Rhenium (Re)
"The Jet-Setter, a hero who allows jet engines to run hotter and more efficiently."
A memorable persona to anchor Re in your mind.
21.02
Grams per cm³
3185
Celsius (°C)
217
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Rhenium is found in the turbine blades inside a commercial jet engine.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1925
Discovered By
Walter Noddack, Ida Tacke & Otto Berg
Origin of Name
"The name is derived from the Latin name for the Rhine, ''Rhenus''."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
186.207 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
5590°C
Electron Configuration
[Xe] 4f145d56s2
1st Ionization Energy
7.88 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"Rhenium is a dense, silvery-white, rare metal."
Did You Know?
It was the last naturally occurring stable element to be discovered, in 1925.
It has the third-highest melting point of any element, after tungsten and carbon.
About 70% of the world's rhenium is used to make high-temperature superalloys for jet engine parts, like turbine blades.
It is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust; its average concentration is estimated at just one part per billion.