Forget aluminum foil and tin foil, osmium foil is here!

The latest news rocking the science world, after researchers were able to get their hands-on large quantities of osmium, the densest element in the periodic table, donated by a company that refines copper; the process of copper refining produces osmium as a byproduct. Researchers played around with the bluish metal and produced numerous research papers on various applications of it. The latest one was inspired by a problem one of the researchers had with his lunch. Apparently, this unnamed scientist often uses foil for cooking or with food in various applications as well as working with hardware, engineering or experimental designs that requires metallic foils of some kind. The problem was that the foil is so thin and light that it can be easily moved or blown away by even a small breeze. That is why osmium foil was created.

Osmium is roughly ten times denser than aluminum, meaning that it packs ten times the punch in terms of weight. Having had the opportunity to experiment with it I must say giving it had a weird handling feeling, holding something so thin and yet heavy is a freaky sensation.

Apart from the traditional aluminum and tin foil there are other kinds of foils available out there some of the most popular are gold, silver and platinum foil and now osmium. Beware though, if scratched and then exposed to air it can create a nasty toxic gas so take precautions when using.

(Osmium in its mineral form

Photo credits: Heinrich Pniok)