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What
the name means:
The name rhodium comes from the Greek word
rhodon, meaning rose
Who
identified
rhodium? Rhodium
was identified by a British chemist,
William Hyde Wollaston, in 1803. He
analysed a platinum ore from South America.
After he had extracted the platinum and
palladium present in the ore, he was left
with a dark red powdery residue. This was a
salt containing the new element. It was the
colour of the salt that gave the new
element its name.
About
rhodium: Rhodium
is the rarest (non-radioactive) metal in
the Earth’s crust which makes it the most
precious of the precious metals. Only 18
tonnes of rhodium are produced in one year.
It is six times as expensive as gold! For
this reason it is sometimes used to plate
medals and awards.
It is
a white, silvery, shiny metal that can be
added to platinum and palladium to increase
hardness. |
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