Symbol Pt Atomic radius: pm 139 Fusion: kJ/Mole 22.17
Name Platinum Ionic radius: pm (+4)63 Boiling point: °C 3825
Atomic number 78 Electron affinity 2.13 Melting point: °C 1768
Atomic weight 195.1 1st  ion potential 9.0 Specific Heat Cap: J/(g K) 0.13
Classification Trans metal Natural form Solid Thermal Cond: W/(cm K) 0.72
Configuration [Xe]4f145d96s1 Crystal structure FCC Electrical Cond 0.0966
Oxidation states 2,4 Density 21.5 Abundance: mg/kg-crust 0.005
Electronegativity 2.2 Vaporization: kJ/Mole 510.5    
In 1557, the Italian-French physician Julius Caesar Scaliger made reference to a refractory metal, probably platinum, found between Darién and Mexico.   The Spanish mathematician Antonio de Ulloa, in 1735, and the British metallurgist, in 1741, found platinum in South America. Uses - jewelry, catalysts, thermocouple elements, corrosion-resistant apparatus, coating missle nose cones, jet engine fuel nozzles, dentistry