Ruthenium is element 44, a transition metal of the d block, in group 8, period 5. Its ground-state configuration is [Kr] 4d7 5s1, and it usually shows the oxidation states 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8.
It was discovered in 1844, by Claus.
Name origin: Ruthenia, the New Latin name for Russia.
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