Rarely. Rarer.

The Rarest.

OSMIUM IS THE RELEST NON-RADIOACTIVE ELEMENT IN THE WORLD

The word has now gotten around. The objection remains whether it will stay that way forever.

Can an even rarer element be found?

No. This is theoretically possible but, based on the latest scientific knowledge, highly unlikely. Of course, science can only make statements about things that it can investigate - so it cannot prove that certain things do not exist in the universe.

But what science can say: Based on the currently known laws of nature, there should be NO yet unknown elements in the universe. This is because the chemical elements – as they appear in the well-known periodic table – follow an internal system. What distinguishes them from each other is primarily the number of protons - i.e. the positively charged particles in the atomic nucleus. The elements are practically numbered: hydrogen has one proton, helium has two, lithium has three. Then it continues with beryllium – four – and boron – five. Then come the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen with the atomic numbers 6, 7 and 8, which are so important to us.

This list goes on and ends – at least for the natural elements – at 92; That's how many protons uranium has. Uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element, at least on Earth. Atoms now consist not only of protons, but also of electrons and neutrons. Nevertheless, elements are only defined by the number of protons. This makes it possible to clearly distinguish between elements and predict their behavior in chemical reactions, i.e. how it combines with other atoms and molecules, how it reacts to radiation or how it conducts electricity. All of these properties provide an element its typical “character”.

But elements that are heavier than uranium have been discovered?

There are still a few elements that are heavier than osmium - but they have always been produced artificially, including the well-known plutonium, which is an unwelcome waste product in nuclear power plants. With the atomic number 94 it has two more protons than uranium. And in fact, the periodic table even knows other elements up to the atomic number 118 - the "Ununoctium". But all of these elements, which are heavier than osmium, are extremely unstable. They can only be manufactured artificially and are highly radioactive - i.e. they decay in a fraction of a second and that would be a shame for the buyer.

The rarest non-radioactive element in the world is osmium. It belongs to the group of precious metals and has the highest density of all elements. In its pure form, osmium is a heavy metal with a bluish sheen. In contrast to gold, which is easily malleable, osmium in crystalline form is absolutely dimensionally stable. It cannot be modified mechanically or chemically, which makes it counterfeit-proof. Each surface of an osmium diamond resembles a unique fingerprint and this is recorded electronically at the osmium institute.

Want to make a small test purchase? Buy on www.osmium-shop.ch!