Everyone’s talking about... Platinum
We’re approaching the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, so what do we know about platinum?
One of the heaviest and rarest metals, a 6in cube weighs as much as an average person. If all the platinum ever mined were put into an Olympic-size swimming pool, it would barely be ankledeep. Its name comes from the Spanish platina, ‘little silver’, and it’s resistant to corrosion and doesn’t melt until 1,768C (3,214F).
What’s it used for?
It is used in the gel that makes breast implants and is the only material suitable for the electrodes in pacemakers. Its main use is in catalytic converters, making the devices valuable to thieves as the metal is worth £750 an ounce. Platinum was first used in artefacts in ancient South America, but the conquistadors thought it was ‘unripe’ gold. The Spanish even threw it into the sea to deter counterfeiters before eventually appreciating the value of ‘white gold’.
Where does it come from? South Africa is the biggest producer, followed by Russia. It can take up to six months and ten tons of ore to produce one ounce of platinum. It’s more common on the Moon and in meteorites than on Earth, so several mines are near impact sites. But the streets of London are dusted with platinum, thanks to emissions from catalytic converters, and one company is experimenting with extracting it from tons of street sweepings.
What about other uses of the word platinum?
The term ‘platinum blonde’ was coined by Hollywood tycoon Howard Hughes to promote actress Jean Harlow. Her ashblonde hair was given a whiter sheen thanks to a cocktail of bleach, ammonia and laundry detergent – which eventually made her locks fall out. Any music single that sells 600,000 copies in the UK has officially ‘gone platinum’, with Ed Sheeran boasting the most, with 21. Platinum is also the 17,779th most common boy’s name in the US, making it even less popular than Adolf, at No 4,508.