Average mass of an atom in unified atomic mass units (1 u is 1/12 of the mass of a carbon-12 atom). Accounts for the natural mix of the element’s isotopes.
Number of the vertical column, 1 to 18 in IUPAC numbering. Elements in a group share the same outer-shell layout, so their properties are alike.
Number of the horizontal row. Usually equal to the number of electron shells in the atom; palladium is the exception, with four shells in period 5.
The subshell (s, p, d or f) that receives the last electrons in the usual filling order; it divides the table into four blocks. Real atoms sometimes differ: lanthanum starts the f-block but has no f electrons.
[Xe] 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d⁶
How electrons are arranged in subshells. The bracket stands for the previous noble gas; the superscript is the number of electrons in a subshell.
2, 8, 18, 32, 14, 2
Number of electrons in each shell, from the nucleus outwards.
3,033 °C (3,306 K)
Temperature at which the solid turns liquid at standard pressure. Helium, carbon and arsenic do not melt at normal pressure: helium needs about 25 atm, carbon and arsenic turn straight into vapour.
5,012 °C (5,285 K)
Temperature at which the liquid boils at standard pressure. For carbon and arsenic, the temperature at which the solid turns straight into vapour (sublimation).
22.57 g/cm³
Mass of one cubic centimetre of the substance. For gases, at 0 °C and standard pressure.
2.2 Pauling
How strongly an atom pulls electrons towards itself in a chemical bond. On the Pauling scale it runs from 0.79 for caesium to 3.98 for fluorine.
8.438 eV
Energy needed to remove the most loosely bound electron from an atom. The lower it is, the more easily the element gives up an electron, which is typical of metals.
1.078 eV
Energy released when a neutral atom gains an electron. Highest for the halogens. Noble gases, nitrogen and some metals form no stable negative ion.
144 pm
Half the length of a single covalent bond between two atoms of the element. It shows the size of an atom inside a molecule or crystal: 76 pm for carbon, 132 pm for iron.
+4, +3
Charges the atom would have in its compounds if all its bonds were ionic; the main ones are listed.
Osmium (Os) is a chemical element with atomic number 76. It sits in group 8 and period 6 of the periodic table, in the d-block. It is a transition metal. At room temperature it is a solid. Its standard atomic weight is 190.23.
Origin of the name
The name comes from the Greek osmē, ‘smell’, because osmium gives off an oxide with a sharp, unpleasant smell. In 1803 Smithson Tennant examined the black residue that remained when platinum ore was dissolved in aqua regia and found two new elements in it, osmium and iridium.
Where is osmium found?
Osmium occurs together with the other platinum metals and is obtained as a by-product of refining platinum and nickel.
What is osmium used for?
Osmium makes extremely hard alloys, used for the tips of fountain pens, the pivots of instruments and electrical contacts that must not wear. Osmium tetroxide reveals fingerprints and stains fatty tissues for the microscope.
Interesting facts
Osmium and iridium are the densest of all elements: a litre of osmium would weigh about 22.6 kg.