Ruthenium
A hard platinum-group metal used in electronics and catalysis.
Inside the Ruthenium atom
Switch between Bohr and Quantum Cloud modes to compare a simple teaching model with a more realistic probability-based view, and follow the guided tour to explore the Ruthenium atom step by step.
Electron configuration
[Kr] 4d7 5s1
A neutral Ruthenium atom has 44 electrons (equal to its proton count). Choosing a different isotope above changes only the neutron count.
Shell distribution
Electrons fill inner shells before outer ones; the outermost (valence) shell drives the element's chemistry.
Physical & atomic properties
- State (room temp)
- Solid
- Melting point
- 2607 K (2334 °C)
- Boiling point
- 4423 K (4150 °C)
- Density
- 12.37 g/cm³
- Electronegativity
- 2.2 Pauling
- Atomic radius
- 130 pm
- 1st ionization energy
- 710 kJ/mol
- Category
- Transition metals
Discovery & naming
- Discovered
- 1844
- Discovered by
- Karl Ernst Claus
- Origin of name
- Latin 'Ruthenia', for Russia.
Notable uses
Wear-resistant electrical contacts and catalysts.
Where Ruthenium comes from
Several comparable sources
Both slow neutron capture in dying stars and rapid capture in explosive events contribute meaningfully.
Simplified origin map — many elements form through more than one astrophysical pathway.
Summary
- Atomic number
- 44
- Atomic mass
- 101.07
- Category
- Transition metals
- Group · Period
- 8 · 5
- Block
- d-block
- Shells
- 2 · 8 · 18 · 15 · 1