By Asma 8th Grade Mill Valley Middle School
Common Facts I Appearance I Uses I History Interesting Facts I Glossary I Bibliography Rhenium is among the rarest elements on Earth, you may not want to buy it, considering what it's worth.
Common Facts Atomic Symbol Re Atomic Number 75 Atomic Weight 186.207 (186) Type of Metal Transition metal Particles Neutrons: 111 Protons: 75 Electrons: 75 Melting Point 3453.2 k Boiling Point 5923 k Heat of Fusion 33.20 kl/mo
Appearance Rhenium is a shiny silver-white element. It's crystal shapes are hexagonal. Rhenium's form is a powder, but it can be consolidated. After it is consolidated, it can be rolled, coiled, and bent. Therefore, it is very ductile. Rhenium is a metal, and a solid. This makes it a transitional metal.
Uses Rhenium is very rare, but it is used for quite a few things. It is used for filaments for mass spectrographs. It is used for jewelry plating and ion gauges. Rhenium is used as an alloying agent to fabricate metals for resistance to wear. The metals include electrical switches and electrodes. Therefore, it is used where the switches contact to keep it from wearing out. Rhenium is combined with tungsten to make thermocouples for measuring high temperatures up to 2,000 C.
	History Rhenium was discovered in 1925 by William Nordack. It was extracted from molybdenite and gadolinite. It can also be obtained from platinum ore and comlumbite. Rhenium was named after a river in Germany called the Rhine River. It came from the Latin version, Rhenus.
Interesting Facts Rhenium is the ninth rarest element. Rhenium has a very high density and melting point, only exceeded by a few elements. Rhenium is used to plate jewelry. Rhenium is very expensive, in 1928, when it was first discovered, it would cost $10,000 per gram. It now costs $250 per troy ounce. Little is known about Rhenium's toxicity so it must be handled with care. Rhenium has 2 valence electrons.
Glossary consolidated- made secure and firm; to form into a compact mass ductile- capable of being drawn out or hammered thin filaments- a single thread or a thin flexible threadlike object, process, or appendage mass spectrograph- device used to separate electrically charged particles according to their masses thermocouple- a device used to measure high temperatures by measuring potential differences molybdenite- a blue, usually foliated, mineral consisting of molybdenum disulfide gadolinite- a black or brown mineral that is a source of rare earths toxicity- how toxic, or poisonous, something is valence electrons- the electrons in the outermost energy level of an element
Bibliography  Chemicool Periodic Table Environmental Chemistry Periodic Table Interactive Periodic Table of the Elements Periodic Table Periodic Table of the Elements Pictorial Periodic Table Web Elements Periodic Table Mass Spectrograph: The Columbia Encyclopedia  Images Found At: http://www.webelements.com/webelements/scholar/elements/rhenium/key.html www.presschem.com/ http://www.flamingtext.com http://animatedgif.net/miscellaneous/miscellaneous25.shtml www.aspensystems.com/ cryogel.html www.actiiboutique.com/ necklace.jpg Back to Top