The Most Dense Metals

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Did you know that the liquid metal mercury has a density of 13.55 grams per cubic centimetre (g/cm³), more dense than lead which has a density of 11.34 g/cm³ ? Gold is even more dense at 19.28 g/cm³. The most dense metal however is osmium, with a density of 22.59 g/cm³ and is the densest naturally occurring element. Most elements don't occur naturally, and have to be refined and extracted from ore which is often a compound of the element of interest and other elements such as oxygen and sulphur. Osmium is too brittle to be used on its own, and alloyed with other metals for applications that require durability such as instrument pivots and electrical contacts. It's also used as an abrasive for polishing optical lenses.

There used to be a bottle of mercury (which was quite weighty) in the BNS in Kilcullen when it was situated in the current library building. Hopefully the mercury was disposed of safely or is now stored properly. There was also a collection of scientific apparatus, glassware, and a balance from a time when science was taught in primary schools. (Before revised curriculums in more recent decades when it was reintroduced, although we did have "Nature Studies" in the 70s). I wonder what happened all that equipment? According to this Irish Times article, science was dropped as a compulsory subject following independence in 1922 (I've run out of my free article quota for this month, so I can't read the full article yet)