5B Ryan Peng How the Periodic Table is the Structure of the

It’s an invaluable tool for organising the building blocks of the universe. Its columns and rows are a microcosm of the history of science. And it’s also a storybook, containing all the wonderful and clever and ugly aspects of being human.

Platinum is widely used as a catalyst for chemical reactions. The most important use of platinum is in vehicles, as a catalytic converter, facilitating the complete combustion of unburned hydrocarbon passing through the exhaust. Platinum is used in jewelry, decoration and dental work. The metal and its alloys are also used for electrical contacts, fine resistance wires and medical / laboratory instruments.

Neodymium is used as a crystal (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet) in lasers. These ND:YAG lasers have numerous applications. For example, they are used in medicine to treat skin cancers and for laser hair removal; and in industry they are used to cut and weld steel.

Pure lithium metal is used in rechargeable lithium ion batteries and the metal is used as an alloy with aluminum, copper, manganese, and cadmium to make high performance aircraft parts.