Ruthenium
Chemical and physical properties of ruthenium:
Symbol:
Ru
Crystal system:
hexagonal
Category:
metal
Color:
silver white
Transparency:
none
Mohs scale hardeness:
6,5
Specific gravity:
12,45 g/cm³
Melting point:
2334 °C
Greyish in colour, very hard, brittle metal. It is used in aerospace and reactor technology, but is also used as a catalyst.
White, highly reflective, very hard metal. Cannot be cold worked, can be stretched and forged over a red annealing flame.
It is used to make instrumentation and laboratory equipment. In the precious metal industry, it is used less frequently for silver plating.