The element nickel was discovered in Sweden in 1751 by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt.The original name of the element is actually a fun fact that you might have not heard before. Nickel came from the German word ‘kupfernickel’. The word literally means devil’s copper or St. Nicholas’s copper (Old Nick’s), also know as goblin’s copper.Nickel was actually discovered during an experiment to discover copper. But instead of finding any copper in the red minerals of niccolite, they found a white metal which was named after the mineral from which they discovered nickel. These minerals, which had a little tint of green, were used as a coloring agent in glass.Nickel and its alloys are used in the production of stainless steel and its products, such as rechargeable batteries, alnico magnets, electric guitar strings, green-tinted glasses, nickel foam, nickel mesh, and as a binder in tungsten carbide.A nickel coin issued on November 6, 1938, was said to have been presented first to the president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Also, the first five-cent coin made of silver was known as a half-dime, which was minted until 1873. But the nickel version of the coin was believed to be made in 1866 or later. The five-cent coins made during World War Two were composed of copper, silver, and manganese alloys, and most of the nickel was kept to be recycled for use in the war.After reading these nickel element facts, also check characteristics of nickel and find out how much a nickel weighs.Nickel UsesThe chemical element nickel is a shiny, silvery metal that is used for the corrosion-resistant properties of nickel compounds. Both pure nickel and nickel alloy have a bright finish. Nickel alloyed with chromium, and a little amount of manganese, silicon, and iron, has an industrial use in plating chemistry.Pure nickel, when added to copper ore after purification, provides increased durability to copper-nickel alloy and makes it harder than pure nickel or copper. Cobalt-nickel alloy is used in jet engines, gas turbines, and the marine industry due to its superior hardness. Pure nickel is added to pieces of jewelry as well to make them more ductile and malleable. One surprising nickel element facts is its presence in paints, as a pigment, and in other such substances, despite the fact it is toxic. But nickel is economical and practical, and can provide resistance to wear, as it is corrosion-resistant. The nickel element can be taken from the Earth’s core and Earth’s crust. Nickel as a micro-nutrient contributes to the nitrogen fixation of plants. The nickel element is also important for seed germination of plants. Another mineral alloy of natural nickel and arsenic is nickel arsenide, and niccolite or nickeline are other names for the mineral that consists of nickel arsenide, with 56.1 % arsenic and 43.9 % nickel in it.Nickel is a major component of coins, and the history of nickel alloy goes back to the ancient usage of copper-nickel alloy in coins. These alnico magnets and nickel atoms combine well to make wires.Nickel alloys are even used in making rocket engines and gas turbines. The high-temperature corrosion resistance is what enables the transition metal to play a useful part inthe making of these awesome machines. Nickel iron alloy usages are often seen in making boat propeller shafts, and turbine blades., while ferro-nickel iron alloy is also used in stainless-steel manufacturing.Copper, zinc, and nickel alloy are called bronze and are used for making sculptures and aesthetic designs., while adding nickel as a component in glassmaking is popular as it gives it a green color.The element nickel is used as a catalyst in hydrogenated vegetable oil preparation.In nickel-cadmium batteries, the cathode is nickel hydroxide and the anode is cadmium hydroxide. The oxidation states of these two elements make it best for rechargeable batteries. When nickel ore is mixed with iron, it gets ferromagnetic properties and, as such, nickel is present in soft magnets used in speakers, headphones, and amplifiers.Nickel PropertiesThis valuable metal possesses many great properties and thus has many advantages over other metals. An example of one such advantage of nickel alloys is the alnico magnets. Those permanent magnets, mainly made of an alloy of of nickel, aluminum and cobalt, have natural magnetic powers which can attract iron up to 17 times the magnetic force of lodestone or magnetite.Those alnico magnets come under the category of non-directional, isotropic or anisotropic, or mono-directional form. Nickel is a non-ferrous metal with higher strength and excellent corrosion resistance, and can be alloyed with many metals. Nickel alloy is weldable in hard environments, it resists corrosion and is stable at high and low temperatures. Nickel also has shielding properties against electromagnetic interference.Popular alloy versions of nickel are duranickel (94% nickel), hastelloy (nickel, molybdenum, chromium), illium (Ni, Mo, Cr, Cu), monel, and inconel. These nickel alloy combinations do not weaken or perish, and are strong enough to resist corrosion. Along with quality, they are the best choices for making or coating machines and other metal produces, to increase durability.Nickel carbonyl is a commercial compound of nickel in which the element nickel has a zero oxidation state. It is used in the synthesis of plastics and acrylates from alcohols and acetylene.Nickel MiningNickel is an abundant element, and, compared to other mineral mining, most nickel has been mined fairly recently. Nickel was not truly appreciated at the time of its discovery, but later people started to research it and found its amazing properties.It became a common element in alloys to make materials more corrosion resistant, hard and durable. The strength and tough properties of nickel alloys were valued among many cobalt mine workers and copper miners.Gradually, nickel became an important component in our lives. We knowingly or unknowingly use nickel for various purposes in our lives, from small machine coatings to stainless steel, nickel has became a useful material in these metals and alloys.For instance, stainless steel is an important component of modern cookware, medical equipment, utensils, as well as many other vessels. It is easy to clean and sterilize a stainless-steel utensil. And most coins circulating in the U.S. have nickel-based alloy in them. A nickel is a five-cent coin composed of cupronickel (75% copper and 25% nickel) and has been issued since 1866.Alloys have more complicated and stronger properties than the pure form of the metal. Nickel-steel is the most important among all the steel alloys, because it us used in so many components and applications worldwide and is also cheap.Nickel Element FactsHere are some more interesting facts about the element nickel:The chemical element with the elemental symbol of Ni is nickel in the periodic table. The element nickel has the atomic number 28. Nickel element has a standard atomic weight of 58.69 u. This silver transition metal has an electron configuration of [Ar] 3d^84s^2.This shiny transition metal element produces a tint of yellow when it is exposed to air.The major uses for nickel are plating, in batteries, and stainless steel. Its electron configuration makes its divalent nature evident.The word nickel is said to get its name from the German word ‘kupfernickel’. The old German word means old nick’s copper or also known as devil’s copper, and also can be translated as goblin’s copper.Miners used to believe they could obtain pure copper from red-colored nickel ore, which would also have a few flecks of green (nickel arsenide). Nickeline, or niccolite contains arsenic and sometimes antimony, and is highly toxic and causes cancer in humans, and aquatic life. It is advisable to wear gloves while working with such chemical elements and compounds. Nickel can be toxic and harmful and high nickel exposure can cause allergies and other side effects.But in reality, copper miners would not extract any copper from the ore by smelting. Later in 1751, Axel Fredrik Cronstedt was said to have isolated the element .Nickel complexes and compounds can produce colored aqueous solutions, which is a hallmark of transition metals.Nickel is a primary element in the alloy mu metal, which contains iron, molybdenum, and obviously nickel. All these elements in the mu metal give it a magnetic shield. Another metal alloy just like mu metal which has magnetic properties is an alnico magnet.Indonesia is the world’s leading producer of nickel, and produces 29.8 % of the world’s globally mined nickel production, extracting 8,00,000 tons of nickel a year.After Indonesia, the Philippines comes second in major nickel producers of the world.Australia and Indonesia are reported to be the owners of the world’s greatest nickel reserves.Nickel is found in two different ore forms.Nickel mining also has similar processes to copper extraction.Electrical cells, along with inert cathodes, are used for removing impurities from the nickel to make a higher-quality nickel.Transition metal like nickel has five stable isotopes in its family.The element nickel lies in group 10 and period four in the periodic table.The most abundant state that the element is found on Earth’s crust is as a solid. Nickel is the fifth-most abundant element on Earth and is 100 times more concentrated below the Earth’s crust than in it. It is believed to be the second-must abundant element in the Earth’s core, with iron being the first.This abundant element was first discovered by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt.Melting points of this abundant element are 2,651 F (1,455 C), while the boiling point is 5,275 F (2,913 C).A special compound of nickel 99Tc is said to be hazardous and contaminative in nature.The element nickel constitutes the shape of an isosceles triangle, with each bond terminated to a carbonyl group in its atomic form.Nickel’s resistant properties mean they can even resist seawater corrosion, so it useful in the manufacture of propeller shafts and desalination plants in boats.If we purify nickel from the Earth’s core or crust, we can find the true silvery-white color of the metal.It is a great conductor of electricity and heat.Nickel can slowly dissolve with the mingling of dilute acids.Nickel atoms are bivalent (they have a valency of two).Invar, an alloy of nickel (36%) and iron, has very low thermal expansion at room temperature. High-dimension stability is useful in making precision-measuring instruments, and thermostat rods.The nickel element has made components stronger by forming alloys with other metals in order to withstand extreme corrosion and temperature.The Nickel Institute is the global association of leading nickel producers. They promote and support the use of nickel in various applications.And did you know that polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, found under the ocean are also mined as a nickel resource? They contain four essential metals used in the production of batteries: nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese. They are formed over millions of years from the absorption of metals from seawater and are almost entirely composed of usable materials. To access these deep-ocean nickel reserves, deep-sea mining technology and its development is best.
The element nickel was discovered in Sweden in 1751 by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt.
