The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1903-09-16
NATIVE PLATINUM.
The "NobIe" Metals Extracted From
This Peculiar Substance.

This Peculiar Substance.
On the slopes of the Ural mountains
and in Brazil, California. Australia.
Canada aud many other countries pc
euliar substance known as native plati-
mum Is found. This is an alloy OF the
metals platinum, palladium, iridium.
osmium. rhodium and ruthenium, to-
gether with a little gold and iron. All
Of these except the last mentioned are
the noble" metals. They do not tar.
nish In the mir and are not soluble I'm
any single acid The most plentiful
metal occurring in native platinum Is
that from which II takes It's name.
This metal is Of n grayish color and
. with one exception is the heaviest sub
stance known. Its fusing point is ex-
tremely high. and this property, to-
gether with its freedom from turnlsh-
ing. causes II to be largely used for the
manufacture OF crucibes and other
vessels required by scientists to stand
a very high temperature. It Is also
sometimes used as a substitute for god
in photography, and when deposited in
a thin flm on the interior of the tubes
of telescopes II forms a dead black
surface, which prevents the light from
being reflected by the polished sides.
Palladium is Of lustrous white
color II is the most easily fused OF
the metals found in platinum ore. and
can even be volatilized. A curious
quality which this metal possesses IS
that when heated to redness 1t is
porous to hydrogen gas, allowing IL to
pass through somewhat in the same
manner that blotting paper permits the
passage Of water. The silNery white
color of palladium and its freedom
from furnishing render IL useful for
making scales and division marks on
scientific instruments. A mixture Of
this metal with mercury is sometimes
used for filling teeth. Osmium Is a
metal which possesses two remarkable
propertles-it is the most refractory
of the metals, resisting fusion at the
most intense heat, and 1t is also the
heaviest substance known, being TWEEN
ty-two and a half times heavier than
water Together with iridium, It oc-
ours principally in peculiar variety of
native platinum called osmiridium.
This mineral differs from ordinary
platinum ore in that 1t contains a
larger proportion of osmium and irld-
ium than platinum. Osmiridium Is
found in small particles. varying In
weight from one-sixth to one-third of
a grain. These particles are extremely
hard and are used for pointing non
wearing pens.
Metallic iridium possesses white
steel-lilie appearance. The knife edges
of delicate balances and other bearings
which require extreme hardness are
often made of 1t. An alloy Of 10 per
cent iridium and 90 per cent platinum
has been found to be very little affected
in volume by changes of temperature
and is the substance of which the
standard meter kept In the internatlsn
al metric bureau at Paris Is made
Rhodium and ruthenium are metals 4
little practical use. The former occurs
in platinum ore to the extent of to
per cent. The latter is found only In
osmiridium and averages about 8 pei
cent of that mineral. The metal which
ranks next to platinum in price is zir
conium. which occurs in hyacinth and
some other rare minerals. Uranium Is
remarkable for its high atomic weight
the heaviest known.-Chambe Jour
nal
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