Name       : Palladium
Symbol     : Pd
Atomic #   : 46
Atom weight: 106.42
Melting P. : 1554
Boiling P. : 3140
Oxidation  : +2, +4
Pronounced : peh-LAY-di-em
From       : Named after the asteroid, Pallas
Identified : William Hyde Wollaston in 1803
Appearance : Silvery-white, soft, malleable and ductile metal
Note       : Used in dental items, analog watches and jewelry
             
[Properties]

  Palladium is described as a silver-white metal that is both ductile and
malleable. Because of the latter features, it is often found as a
substitute for silver in electrical components, jewelry, and dental 
materials. Palladium is one of the Group-VII transition metals.
  Palladium is more prone to attack from common acids than the other
platinum metals (rhodium iridum, ruthenium, and osmium, for example).
Whereas the other platinum metals hardly respond at all to hydrochloric
acid at room temperature, one of palladium's most useful compounds,
palladium (II) chloride, is produced by the reaction between palladium
metal and hydrochloric acid.
  All metals soften somewhat at temperatures just a bit below their melting
point. Palladium, however, softens over an unusually wide range of
temperatures below the melting point. As far as practical applications are
concerned this means palladium is easy to weld.
  Palladium has an ability to absorb large amounts of hydrogen - up to
900 times its own volume.
  Palladium is found in conjuction with platinum, nickel, copper, and gold.
The method for extracting the palladium depends mainly on the metal it
accompanies to the refinery.