Home Size: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
|
 |
| A shiny, silvery, very dense precious metal. It is easy to work and has powerful catalytic properties which are important for the chemical industry.
|
|
|
 |
Sheet.
Platinum is currently the most costly element in the display selling for more than $800 per troy ounce (which is about 10% heavier than an ordinary ounce). The 5g of sheet here has been cut from a laboratory crucible and has a value of around $130. Platinum makes an excellent material for crucibles (if you can afford it) due to its inert nature and high melting point. It does dissolve in molten alkali however, so remember this if you have a platinum crucible!
Source: scrap dealer
Size: pieces 0.5"
Purity: 99%
|
|
 |
Leaf.
Several metals are sufficiently malleable to be beaten into ultra thin sheets called leaf. Gold is the best know, but copper, silver, palladium and platinum can all be obtained in this form. Given the latter's high cost, leaf is a good way to display what looks like a generous amount of the element. However the sheet inside the bottle is so thin that it would immediately tear and collapse if any attempt was made to remove it.
Source: artists' supply shop
Size: 4" x 4"
Purity: 99.9%
|
|
 |
Coin.
This very, very small (1/25th ounce) platinum coin was issued in commemoration of the Apollo moon landings: It is not a legal-tender coin.
Source: eBay
Size: 0.3"
Purity: 99.9%
|
|
 |
Bosch spark plug.
Platinum spark plugs last much, much longer than more common ones, because their platinum tips do not corrode and can operate at high temperatures, allowing them to remain clean by burning off any residue that tries to form. In fact, platinum spark plugs can last so long that when it comes time to change them, one may find they have fused themselves to the engine block, making removal impossible. Thus the bizarre suggestion sometimes given that one should loosen and re-tighten ones spark plugs every few years.
Source: Auto store
Size: 4"
Purity: <1%
|
|
 |
Platinum Ore.
Platinum never occurs in its pure state in nature but always allowed with varying quantities of the other platinum group metals (iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium and ruthenium) as well as gold, silver and iron. Primary native platinum forms cubic crystals, either singly or interpenetrant, sometimes naturally gold plated. Most crystals currently available are from the Konder Massif, Khabarovsk Region, Russian Far East. Because of its high specific gravity (14 to 22g/cm3 depending on admixtures), platinum also collects in secondary placers, forming water-worn nuggets. Such nuggets are found in the Choco River area of Colombia, Trinity River in California and the Tulameen River in Canada, amongst others.
This is how most platinum is mined, however. This specimen of platinum ore comes from the Merensky Reef, Bushveld Complex, South Africa, one of the world's richest platinum mining areas. It would take over 9.5 tonnes of this ore to produce one ounce of platinum and 777.5 tonnes to produce an ounce of osmium. Similar deposits are found at the Stillwater Complex in Montana.
Source: Mackay mineral collection
Size: 2"
Purity: 0.000325%
|
|
|
