mirror. In 1797, French chemist and politician Antoine-François de Fourcroy came very close to discovering osmium during his analyses of insoluble residues of platinum ore. This preliminary work on platinum group metals was built upon by chemist and mineralogist Smithson Tennant and by …
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