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The density of osmium is slightly greater than that of iridium; the two are so similar (22.587 versus 22.562 g/cm 3 at 20 °C) that each was at one time considered to be the densest element. Only in the 1990s were measurements made accurately enough (by means of X-ray crystallography ) to be certain that osmium is the denser of the two.
— "Values ranging from 21.3 to 21.5 gm/cm 3 at 20 °C have been reported for the density of annealed platinum; the best value being about 21.45 gm/cm 3 at 20 °C." 21.46 g/cm 3 — Rose, T. Kirke. The Precious Metals, Comprising Gold, Silver and Platinum .
Mercury is the heaviest liquid at room temperature. But the heaviest liquid irrespective of temperature is liquid osmium (a rare metal) at its melting point (3033°C/5491.4°F), with a density of 22.59 g·cm −3, 1.65 times as heavy as mercury. [4]
To simplify comparisons of density across different systems of units, it is sometimes replaced by the dimensionless quantity "relative density" or "specific gravity", i.e. the ratio of the density of the material to that of a standard material, usually water. Thus a relative density less than one relative to water means that the substance ...
The maximum density of a substance is the highest attainable density of the substance under ... An especially notable irregular maximum density is that of water, ...
Osmium(VIII) oxide is also used as a stain for lipids in optical microscopy. [26] OsO 4 also stains the human cornea (see safety considerations). A sample of cells fixed/stained with osmium tetroxide (black) embedded in epoxy resin (amber). The cells are black as a result of the effects of osmium tetroxide.
The unusual density curve and lower density of ice than of water is essential for much of the life on earth—if water were most dense at the freezing point, then in winter the cooling at the surface would lead to convective mixing. Once 0 °C are reached, the water body would freeze from the bottom up, and all life in it would be killed. [36]
Osmium(I) iodide is a metallic grey solid produced by the reaction of osmium tetroxide and hydroiodic acid heated in a water bath for 48 hours in a carbon dioxide atmosphere. It is an amorphous compound. [34] Osmium(II) iodide is a black solid [35] produced by the reaction of osmium tetroxide and hydroiodic acid at 250 °C in nitrogen: [34]