We’re continuing our look at the transition metal series of the periodic table with Iridium, Platinum, Mercury, Rutherfordium, Dubnium and Seaborgium and their various applications.
Iridium belongs to the Platinum Group – they are both noble, precious metals.
Iridium alloys are used to make spark plugs and aircraft engine components. Platinum has hundreds of uses including jewelry, chemical production and vehicle emissions control devices.
Mercury – commonly known as quicksilver – is used in the production of electrical and electronic components. It is also used in medical thermometers for high temperatures.
Rutherfordium is named after, you guessed it, Ernest Rutherford. He first detected the element in 1964. It is current only used in research capacities, with no know real world applications.
Dubnium is a synthetic element that is highly radioactive. With a half-life of just over 24 hours, its only known use is in research.
The synthetic element Seaborgium has a half-life of 3.1 minutes. It’s named after Nuclear Chemist Glenn Seaborg.