What explains the very high density of osmium and iridium?

The density of an element is related to how many atoms can be placed in a given volume and the weight of the nuclei. Therefore, the smaller the atomic radius of an atom and the higher the atomic number of the nucleus, the greater the density of the element. read more

The very small atomic radius of osmium and iridium results in a small metal-metal separation. This small atomic separation along with both transition metals relatively high atomic number gives rise to their high density. read more

Therefore, the smaller the atomic radius of an atom and the higher the atomic number of the nucleus, the greater the density of the element. The very small atomic radius of osmium results in a small metal-metal separation. This small atomic separation along with osmium's relatively high atomic number gives rise to osmium's high density. read more