Name       : Ruthenium 
Symbol     : Ru
Atomic #   : 44
Atom weight: 101.07
Melting P. : 2310
Boiling P. : 3900
Oxidation  : +3
Pronounced : roo-THE-ni-em
From       : Latin Ruthenia, "Russia"
Identified : Predicted by G. Wilhelm Osann in 1828
Appearance : Rare, silver-gray, extremely brittle metal
Note       : Used to harden platinum and palladium
             
[Properties]

  Ruthenium is a rare metal, occupying no more than 0.01 parts-per-million
of the matter in the earth's crust. Whenever enough is put together in one
place, it has a gray-white appearance and a hard, brittle character.
  At room temperature, ruthenium is impervious to virtually all acids,
including aqua regia. It is vulnerable to alkalis, however, and it oxides
explosively in the presence of potassium chloride.
  The high melting temperature and brittleness make it difficult to refine
and cast into useful shapes, and these features seriously limit commercial
applications.
  Ruthenium is a Group-VIII metal.  There is some chemical similarity to
iron (Fe), which is located directly above ruthenium on the periodic table
of the elements. It is more like osmium (Os), though, which is located
directly below it on the table.
