Elemental Limericks, Part 8

[deckardcanine]

Lutetium’s named for Paree,
Rendered Latin, tho some disagree
That it first was found there:
Two more men did declare
That they found it that year, mercy me.

And hafnium, too, has been named
For the capital city that’s claimed
As its first noted site,
Copenhagen. That’s right:
It’s what Hafnia (Latin) became.

But tantalum’s named for the guy
In the legend who, after he’d die,
Couldn’t reach any food,
For the metal, imbued
With an acid, absorbs none; oh my.

Polycrystalline tungsten is brittle
And hard to work into a metal,
But the pure single stuff
Is ductile enough
For a thicker steel hacksaw to whittle.

Now rhenium’s known as the last
Stable element found for the past
Circa 98 years,
And it nicely adheres
To some alloys so creep strength’s amassed.

Rare osmium’s known for its smell,
And its density’s awesome as well:
Nearly twice that of lead.
Its pure state causes dread,
But in various alloys, it’s swell.

Iridium’s colorful salt
Is especially rife in a fault
That geologists say
Marks the terrible day
When the dinosaurs came to a halt.

Pure platinum costs quite a lot.
It is highly unlikely to rot—
That is, to corrode—
So at one time, it showed
What a meter length was (so we thought).

Pure gold’s even pricier yet,
As it’s not all that easy to get.
Most is deep in the core,
And the seabed has more,
But extraction attempts are all wet.

Most mercury’s liquid in form.
Its boiling point’s terribly warm.
If you breathe in its fume
Or, worse yet, you consume
It, your health will be in for a storm.