Platinum

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Platinum (pronounced /ˈplætɨnəm/) is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is in Group 10 of the periodic table of elements. A dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal, platinum is resistant to corrosion and occurs in some nickel and copper ores along with some native deposits. Platinum is used in jewelry, laboratory equipment, electrical contacts and electrodes, platinum resistance thermometers, dentistry equipment, and catalytic converters. Platinum bullion has the ISO currency code of XPT. Platinum is a commodity with a value that fluctuates according to market forces. On June 5, 2009, Platinum was worth $1263.00 per troy ounce (approximately $40.09 per gram).

For more information about Platinum, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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News tagged with platinum

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Researchers turn algae into high-temperature hydrogen source

Researchers turn algae into high-temperature hydrogen source

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (7) | comments 5

In the quest to make hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel source, researchers have been stymied about how to create usable hydrogen that is clean and sustainable without relying on an intensive, high-energy ...


New fuel cell

Replacing Platinum in Fuel Cell Technology

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Oct 20, 2009 | popularity 2.8 / 5 (5) | comments 6

(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the biggest hindrances to the development of fuel cell technology is its cost. In order to work properly, polymer electrolyte fuel cells require a catalyst. So far, though, the most ...


Fuel cells get a boost

Fuel cells get a boost

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (17) | comments 6

Fuel cells, devices that can produce electricity from hydrogen or other fuels without burning them, are considered a promising new way of powering everything from homes and cars to portable devices like cellphones ...


Catalytic Catamarans: Common industrial catalyst sports rafts made of platinum

Catalytic Catamarans: Common industrial catalyst sports rafts made of platinum

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Sep 24, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Catalysts convert useless or unwanted chemicals into useful or more desirable ones. Research in this week's Science reveals new, important details about a common catalyst: how rafts of chemically reactive platin ...


A recipe for controlling carbon nanotubes

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Sep 20, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 0

Nanoscopic tubes made of a lattice of carbon just a single atom deep hold promise for delivering medicines directly to a tumor, sensors so keen they detect the arrival or departure of a single electron, a replacement for ...


Smaller isn't always better: Catalyst simulations could lower fuel cell cost

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Sep 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Imagine a car that runs on hydrogen from solar power and produces water instead of carbon emissions. While vehicles like this won't be on the market anytime soon, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers ...


Platinum nanocatalyst could aid drugmakers

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Aug 31, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Nanoparticles combining platinum and gold act as superefficient catalysts, but chemists have struggled to create them in an industrially useful form. Rice University chemists have answered the call this week ...


Growth spurts

Researchers Record First Real-Time Direct Observations of Nanocrystal Growth in Solution (w/ Video)

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Aug 07, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The veil is being lifted from the once unseen world of molecular activity. Not so long ago only the final products were visible and scientists were forced to gauge the processes behind those ...


Extraterrestrial platinum was 'stirred' into the Earth

Extraterrestrial platinum was 'stirred' into the Earth

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jul 30, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (10) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- A research program aimed at using platinum as an exploration guide for nickel has for the first time been able to put a time scale on the planet’s large-scale convection processes.


New method to efficiently produce less toxic drugs using organic molecules

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jul 08, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Nanyang Technological University (NTU)'s Associate Professor Zhong Guofu has made a significant contribution to the field of organic chemistry, in particular the study of using small organic molecules as catalysts, in the ...


Going platinum: New catalyst could boost cleaner fuel use

Going platinum: New catalyst could boost cleaner fuel use

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created May 14, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (23) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Material scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a technique for a bimetallic fuel cell catalyst that is efficient, robust and two to five times more effective than ...


Increasing levels of rare element found worldwide

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Apr 21, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (13) | comments 1

Dartmouth researchers have determined that the presence of the rare element osmium is on the rise globally. They trace this increase to the consumption of refined platinum, the primary ingredient in catalytic converters, ...


Scientists discover new platinum catalysts for the dehydrogenation of propane

Scientists discover new platinum catalysts for the dehydrogenation of propane

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Mar 13, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The process to turn propane into industrially necessary propylene has been expensive and environmentally unfriendly. That was until scientists at U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National ...


Nanowires may lead to better fuel cells

Nanowires may lead to better fuel cells

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Mar 11, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The creation of long platinum nanowires at the University of Rochester could soon lead to the development of commercially viable fuel cells.


Nanotube

Carbon Nanotubes Make Fuel Cells Cheaper

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 09, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- As fuel cells are becoming more popular due to their potential use in applications such as hydrogen-powered vehicles, auxiliary power systems, and electronic devices, the need for the precious ...