What are facts about osmium?

Answer 1

Osmium is the densest element with twice the density of lead.

• Osmium is the densest natural element; it is twice as dense as lead.
• Alloys of osmium are used in fountain pen tips, electrical contacts and in other applications where extreme durability and hardness are needed.
• It remains lustrous even at high temperatures.
• The word Osmium is derived from the Greek word osme, which means 'smell'.
• It is the least abundant stable element in the Earth's crust.
• Its oxide is extremely toxic.

Osmium is a precious metal that is similar to platinum and iridium. It is the densest known substance that we have on Earth (we believe that there are exotic forms of matter that are denser, such as neutronium, but those do not exist on Earth).