Concept

Osmiridium

Summary
Osmiridium and iridosmine are natural alloys of the elements osmium and iridium, with traces of other platinum-group metals. Osmiridium has been defined as containing a higher proportion of iridium, with iridosmine containing more osmium. However, as the content of the natural Os-Ir alloys varies considerably, the constituent percentages of specimens often reflects the reverse situation of osmiridium describing specimens containing a higher proportion of osmium and iridosmine specimens containing more iridium. In 1963, M. H. Hey proposed using iridosmine for hexagonal specimens with 32% < Os < 80%, osmiridium for cubic specimens with Os < 32% and native osmium for specimens Os > 80% (the would-be mineral native iridium of >80% purity was not known at that time). In 1973, Harris and Cabri defined the following names for Os-Ir-Ru alloys: ruthenosmiridium was applied to cubic Os-Ir-Ru alloys, where Ir < 80% of (Os+Ir+Ru) and Ru > 10% of (Os+Ir+Ru) with no single other element >10% of the total; Rutheniridosmine was applied to cubic Os-Ir-Ru alloys, where Os < 80% of (Os+Ir+Ru) and Ru is 10–80% of (Os+Ir+Ru) with no single other element >10% of the total; the Ru-Os alloys be known as ruthenian osmium (>50% Os), osmian ruthenium (>50% Ru); the Ru-Ir alloys be known as iridian ruthenium and ruthenian iridium where the boundary between them is defined by the alloy's miscibility gap (a minimum 57% Ir for ruthenian iridium and a minimum of 55% Ru for iridian ruthenium). The nomenclature of Os-Ir-Ru alloys were revised again by Harris and Cabri in 1991. Afterwards, only four names were applied to minerals whose compositions lie within the ternary Os-Ir-Ru system: osmium (native osmium) for all hexagonal alloys with Os the major element; iridium (native iridium) for all cubic alloys with iridium the major element; rutheniridosmine for all hexagonal alloys with Ir the major element; and ruthenium (native ruthenium) for all hexagonal alloys with Ru the major element.
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