76-Osmium Traditional Cache

Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

This cache was hidden to help fulfill the requirements for Boreal Walker's
Periodic Table of Elements Challenge
GC2P5TJ


Osmium is a chemical element with the symbol Os and atomic number 76. It is a hard, brittle, blue-gray or blue-black transition metal in the platinum family and is the densest natural element, with a density of 22.59 g/cm3 (slightly greater than that of iridium and twice that of lead). It is found in nature as an alloy, mostly in platinum ores; its alloys with platinum, iridium, and other platinum group metals are employed in fountain pen tips, electrical contacts, and other applications where extreme durability and hardness are needed. Physical properties
Osmium has a blue-gray tint and is the densest stable element, slightly denser than iridium. Calculations of density from the X-ray diffraction data may produce the most reliable data for these elements, giving a value of 22.562±0.009 g/cm3 for iridium versus 22.587±0.009 g/cm3 for osmium. The high density of osmium is a consequence of the lanthanide contraction. Osmium is a hard but brittle metal that remains lustrous even at high temperatures. It has a very low compressibility. Correspondingly, its bulk modulus is extremely high, reported between 395 and 462 GPa, which rivals that of diamond (443 GPa). The hardness of osmium is moderately high at 4 GPa. Because of its hardness, brittleness, low vapor pressure (the lowest of the platinum group metals), and very high melting point (the fourth highest of all elements), solid osmium is difficult to machine, form or work.

Minnesota Geocaching Association

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