This default list of 10 elements is “heaviest” due to the density of each cubic cm.
However, density is not mass, but how tightly packed the mass is.
Now let’s look at the heaviest element in the entire known universe. (The main image is an unlisted bismuth crystal.)
tantalum
10 – Tantalum (density per cubic cm: 16.67 g)
Tantalum atomic number is 73.
uranium
9 – Uranium (density per cubic cm: 19.05 g)
In 1789, German chemist Martin H.
8 – Tungsten (density per cubic cm: 19.26 g)
Tungsten is present in four different minerals and is the heaviest of all elements known to play a biological role.
gold
7 – Gold (density per cubic cm: 19.29 g)
They say money doesn’t grow on trees, but gold does!
Small traces of gold were found on the leaves of eucalyptus trees.
6 – Plutonium (density per cubic cm: 20.26 g)
Chameleon of the elements.
5 – Neptunium (density per cubic cm: 20.47 g)
It is named after Neptune, which was discovered by Professor Edwin McMillan in 1940.
It was also the first synthetic transuranic element of the actinide series to be discovered.
4 – Rhenium (density per cubic cm: 21.01 g)
Rhenium is derived from the Latin word ‘Rhenus’ meaning ‘line’ and was discovered by Walter Noddack in Germany in 1925.
platinum
3 – Platinum (density per cubic cm: 21.45 g)
It is one of the precious metals (other than gold) on this list and is used to make almost everything.
Not really many (try it with gold).
2 – Iridium (density per cubic cm: 22.56 g)
Discovered in London in 1803 by Smithson Tennant, platinum was found in the residue left over when crude platinum was dissolved!
Yes, it was discovered purely by accident.
osmium
1 – Osmium (density per cubic cm: 22.59 g)
It doesn’t get any heavier than Osmium.
Oddly enough, the name comes from the Greek word osme, which means smell!
Top 10 Largest Objects in Our Solar System
Top 10 most common elements in the entire known universe