NICKEL (NI)

last update 01 oct 08

* Nickel is a member of the transition metals family:

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   NICKEL / Ni / 28

   A silvery, lustrous, malleable, ductile metal with good resistance
   to corrosion.  Five isotopes are found in nature:

     Ni<58/28> / 68%
     Ni<60/28> / 26%
     Ni<63/28> /  4%
     Ni<61/28> /  1%
     Ni<64/28> /  1%

   All are stable.

     atomic weight:       58.6934
     abundance:           23rd
     density:             8.902 g/cc
     melting point:       1,453 C
     boiling point:       2,732 C
     valence:             0 1 <2> 3
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Nickel is produced from sulfide ores, mostly mined in Canada, in quantities of hundreds of thousands of tonnes a year. About half the production ends up in stainless steel alloys, and the corrosion-resistant metal is also used as a plating element. There is a range of other useful nickel-based alloys, such as "Monel", which is 70% nickel and 30% copper with traces of silicon, iron, and manganese; it is hard and resists corrosion by seawater, making it useful for propeller shafts. Another useful nickel-based alloy is "Nichrome", which nickel with from 11% to 22% chromium plus traces of silicon, iron, and manganese; it does not oxidize when heated and is used for heating elements in toasters and the like. Powdered nickel is used as a industrial catalyst and in nickel-cadmium ("nicad") storage batteries.