Nickel Tech Report
Overview
Nickel is the only element named after the devil. The name comes from the German word Kupfernickel, meaning "Old Nick's copper," a term used by German miners. They tried to remove copper from an ore that looked like copper ore, but they were unsuccessful. Instead of copper, they got slag, a useless mass of earthy material. The miners believed the devil ("Old Nick") was playing a trick on them. So they called the fake copper ore Old Nick's copper.
Since then, nickel has become a very valuable metal. The most common use is in the production of stainless steel, a strong material that does not rust easily. It is used in hundreds of industrial and consumer applications. Nickel is also used in the manufacture of many other alloys. An alloy is made by melting and mixing two or more metals. The mixture has properties different from those of the individual metals.
SYMBOL
Ni
ATOMIC NUMBER
28
ATOMIC MASS
58.69
FAMILY
Group 10 (VIIIB)
Transition metal
Nickel is classified as a transition metal. Transition metals are elements between Groups 2 (metals) and 13 (non-metals) in the periodic table. The periodic table is a chart that shows how chemical elements are related to one another. Nickel is closely related to iron, cobalt, copper, and zinc. These metals are close to nickel in the periodic table.
Physical properties
Nickel is a silvery-white metal. It has the shiny surface common to most metals and is both ductile and malleable. Ductile means capable of being drawn into thin wires. Malleable means capable of being hammered into thin sheets. Its melting point is 1,555°C (2,831°F) and its boiling point is about 2,835°C (5,135°F). The density of nickel is 8.90 grams per cubic centimeter.
Nickel is only one of three naturally occurring elements that is strongly magnetic. The other two are iron and cobalt. But nickel is less magnetic than either iron or cobalt.
Chemical properties
Nickel is a relatively unreactive element. At room temperature, it does not combine with oxygen or water or dissolve in most.
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