CHAPTER XVII

RHODIUM, RUTHENIUM, OSMIUM

Their rarity. Rhodium. Ruthenium. Osmium. Refining rhodium,

ruthenium and osmium, the "mysterious" metals. Some schemes of
separation: I. The classic system. 2. The method of Gilchrist and
Wichers. A list of books and papers referring to the three rarer metals.

THEIR RARITY

According to the Minerals Yearbook, published annually by the

United States Bureau of Mines, platinum is by far the most widely
used metal of its group. In 1938 it accounted for 68.8 percent of the
total of platinum group metals sold by domestic refiners. The
jewelry industry was the largest purchaser, the chemical industry
second, dentistry third, and the electrical industry fourth. Next
to platinum, palladium is the most widely used metal, constituting
27.5 percent of the total sold by domestic refiners in 1938, of which
over half went into dentistry. Iridium sales came next, but amount
to only 2.6 percent of the total. Osmium, rhodium, and ruthenium
together amount to only 1.1 percent of the total consumption of the
group.
From these figures it will be seen that osmium, rhodium and
ruthenium, however interesting they may be from the chemical
viewpoint, are of secondary importance commercially. All six metals
of the group are normally found in crude platinum ores, but osmium
and ruthenium are (except in a few exceptional cases) not used in
either dentistry or jewelry. Rhodium is occasionally used in small
amount. Accordingly the jeweler or dental technician who refines
his own scrap has little occasion to consider these three less familiar
elements.
This is fortunate, for their separation from their sister metals is
tedious and unsatisfactory, even in the hands of experienced chemists.
In general, if a non-chemist believes that his residues contain appre
197
198 REFINING PRECIOUS METAL WASTES

ciable quantities of these metals, his best procedure is to find a re-

finer equipped to separate them (many professional refiners are not
so equipped) and when selling such stuff, always to mention the
fact that these elements are present. Because of the difficulty of
refining and assaying the purchase, the financial return may be
disappointingly low.
Full descriptions of these metals, their histories, natural occur-
rence, physical characteristics such as melting points, electrical con-
ductivity, and so on, will be found in the publications mentioned at
the end of this chapter and in Chapter E of the Appendix. For our
immediate purposes, their most interesting characteristics are their
insolubility and the fact that two of them osmium and ruthenium
form volatile oxides when heated.

RHODIUM

This metal received its name from the characteristic rose color of
several of its compounds. When in compact form it does not dis
solve in any single acid, and is attacked very slowly by aqua regia
except when alloyed with considerable platinum or other metal;
rhodium "black" dissolves slowly in hot concentrated sulphuric
acid. Rhodium can be plated electrolytically to give a handsome
silvery finish to jewelry, silverware, or optical instruments. Since
it is almost totally insoluble in acids, the finish once applied is not
easily removed. Grinding is the method usually employed, and the
deposit is so hard that even this is difficult.1
Rhodium plate is perfectly non-tarnishing, and when properly
applied can protect the underlying metal against corrosion. The
amount of metal needed to give a serviceable deposit is minute, and
the refiner need not expect to recover much rhodium from his
wastes, even when handling stuff that is known to be rhodium
plated.
The solutions used for rhodium plating are sold by certain of the
precious metal dealers. When they become exhausted or foul, do
not add such solutions to your other platinum wastes their separa
tion would be unduly expensive and troublesome. Instead, evaporate
i Atkinson and Raper mention a method of stripping rhodium plate from silver,
the article being immersed in a molten mixture of cyanides of potassium and sodium;
if it is made anode and a current passed, the removal of rhodium is hastened. The
method should be operated only by experts. For details see British Patent No. 419,819.
There is obvious need for a simpler and more adaptable method.
 RHODIUM, RUTHENIUM, OSMIUM 199

them down a bit to get rid of excess water, then return them for credit
to the dealer from whom they were purchased, shipping by express
(not mail) and using the same acid-proof container in which they
came. It is possible, of course, to precipitate the rhodium with zinc,
but the task of making it up into a new bath is beyond the skill
of most non-chemists.
A second use for rhodium is in scientific apparatus, especially the
so-called Le Chatelier thermo-couple, mentioned in Chapter XVI,
whose essential part is two wires, one pure platinum, the other an
alloy of 10 percent rhodium with 90 percent platinum. Rhodium-
platinum alloys resist high temperatures extremely well.

RUTHENIUM

Ruthenium is the lightest of the platinum group. Its name comes

from "Ruthenia," an old name for Russia, where it is found. Like
rhodium, it is insoluble in any single acid, and difficult to get into
solution by any means. It is occasionally used as a stiffener and
hardener for platinum, the alloy containing 8 percent ruthenium
being almost as hard as the one containing 20 percent iridium. This
fact has been utilized at times when the price of ruthenium was low
enough to compete with iridium.
Alloys of palladium stiffened with a little ruthenium and rhodium
have been recommended for jewelry. Their working qualities are
good, and because of their low specific gravity an ounce of such
alloys goes almost twice as far makes up almost twice as many
articles of a given size as an ounce of iridio-platinum. A typical
formula is 95 parts palladium, 2 to 4 parts ruthenium, and the re
mainder rhodium. The sale of these alloys for jewelry has been
hampered in this country for three reasons: first, our stamping laws
are so worded that it is difficult to stamp them in a way that will
appeal to the buyer; second, the refining of the mixed filings is com
plex; and third, the melting of the scrap metal calls for some extra
care.
Ruthenium, when heated to about 600 degrees C, forms a volatile
oxide. When alloyed with other metals this tendency is lessened,
but it can occur nonetheless. The fumes are poisonous and the loss
of metal may be appreciable, especially when the ruthenium content
is high.
200 REFINING PRECIOUS METAL WASTES

OSMIUM

Osmium is the heaviest of the platinum group, and has the highest
melting point. Like ruthenium, it has been used as a stiffener and
hardener of platinum when its price compared favorably with that
of iridium. Its employment in fountain pen points is mentioned
in Chapter XVI, and one of its compounds is used as a stain in
microscopy. When heated in air or oxygen, osmium also forms
a volatile and very poisonous oxide, and is even more dangerous to
the operator than ruthenium, the fumes appearing at a lower tem-
perature. Partly because of this volatility its alloys have found
limited usefulness, in spite of the fact that it is more efficient than
iridium as a hardener of platinum.
Any operation involving the heating of osmium should be con-
ducted in a hood with a good draft, and a mask should be worn to
protect the face, eyes and throat of the operator. The fumes have a
garlicky odor and act as a poison to the lungs. The vapor is reduced
to the metallic state when in contact with the eye tissues, and if
deposited upon them in sufficient quantity can produce permanent
blindness. The word osmium is derived from a Greek word mean-
ing stench.
Osmium and ruthenium and most of their alloys are dissolved
in acids only with difficulty, even when in the finely divided form,
and in most systems of separation the volatility of these oxides is
utilized.

REFINING RHODIUM, RUTHENIUM, AND OSMIUM, THE

"MYSTERIOUS" METALS

As we said before, it is fortunate that jewelers and dental tech-

nicians have little occasion to accumulate these metals. Until the
last few years there was little in print on their refining, and an aura
of mystery, partly justified by the facts, surrounds them. The in-
telligent layman naturally resents this situation, and we shall now
mention the several reasons that have, in combination, brought
it about.
First, these three metals have so few industrial applications that
only a few people are interested in their technology, which means
that publishers are not tempted to print books about them. A second
reason is that some companies that sell these metals have deliberately
shrouded their laboratories in secrecy. During the last few years,
 RHODIUM, RUTHENIUM, OSMIUM 201

however, the free publication of research by other firms, and espe

cially by our National Bureau of Standards, has made much infor
mation available to all, and the tendency now is toward greater
frankness, as is proven by the list of publications at the end of this
chapter.
A third reason, and the main one, is directly related to their
chemical characteristics. With the discovery of new reactions and
better procedures, their separation will undoubtedly become easier
and more dependable, and the cloud of mystery will blow away.
Active research is going on in several famous laboratories, some of
it directed at precisely this problem. At present, however, the
refining of these rarer elements is not for the laymen, mainly for
chemical reasons such as will now be described.
The reader has met several procedures described as "good" separa
tions. For example, the precipitation of gold from acid solution by
copperas is normally a "good" or "clean" separation; when properly
conducted it brings down the gold all the gold and nothing but the
gold cleanly and completely. There are thousands of such separa
tions known to chemistry, many being used by non-chemists. But
when the reader precipitated platinum as the orange platinum-
ammonium-chloride he did not bring down all the platinum, and he
did bring down some of the sister metals, notably iridium and
rhodium if they were present. This precipitation therefore is not a
"clean" one, and affords only partial separation.
Again, the reader recalls that when he separated platinum from
iridium by boiling the mixed blacks in dilute aqua regia, some of
both metals dissolved, and some of both metals remained in the
residue. This is another incomplete separation, highly characteristic
of the group. It is chemical characteristics such as these which are
the real reason for the apparent mystery that surrounds these metals.
Nor is that all. The reader must have been struck by the number
of alternative methods that are possible in the refining of even the
simpler gold-silver mixtures; and when several elements are present,
as in the Stock Pot, the possible variations become even more numer
ous. Now, there are six platinum-group metals, and wastes contain
ing them normally have other metals in addition gold, silver,
copper, nickel, tin, iron, and what not. A listing of all the combina
tions and permutations in which this baker's dozen of elements
might associate themselves, with sometimes one, sometimes another
202 REFINING PRECIOUS METAL WASTES

as the main constituent, would run into the thousands. And with
every change there might be a modification of the procedure.
It should now be clear why even the skilled chemist finds this
refining a laborious task, and why he must be prepared to vary his
procedure from batch to batch if ne£es1s.aiajfficS{h^leiiYan<a Qtflffin¥
gin their paper2 w i t h t h e w o r d s :
outline that may be followed for any and all combinations of the
platinum metals; different combinations require different. methods
of attack." The same point is brought out in the paper3 m w
Johnson and Atkinson describe the processes used in the Acton
(England) refinery of the Mond Nickel Company, Ltd. They
say: "In precious metal refining, the order of operation depends
upon the ratio in which the precious metals are present. The order
described here is followed because it has been found to be the most
suitable for these by-product concentrates, although it is realized
that other sequences of operations might be more suitable for other
types of material."
We shall therefore make no attempt to give full directions for
the refining and separation of these three rarer metals. We shall
instead give a brief outline of the general principles used, and, for
the reader with a knowledge of chemistry, a list of publications
wherein he can find detailed procedures.

SOME SCHEMES OF SEPARATION

I. The Classic System

The classic system of separation of the platinum group was worked
out over sixty years ago. Sainte-Claire Deville andJ. S. Staspublished
4 in which they J describedthe refining of the metals used to
a paper °
make the standard bar of iridio-platinum on which the international
metric system is based. Even then the shortcomings of the ammonium
chloride separation were recognized. The following quotation from
the book THE PLATINUM METALS, by E. A. Smith, published in
London in 1924 by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., is an outline of a
2 REFINING AND MELTING SOME PLATINUM METALS, by J. O. White
M fcF, h r Th ,w TT
ivJ?Ll, VBby C.PAPJohnson
TA
and R. II.

FRANQAISE DE LA COMMISSION INTERNATIONALE DU MfeTRE A LA

CONFERENCES DES PROTOTYPES, Proces-Vcrbaux, Comite International des Poids
etMesures (1878), Annexe No. II. By E. H. Sainte-Claire Deville and J. S. Stas.
 R H O D I U M , R U T H E N I U M , OSMIUM 203

modern adaptation of the classic system, as used in many modern re-

fineries for the treatment of crude platinum; it is summarized from
Louis Duparc's method as given in his LE PLATINE DU MONDE,
Geneva, 1920. This scheme is susceptible of dozens of variations as to
details and order of procedure. We quote:

"The process involves ten main operations, as follows:

" 1. The treatment of the mineral with aqua regia with the separation
of the insoluble osm-iridium and sand, etc.
"2. The precipitation of the platinum as the orange ammonium
chloroplatinate and subsequent calcination of the precipitate to produce
platinum sponge.
" 3. The separation of the iridium as ammonium chloro-iridiate from
the mother liquor by long standing, and calcination of the precipitate to
obtain metallic iridium.
"4. The treatment of the mother liquor (after removal of the platinum
and indium as above) with iron or zinc, to separate in the metallic state
other metals of the platinum group (together with any small quantities
of platinum not previously separated) which are deposited as a fine
black precipitate called first blacks Drying and roasting of the blacks
and treatment with dilute sulphuric acid to remove copper and other
base metals.
" 5 . Treatment of the cleaned blacks with dilute aqua regia to obtain
a solution containing palladium (with traces of platinum, rhodium, and
iridium) and an insoluble residue containing rhodium.
"6. After separating the traces of platinum, rhodium and iridium
from the solution from 5 with ammonium chloride, the palladium is
separated by means of metallic iron as a black mass which is purified
and the metal sold as palladium sponge.
"7. The insoluble residue from 5 is fused with barium dioxide, and
the fused mass treated with aqua regia to effect solution of the rhodium
and indium. These metals are then precipitated with ammonium
chloride and finally converted into metallic sponge.
"8. The insoluble residue of osm-iridium remaining after the first
treatment of the ore with acid, is fused with zinc to effect its decom-
position. The fused product is treated with aqua regia, and the acid
liquor so obtained is submitted to distillation.
"9. The acid liquor is distilled in the presence of steam whereby
osmium distills over as osmic acid, and is collected in water, and the
osmium subsequently separated as metal.
"10. The acid liquor retains the iridium and ruthenium which are
separated with ammonium chloride, and finally converted into sponge."
204 REFINING PRECIOUS METAL WASTES

The last four processes, involving fusion with barium dioxide, fusion
with zinc, and the distillation of the volatile oxides, have not been dis
cussed in this book. As we said above, they are subject to many modi
fications. Thus, potassium pyrosulphate or sodium peroxide may be
used instead of the barium peroxide. Sometimes the distillation is carried
out in an atmosphere of chlorine. And so on and so on.

2. The Method of Gilchrist and Wichers

Recognizing the importance of the platinum metals, our Bureau
of Standards has been studying them for some years. The first
task was to make sure that each metal could be determined, once it
had been separated from its sisters. The second was to find good
methods for the separation of any pair of the metals. The third was
to provide a method of analysis for the entire group, on which could
be based practical schemes of assaying and of refining.

On March 9, 1939, two of the Bureau's workers, Dr. Raleigh

Gilchrist and Dr. Edward Wichers, were awarded the Hillebrand
Prize of the Chemical Society of Washington, for their paper en
titled A NEW SYSTEM OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
FOR THE PLATINUM METALS, which had been presented
before the Ninth International Congress of Pure and Applied
Chemistry at Madrid, Spain, in 1934. In reporting this award the
magazine Science, in its issue of March 3, 1939, says:

"The work represents the first general advance in the analytical

chemistry of the platinum group since Deville and Stas devised
methods for the analysis of the platinum alloys used in fabricating
the international prototype meter and kilogram, over sixty years ago.
The new system enables the chemist to separate and determine these
six closely related metals with a degree of accuracy equal to that of
the more exact procedures used for the common metals. Related
procedures applied to refining have resulted in the preparation of
the platinum metals in an exceptionally high degree of purity/'

Gilchrist and Wichers have since prepared a second paper that

details the procedures of the prize paper. This latter paper, entitled
A PROCEDURE FOR THE SEPARATION OF THE SIX
PLATINUM METALS FROM ONE ANOTHER AND FOR
THEIR GRAVIMETRIC DETERMINATION, was published by
the Journal of the American Chemical Society (volume 57, 1935,
 RHODIUM, RUTHENIUM, OSMIUM 205

pages 2565 to 2573), a periodical that can be found in a majority of

American public libraries.
This new procedure is not suited to the needs of the non-chemist
refiner, but serious students of the platinum group are urged to
consult it, as it seems destined to serve as the foundation for im-
proved methods in many fields.

In this new system, in the words of the authors, "Precipitation with

ammonium chloride, fusion with pyrosulfate and extraction of metallic
residues with acids are avoided entirely. The separation of platinum
from palladium, rhodium and iridium is accomplished by controlled
hydrolytic precipitation. When a boiling solution containing these four
metals as chlorides, and in addition sodium bromate, is neutralized to
approximately pH 7, the hydrated dioxides of palladium, rhodium, and
iridium precipitate quantitatively, leaving platinum in solution. A second
precipitation of the dioxides suffices to effect complete removal of plati-
num. . . Palladium is separated from iridium and rhodium, in chloride
solution, by precipitation with dimethyl glyoxime. . . Rhodium is
separated from iridium by reducing it to metal with titanous chloride in
a boiling solution of the sulfates in diluted sulfuric acid. The metallic
rhodium is dissolved in hot sulfuric acid and precipitated a second time,
to remove iridium completely.
"When this new procedure is applied to the separation of all six of
the platinum metals from one another, osmium is the first metal to be
isolated. This is accomplished by distilling its volatile tetroxide from
a nitric acid solution. Ruthenium is next isolated by distilling its tetrox-
ide from a solution of the sulfates in diluted sulfuric acid to which sodium
bromate is added. A very suitable reagent for the absorption of osmium
tetroxide, and also of ruthenium tetroxide, is 6N hydrochloric acid
saturated with sulfur dioxide. . .
"In the recovery and determination of each of the six metals, the new
features of the procedure consist in the precipitation of osmium, of
ruthenium, and of iridium, as hydrated oxides, with final ignition to
metal. Rhodium, and also platinum, are recovered as sulfides, and
ignited to metal. Palladium is recovered as the glyoxime compound, in
which form it may be weighed, or it may be determined as metal after
ignition of the glyoxime precipitate. . . The procedure is designed for
the analysis of the platinum group, in the absence of other metals."

The last phrase of the above quotation is important "in the

absence of other metals/' That means that the procedure as there
outlined does not take care of gold or base metals. However, the
Bureau of Standards expects to give consideration to these elements
206 REFINING PRECIOUS METAL WASTES

in subsequent work, and the student is urged to keep in touch with

current literature.
One piece of further research has already been published, A
NEW PROCEDURE FOR THE ANALYSIS OF DENTAL
GOLD ALLOYS, by Raleigh Gilchrist, printed as Research Paper
RP 1103, in the Journal of Research of the National Bureau of
Standards, Volume 20, June 1938. It provides for the separation
and gravimetric determination of silver, iridium, tin, gold, indium,
copper, zinc, nickel, palladium, rhodium, and platinum. Note that
osmium and ruthenium are not included. The procedure can also
be adapted to the refining of crude materials containing gold and
the platinum metals. This paper can be obtained from the Superin-
tendent of Documents, Washington, D. C, for ten cents. The non-
chemist will find it difficult to understand, but the chemist working
in this field will find it invaluable.
# * * *
(The frontispiece of this book shows Drs. Wichers and Gilchrist at
work. Dr. Gilchrist, on the right, is manipulating a series of flasks
arranged for the distillation of osmium and ruthenium. Dr. Wichers is
pouring something possibly a solution to which ammonium chloride
has been added to precipitate the orange powder from a big evaporating
dish into a Buchner filtering funnel of a type that will be described in
Chapter XX.)

A LIST OF BOOKS AND PAPERS REFERRING TO THE THREE RARER METALS

The reader should be familiar with the publications mentioned in

Chapter X, and should also refer to the more extended bibliography
in Chapter E of the Appendix. The Encyclopedia Britannica, and
all text and reference books of advanced chemistry, give interesting
and useful facts under the headings Platinum Group; Rhodium;
Ruthenium; Osmium.
• • • •
NEW PROCEDURE FOR THE ANALYSIS OF DENTAL
GOLD ALLOYS. By Raleigh Gilchrist. Research Paper RP
1103, part of the Journal of Research of the National Bureau of
Standards, vol. 20, pages 745-771, June 1938.
PLATINUM AND ALLIED METALS. SOME POINTS OF
INTEREST TO THE CHEMICAL ENGINEER. By C. John
son and R. H. Atkinson. Trans. Institute of Chemical Engineers,
London, vol. 15, pages 131-144, 1937. This describes the operations
 RHODIUM, RUTHENIUM, OSMIUM 207

at the Acton (England) refinery of the Mond Nickel Co., Ltd.,

where all six of the platinum metals are recovered. An abstract
of this article was printed in The Industrial Chemist (London),
pages 223-233, June 1937. A shorter abstract was printed in The
Chemical Age (London), pages 459-462, May, 1937. Extended
quotations will be found in Chapter XXII of this book.
METALS OF THE PLATINUM GROUP. ORES, RECOVERY
AND REFINING, FABRICATION AND USES, AND
PROPERTIES. By R. H. Atkinson and A. R. Raper. Journal
of the Institute of Metals (London), vol. 59, No. 2, pages 179-210,
1936. An abstract of this paper appears in The Metal Industry
(London), June 15, 1937.
A PROCEDURE FOR THE SEPARATION OF THE SIX
PLATINUM METALS FROM ONE ANOTHER AND FOR
THEIR GRAVIMETRIC DETERMINATION. By Raleigh
Gilchrist and Edward Wichers. Journal of the American Chemi-
cal Society, vol. 57, pages 2565-2573, 1935.
A NEW SYSTEM OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY FOR THE
PLATINUM METALS. By Raleigh Gilchrist and Edward
Wichers. Publicaso en: Trabajos del IX Congreso Internacional
de Quimica Pura y Aplicado, Tomo VI, Quimica Analitica.
Madrid, Spain, 1934.
A METHOD FOR THE SEPARATION OF RUTHENIUM
FROM PLATINUM, PALLADIUM, RHODIUM AND
IRIDIUM. By Raleigh Gilchrist. Research Paper 654, Bureau
of Standards Journal of Research, vol. 12, pages 283-290, March
J934-
ASSAYING PLATINUM METALS. By Martin Schwitter. Metal
and Mineral Markets, Jan. 21, 1932, pages 6-10; Feb. 18, 1932, pages
6, 7; Mar. 17, 1932, pages 6-11. A reprint of this article, under
the heading REFINING PLATINUM METALS, will be found
in The Brass World, issues of Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec, 1932. It
describes the methods used in a plant that refines jewelers' and
dentists' scrap.
A METHOD FOR THE SEPARATION AND GRAVIMETRIC
DETERMINATION OF OSMIUM. By Raleigh Gilchrist.
Research Paper 286, Bureau of Standards Journal of Research,
vol. 6, pages 421-448, March 1931.
208 REFINING PRECIOUS METAL WASTES

FABRICATION OF THE PLATINUM METALS. By C. S.

Sivil. Transactions of the American Institute of Mining and
Metallurgical Engineers, Institute of Metals Division, pages 246-
261,1931.
A GRAVIMETRIC METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION
OF RUTHENIUM. By Raleigh Gilchrist. Research Paper 125,
Bureau of Standards Journal of Research, vol. 3, pages 993-1004,
December 1929.
MELTING, MECHANICAL WORKING AND SOME PHYSI-
CAL PROPERTIES OF RHODIUM. By Wm. H. Swanger.
Research Paper 127, Bureau of Standards Journal of Research,
vol. 3, pages 1029-1040, December 1929.
PURIFICATION OF THE SIX PLATINUM METALS. By
Edward Wichers, Raleigh Gilchrist and Wm. H. Swanger. Tech-
nical Publication No. 87 of the American Institute of Mining and
Metallurgical Engineers; 29 pages; issued with Mining and Metal-
lurgy, New York, March 1928.
THE PLATINUM METALS AND THEIR ALLOYS. By Fred-
erick E. Carter. This paper contains in tabular form many of the
physical characteristics of the six metals. Technical Publication
No. 70 of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical
Engineers; 24 pages; issued with Mining and Metallurgy, New
York, February 1928.
REFINING AND MELTING SOME PLATINUM METALS.
By J. O. Whiteley and C. Dietz. Osmium is not included. This
paper describes methods of refining dental and jewelry scrap and
laboratory ware, in 100 ounce lots. Technical Publication No. 84
of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers;
9 pages; issued with Mining and Metallurgy, New York, March
1928.
THE PLATINUM METALS. By Ernest A. Smith. A book,
published by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, London. 120 pages. 1924.
THE METALLURGY OF PLATINUM. By Louis duParc,
translated by Allen C. Redding and Geo. M. Nelson, with Frank
Sanborn. A translation of Chapter XV of duParc's "Le Platine
du Monde." Issued in "Mining in California," a publication of
the California State Mining Bureau, San Francisco. Vol. 18,
April 1922, pages 158-172.
 RHODIUM, RUTHENIUM, OSMIUM 209

DE L'ANALYSE DU PLATINE IRIDIE EMPLOYE PAR LA

SECTION FRANCAISE DE LA COMMISSION INTERNA-
TIONALE DU METRE A LA CONFERENCES DES PRO-
TOTYPES By E. H. Sainte-Claire DeVille and J. S. Stas.
Proces-verbeaux, Comite International des Poids et Mesures.
1878, Annexe No. II.

For a discussion of the dangers connected with the heating of

osmium, see The Keystone, Philadelphia, issue of January, 1924,
page 92. Also Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, New York,
November 10, 1924, page 743. Also The Brass World, vol. 20,
page 242, 1924.