The name platinum is derived from the Spanish term platina, which is literally translated into little silver. It is one of the rarest elements on Earth’s crust (the average abundance is approximately 5 mg kg!1) and the least reactive (the noblest among metals). It occurs in some nickel and copper ores along with some native deposits. Native platinum was first used by pre- Columbian South American natives to produce artefacts. The first European reference to platinum appeared in 1557 in the writings of the Italian humanist Julius Caesar Scaliger as a description of an unknown noble metal found in Mexico, ‘‘which no fire nor any Spanish artifice has yet been able to liquefy’’, but it was not until Antonio de Ulloa published a report on a new metal of Colombian origin in 1748 that it became investigated by scientists.
Platinum
Arnesano F.
;Losacco M.;Natile G.
2014-01-01
Abstract
The name platinum is derived from the Spanish term platina, which is literally translated into little silver. It is one of the rarest elements on Earth’s crust (the average abundance is approximately 5 mg kg!1) and the least reactive (the noblest among metals). It occurs in some nickel and copper ores along with some native deposits. Native platinum was first used by pre- Columbian South American natives to produce artefacts. The first European reference to platinum appeared in 1557 in the writings of the Italian humanist Julius Caesar Scaliger as a description of an unknown noble metal found in Mexico, ‘‘which no fire nor any Spanish artifice has yet been able to liquefy’’, but it was not until Antonio de Ulloa published a report on a new metal of Colombian origin in 1748 that it became investigated by scientists.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
