Osmium ingot and its alloys are mainly used as catalysts in the petrochemical industry. In the electronic and electrical industry, it is used for resistors, relays, spark plug electrodes, electrical contacts, thermocouples and printed circuits. In the glass industry, osmium ingot will not pollute molten glass and can be used as a container lining when manufacturing optical glass. Osmium-iridium alloy can be used as bearings in clocks and instruments, making pen nibs and stylus needles. Traditionally, osmium ingot was used to make pen nibs, and it is now used in the production of target materials.

Osmium ingot is one of the platinum group metals and has a grayish blue color. The melting point is high, about 3050°C. The density is large, 22.5 g/cm3.

Osmium ingot is not easy to process even at high temperatures and is usually only used as an alloying element. The oxidation resistance of osmium ingot is very poor. In the air, a blue osmium dioxide film is formed on the surface of osmium at room temperature. The interaction of nitric acid and osmium will also generate osmium tetroxide. Both of these oxides are volatile and toxic compounds, which can stimulate adhesion and damage the skin. In nature, osmium ingot and platinum group metals often coexist together.

The density of osmium ingot is the highest, and the covalent radius of osmium is very small, which means that the atoms of osmium are arranged very close to each other, and the density is quite large. The covalent radius of iridium, which ranks second in density, is slightly smaller than that of osmium, so the density It's also very big. In terms of density, the blue-gray metallic osmium is the champion of metals. The density of osmium is 22.48 g/cm3, which is equivalent to twice that of lead, three times that of iron, and 42 times that of lithium. One cubic meter of osmium weighs 22.48 tons.