Essay Example on The history of the element the physical properties

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All of the elements tell their own story whether it be good or bad Some of the elements are used for great things and others can be used for destructive purposes I will be sharing Platinum s story and where it originated from This element has many uses ranging from medical use to scientific and is used in vehicles we drive every day I will be talking about the history of the element the physical properties of the element what it looks like and how it is recognized I will also be touching on the present uses of the element and how reactive it is All of the elements have a place in this world and I will be sharing what atomic numbers 78 s place is in the world Platinum is a very valued and sought after metal that has a very long history It goes way back to to the seventh century BC where it is believed that oldest worked piece of platinum was in an Egyptian casket It was discovered at Thebes and was dedicated to the Queen Shapenapit On the Pacific Coast of South America there were ancient people that could have used platinum for burial goods There is speculation that in 1557 an Italian scholar wrote about the metal He wrote of a metal from Spanish Central America that would not melt The next recorded sighting of platinum was in 1735 by Antonio Ulloa He was on his way back to Europe when his ship was captured by the Royal Navy The Royal Society was very interested in the new metal and by the 1750s most of Europe knew and discussed about the newly discovered metal 



This metal can be recognized easily by its white shiny look It is not to be confused with chromium or silver which looks a lot like each other at first glance Platinum can be recognized by its hardness and if it scratches easily Most people confuse platinum with chromium which is very hard and does not scratch very easily whereas platinum can be scratched easily It can be easily recognized by its sheen but it eventually loses it Platinum is an element that is hard to identify by someone that doesn't study the elements but it is a little bit easier to tell what it is if it is a tool Platinum has many uses and all of them are important in the aspect of what they are made for It has uses in mechanics medical purposes chemical testing electronics dental uses and can be used for turbines It is definitely a very useful element as all of the elements on the periodic table are In platinums use of mechanics there are several uses The element is great for use in catalytic converters The platinum in catalytic converters essentially helps to convert the toxic gases and pollutants from emissions into a less toxic version Platinum can also be used in spark plugs which ignites the fuel in some vehicles Platinum has a very important part in medical purposes which is for its use in pacemakers dental crowns and other medical equipment It is also used in multiple cancer fighting drugs and about 50 of cancer patients are using these drugs Platinum is used for hard drives LCD s optical fibres watches and thermocouples in the electronics industry which are all important in their own way It is also used as currency which are coins bars and ingots 



One thing it is used for that hasn't been listed yet is in jewelry Platinum is used very heavily in jewelry and is one of its main uses Platinum definitely has a lot of uses in the world and it will soon be explained why it is used for so many of these things Platinum is a very malleable metal so it can be hammered into a very thin sheet very easily Malleability is basically how easily a metal can be bent and shaped into something It is also very ductile which is the ability to be able to be put into thin wires Platinum has been said to be an unmeltable metal It is called this because it only starts to melt at 1 773 degrees Celsius and has a boiling point of about 3 827 degrees Celsius It has a density of 21 45 grams per cubic centimeter which makes it one of the densest metals Platinum is not a very reactive metal When it is exposed to air or liquids it takes a very long time to corrode and tarnish which is why it is used in so many medical items It also doesn't get eaten up by most acids either An exception of this is aqua regia which is a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids It also dissolves in hot alkalis which are a chemical with properties that are opposite of an atom A very strange and interesting thing about Platinum is that it will absorb hydrogen gas at high temperatures Platinum is a very important element in the world which is why people should know about it As this paper has demonstrated Platinum is very interesting to study and talk about There are a lot of things you can learn about the element in depth and try to remember To review Platinum can be easily recognized by its looks We can see Platinum has a plethora of different uses and they all do good things It is clear that Platinum is not a very reactive element and will look new for a very long time This was a very good learning experience and hopefully this will help others learn as well

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