Definition of "osmium" []

• A bluish-white, hard metallic element, found in small amounts in osmiridium, nickel, and platinum ores. It is used as a platinum hardener and in making pen points, phonograph needles, and instrument pivots. Atomic number 76; atomic weight 190.2; melting point 3,000°C; boiling point 5,000°C; specific gravity 22.57; valence 2, 3, 4, 8. See Table at element. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I will go and personally sign out the osmium from the strategic metal and you can use it for your theses experiments."
• "INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Counterterrorism police have foiled an apparent plot to launch a chemical attack in Britain that according to U.S. and U.K. security sources who say the suspects had plans to lace a bomb with a chemical called osmium tetroxide."
• "The process removes sulfur present in the ore as sulfur dioxide and, at the same time, releases osmium, which is abundant in the ore."