Rhenium

Rhenium is a dense, silvery transition metal with atomic number 75. Its high melting point and resistance to heat make it valuable in superalloys and catalysts.

Nickel-based superalloy: A heat-resistant alloy whose principal element is nickel, designed to retain strength under extreme conditions. Rhenium strengthens some turbine-blade superalloys and improves their high-temperature performance.
Periodic table: A tabular arrangement of chemical elements ordered by atomic number and recurring chemical properties. Rhenium occupies group 7 in period 6, beside elements with related chemistry.
Ida Noddack: A German chemist who co-discovered rhenium with Walter Noddack and Otto Berg. She helped identify the element in 1925 through X-ray spectroscopy.
Tungsten: A transition metal with atomic number 74 and the highest melting point of any pure metal. Tungsten is more abundant and has a higher melting point, but rhenium can improve its ductility.
Jet engine: An engine that produces thrust by accelerating a high-speed exhaust stream. Rhenium-bearing turbine alloys withstand the heat and stress inside many jet engines.
Transition metal: An element whose atom or common ions have a partially filled d subshell. Rhenium’s d-electron chemistry places it among the transition metals.
Walter Noddack: A German chemist who co-discovered rhenium with Ida Noddack and Otto Berg. His team announced rhenium after finding its spectral signature in mineral samples.
Molybdenum: A transition metal with atomic number 42, widely used in steels and high-temperature alloys. Molybdenum is a more abundant, lower-cost alloying metal that shares some high-temperature roles.
Platinum-rhenium reforming catalyst: A catalyst combining platinum and rhenium, used in petroleum reforming to improve fuel quality. Rhenium helps platinum catalysts resist deactivation during high-temperature petroleum reforming.
Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom’s nucleus, which determines the identity of an element. Rhenium’s 75 protons distinguish it from every other element.

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