mol-1 (first), 1600 kJ.mol-1 (second) The name "osmium" was derived from the Greek word "osme", which means "smell". It was discovered by the English chemists William Hyde Wollaston and Smithson Tennant in London, England in 1803. Wollaston's and Tennant's discovery of the element involved the discovery as well of the other elements in the platinum group. mol-1 Atomic: Oxidation States: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, -1 Electronegativity: 2.28 (Pauling scale) Atomic Radius: 134 picometre Covalent Radius: 142 7 picometre Ionization Energies: 719.7 kJ.mol-1 (first), 1740 kJ.mol-1 (second), 2997 kJ.mol-1 (third) The principal use of rhodium is as a catalytic converter in automotive vehicles, which reduces the toxicity of engine emissions by converting these into less harmful gases. It can be plated by means of two methods: thermal decomposition and electrodeposition. Following is a list of some of the properties of ruthenium: General: Chemical Symbol: Ru Atomic Number: 44 Category (as an element): Transition Metal Group/ Period/ Block (in the Periodic Table): 8/ 5/ d Atomic Weight: 101.07 g. Perhaps the best example of a silver coin is the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, which consists of 99.99% pure silver. Silver coins may either be "fine silver" or "junk silver". Junk silver coins are older coins with a lower percentage of silver. Examples of these are the dime, quarter, and fifty-cent U. Medicine (silver compounds and silver ions have toxic effect on some viruses, fungi and bacteria, but not on humans). 10. Currency or coinage (as in silver bullion). The principal sources of silver are copper, lead, zinc and gold ores. It also occurs in the minerals chlorargyrite and argentite. Of course, silver occurs natively, too. It is found in nature as an alloy in platinum ores. Osmium is considered the densest natural element. It is brittle and is blue-gray in color. Because of its hardness, osmium is alloyed with the other metals in its group and used in electrical contacts and high-quality fountain pen tips. The price of osmium, as of January 2010, is about USD32.15 per troy ounce (USD12,217 per kilogram).