What is Platinum?
Platinum is a metallic element with the atomic number 78 and the symbol Pt. On the periodic table of elements, it is found in Group 10 and in Period 6 between iridium and gold. It is referred to as a “transition metal.” It is also one of the “platinum metals,” along with iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium. Platinum is a malleable, ductile element. Described as grayish-white in color, its name comes from the Spanish platina, which means “little silver.” Platinum is one of the so-called precious metals, along with gold and silver. Although known and used in South America by pre-Columbian Native Americans, its first mention in European literature was probably the oblique reference to a metal found between Mexico and Darién in 1557 by Julius Caesar Scaliger, a French scholar of Italian background. It was further documented in the 1730’s by Spaniard Antonio de Ulloa, an astronomer with a French expedition to Peru. Usually found mixed with other metals, including iridium, nic
