A report on Metal

Iron, shown here as fragments and a 1 cm3 cube, is an example of a chemical element that is a metal.

A metal in the form of a gravy boat made from stainless steel, an alloy largely composed of iron, carbon, and chromium

A metal rod with a hot-worked eyelet. Hot-working exploits the capacity of metal to be plastically deformed.

Samples of babbitt metal, an alloy of tin, antimony, and copper, used in bearings to reduce friction

A sculpture cast in nickel silver—an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc that looks like silver

Rhodium, a noble metal, shown here as 1 g of powder, a 1 g pressed cylinder, and a 1 g pellet

A sample of diaspore, an aluminum oxide hydroxide mineral, α-AlO(OH)

A neodymium compound alloy magnet of composition Nd2Fe14B on a nickel-iron bracket from a computer hard drive

A pile of compacted steel scraps, ready for recycling

The Artemision Bronze showing either Poseidon or Zeus, c. 460 BCE, National Archaeological Museum, Athens. The figure is more than 2 m in height.

A disc of highly enriched uranium that was recovered from scrap processed at the Y-12 National Security Complex, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

White-hot steel pours like water from a 35-ton electric furnace, at the Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation, in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania.

A Ho-Mg-Zn icosahedral quasicrystal formed as a pentagonal dodecahedron, the dual of the icosahedron

Body-centered cubic crystal structure, with a 2-atom unit cell, as found in e.g. chromium, iron, and tungsten

Face-centered cubic crystal structure, with a 4-atom unit cell, as found in e.g. aluminum, copper, and gold

Hexagonal close-packed crystal structure, with a 6-atom unit cell, as found in e.g. titanium, cobalt, and zinc

Niobium crystals and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} anodized niobium cube for comparison

Molybdenum crystals and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} molybdenum cube for comparison

Tantalum single crystal, some crystalline fragments, and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} tantalum cube for comparison

Tungsten rods with evaporated crystals, partially oxidized with colorful tarnish, and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} tungsten cube for comparison

alt=Three, dark broccoli shaped clumps of oxidised lead with grossly distended buds, and a cube of lead which has a dull silvery appearance.| oxidised lead

alt=A silvery molasses-like liquid being poured into a circular container with a height equivalent to a smaller coin on its edge| Mercury being

Electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold, was often used for making coins. Shown is the Roman god Apollo, and on the obverse, a Delphi tripod (circa 310–305 BCE).

A plate made of pewter, an alloy of 85–99% tin and (usually) copper. Pewter was first used around the beginning of the Bronze Age in the Near East.

A pectoral (ornamental breastplate) made of tumbaga, an alloy of gold and copper

Arsenic, sealed in a container to prevent tarnishing

Bismuth in crystalline form, with a very thin oxidation layer, and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} bismuth cube

Potassium pearls under paraffin oil. Size of the largest pearl is 0.5 cm.

Aluminum chunk, 2.6 grams, {{nowrap|1=1 x 2 cm}}

Scandium, including a 1 cm{{sup|3}} cube

Lutetium, including a 1 cm{{sup|3}} cube

Material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well.

- Metal

84 related topics with Alpha

Chemical element

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Species of atoms that have a given number of protons in their nuclei, including the pure substance consisting only of that species.

$Estimated distribution of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. Only the fraction of the mass and energy in the universe labeled "atoms" is composed of chemical elements.$

Periodic table showing the cosmogenic origin of each element in the Big Bang, or in large or small stars. Small stars can produce certain elements up to sulfur, by the alpha process. Supernovae are needed to produce "heavy" elements (those beyond iron and nickel) rapidly by neutron buildup, in the r-process. Certain large stars slowly produce other elements heavier than iron, in the s-process; these may then be blown into space in the off-gassing of planetary nebulae

Abundances of the chemical elements in the Solar System. Hydrogen and helium are most common, from the Big Bang. The next three elements (Li, Be, B) are rare because they are poorly synthesized in the Big Bang and also in stars. The two general trends in the remaining stellar-produced elements are: (1) an alternation of abundance in elements as they have even or odd atomic numbers (the Oddo-Harkins rule), and (2) a general decrease in abundance as elements become heavier. Iron is especially common because it represents the minimum energy nuclide that can be made by fusion of helium in supernovae.

Mendeleev's 1869 periodic table: An experiment on a system of elements. Based on their atomic weights and chemical similarities.

A first distinction is between metals, which readily conduct electricity, nonmetals, which do not, and a small group, (the metalloids), having intermediate properties and often behaving as semiconductors.

Alloy

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Liquid bronze, being poured into molds during casting

Allotropes of iron, (alpha iron and gamma iron) showing the differences in atomic arrangement

Photomicrographs of steel. Top photo: Annealed (slowly cooled) steel forms a heterogeneous, lamellar microstructure called pearlite, consisting of the phases cementite (light) and ferrite (dark). Bottom photo: Quenched (quickly cooled) steel forms a single phase called martensite, in which the carbon remains trapped within the crystals, creating internal stresses

Different atomic mechanisms of alloy formation, showing pure metal, substitutional, interstitial, and a combination of the two

A meteorite and a hatchet that was forged from meteoric iron

Electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold, was often used for making coins

Puddling in China, circa 1637. Opposite to most alloying processes, liquid pig-iron is poured from a blast furnace into a container and stirred to remove carbon, which diffuses into the air forming carbon dioxide, leaving behind a mild steel to wrought iron

An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal.

Iron

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Chemical element with symbol Fe and atomic number 26.

Magnetization curves of 9 ferromagnetic materials, showing saturation. 1.Sheet steel, 2.Silicon steel, 3.Cast steel, 4.Tungsten steel, 5.Magnet steel, 6.Cast iron, 7.Nickel, 8.Cobalt, 9.Magnetite

A polished and chemically etched piece of an iron meteorite, believed to be similar in composition to the Earth's metallic core, showing individual crystals of the iron-nickel alloy (Widmanstatten pattern)

Banded iron formation in McKinley Park, Minnesota.

Hydrated iron(III) chloride (ferric chloride)

Comparison of colors of solutions of ferrate (left) and permanganate (right)

Blue-green iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate

The two enantiomorphs of the ferrioxalate ion

Crystal structure of iron(II) oxalate dihydrate, showing iron (gray), oxygen (red), carbon (black), and hydrogen (white) atoms.

Blood-red positive thiocyanate test for iron(III)

Iron harpoon head from Greenland. The iron edge covers a narwhal tusk harpoon using meteorite iron from the Cape York meteorite, one of the largest iron meteorites known.

The symbol for Mars has been used since antiquity to represent iron.

The iron pillar of Delhi is an example of the iron extraction and processing methodologies of early India.

Coalbrookdale by Night, 1801. Blast furnaces light the iron making town of Coalbrookdale.

"Gold gab ich für Eisen" – "I gave gold for iron". German-American brooch from WWI.

17th century Chinese illustration of workers at a blast furnace, making wrought iron from pig iron

How iron was extracted in the 19th century

This heap of iron ore pellets will be used in steel production.

A pot of molten iron being used to make steel

Photon mass attenuation coefficient for iron.

Structure of Heme b; in the protein additional ligand(s) would be attached to Fe.

A heme unit of human carboxyhemoglobin, showing the carbonyl ligand at the apical position, trans to the histidine residue

It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table.

Joseph Priestley is usually given priority in the discovery.

Oxygen

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Chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8.

Antoine Lavoisier discredited the phlogiston theory.

Robert H. Goddard and a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket

An experiment setup for preparation of oxygen in academic laboratories

Orbital diagram, after Barrett (2002), showing the participating atomic orbitals from each oxygen atom, the molecular orbitals that result from their overlap, and the aufbau filling of the orbitals with the 12 electrons, 6 from each O atom, beginning from the lowest-energy orbitals, and resulting in covalent double-bond character from filled orbitals (and cancellation of the contributions of the pairs of σ and σ* and π and π* orbital pairs).

Liquid oxygen, temporarily suspended in a magnet owing to its paramagnetism

Space-filling model representation of dioxygen (O2) molecule

Late in a massive star's life, 16O concentrates in the O-shell, 17O in the H-shell and 18O in the He-shell.

500 million years of climate change vs. 18O

Photosynthesis splits water to liberate and fixes into sugar in what is called a Calvin cycle.

build-up in Earth's atmosphere: 1) no produced; 2) produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4–5) sinks filled and the gas accumulates

Hofmann electrolysis apparatus used in electrolysis of water.

Oxygen and MAPP gas compressed-gas cylinders with regulators

An oxygen concentrator in an emphysema patient's house

Low pressure pure is used in space suits.

Most commercially produced is used to smelt and/or decarburize iron.

Water is the most familiar oxygen compound.

Oxides, such as iron oxide or rust, form when oxygen combines with other elements.

The interior of the Apollo 1 Command Module. Pure at higher than normal pressure and a spark led to a fire and the loss of the Apollo 1 crew.

Common uses of oxygen include production of steel, plastics and textiles, brazing, welding and cutting of steels and other metals, rocket propellant, oxygen therapy, and life support systems in aircraft, submarines, spaceflight and diving.

Periodic table

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Tabular display of the chemical elements.

3D views of some hydrogen-like atomic orbitals showing probability density and phase (g orbitals and higher are not shown)

Idealized order of shell-filling (most accurate for n  ≲ 4.)

Graph of first ionisation energies of the elements in electronvolts (predictions used for elements 105–118)

Flowing liquid mercury. Its liquid state at room temperature is a result of special relativity.

A periodic table colour-coded to show some commonly used sets of similar elements. The categories and their boundaries differ somewhat between sources. Alkali metals
Alkaline earth metals
Lanthanides
Actinides
Transition metals Other metals
Metalloids
Other nonmetals
Halogens
Noble gases

One possible form of the extended periodic table to element 172, suggested by Finnish chemist Pekka Pyykkö. Deviations from the Madelung order (8s < < 6f < 7d < 8p) begin to appear at elements 139 and 140, though for the most part it continues to hold approximately.

Otto Theodor Benfey's spiral periodic table (1964)

Arsenic, an element often called a semi-metal or metalloid

Trends run through the periodic table, with nonmetallic character (keeping their own electrons) increasing from left to right across a period, and from down to up across a group, and metallic character (surrendering electrons to other atoms) increasing in the opposite direction.

Periodic table highlighting the first row of each block. Helium (He), as a noble gas, is normally shown over neon (Ne) with the rest of the noble gases. The elements within scope of this article are inside the thick black borders. The status of oganesson (Og, element 118) is not yet known.

Nonmetal

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[[File:Nonmetals in the periodic table.png|thumb|upright=0.85|

Electronegativity values of the group 16 chalcogen elements showing a W-shaped alternation or secondary periodicity going down the group

Modern periodic table extract showing nonmetal subclasses.
<hr style="color:white;background-color:white">
† moderately strong oxidising agent
‡ strong oxidising agent

A small (about 2 cm long) piece of rapidly melting argon ice

A cluster of purple fluorite, a fluorine mineral, between two quartzes

Selenium conducts electricity around 1,000 times better when light falls on it, a property used since the mid-1870s in light-sensing applications.

A crystal of realgar, also known as "ruby sulphur" or "ruby of arsenic", an arsenic sulfide mineral As4S4

Brownish crystals of buckminsterfullerene С60, a semiconducting allotrope of carbon

Germanium occurs in some zinc-copper-lead ore bodies, in quantities sufficient to justify extraction. The pure form costs $360 per 100 grams, as at February 2022.

In chemistry, a nonmetal is a chemical element that generally lacks a predominance of metallic properties; they range from colorless gases (like hydrogen) to shiny and high melting point solids (like boron).

Silver

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Chemical element with the symbol Ag and atomic number 47.

The three common silver halide precipitates: from left to right, silver iodide, silver bromide, and silver chloride.

Structure of the diamminesilver(I) complex, [Ag(NH3)2]+

Different colors of silver–copper–gold alloys

Silver mining and processing in Kutná Hora, Bohemia, 1490s

16th-century fresco painting of Judas being paid thirty pieces of silver for his betrayal of Jesus

Acanthite sample from the Imider mine in Morocco

A 2004 American Silver Eagle bullion coin, minted in .999 fine silver.

Embossed silver sarcophagus of Saint Stanislaus in the Wawel Cathedral was created in main centers of the 17th century European silversmithery - Augsburg and Gdańsk

A tray of South Asian sweets, with some pieces covered with shiny silver vark

Proto-Elamite kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel; 3100–2900 BC; 16.3 x 6.3 x 10.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

Ancient Egyptian figurine of Horus as falcon god with an Egyptian crown; circa 500 BC; silver and electrum; height: 26.9 cm; Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst (Munich, Germany)

Ancient Greek tetradrachm; 315–308 BC; diameter: 2.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ancient Greek gilded bowl; 2nd–1st century BC; height: 7.6 cm, dimeter: 14.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roman plate; 1st–2nd century AD; height: 0.1 cm, diameter: 12.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roman bust of Serapis; 2nd century; 15.6 x 9.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Auricular basin with scenes from the story of Diana and Actaeon; 1613; length: 50 cm, height: 6 cm, width: 40 cm; Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

French Rococo tureen; 1749; height: 26.3 cm, width: 39 cm, depth: 24 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

French Rococo coffeepot; 1757; height: 29.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

French Neoclassical ewer; 1784–1785; height: 32.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Neo-Rococo coffeepot; 1845; overall: 32 x 23.8 x 15.4 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)

French Art Nouveau dessert spoons; circa 1890; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York City)

Art Nouveau jardinière; circa 1905–1910; height: 22 cm, width: 47 cm, depth: 22.5 cm; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Hand mirror; 1906; height: 20.7 cm, weight: 88 g; Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

Mystery watch; ca. 1889; diameter: 5.4 cm, depth: 1.8 cm; Musée d'Horlogerie of Le Locle, (Switzerland)

A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal.

Transition metal

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In chemistry, the term transition metal (or transition element) has three possible definitions:

From left to right, aqueous solutions of: (red); (orange); (yellow); (turquoise); (blue); (purple).

Oxidation states of the transition metals. The solid dots show common oxidation states, and the hollow dots show possible but unlikely states.

Cotton and Wilkinson expand the brief IUPAC definition (see above) by specifying which elements are included. As well as the elements of groups 4 to 11, they add scandium and yttrium in group 3, which have a partially filled d sub-shell in the metallic state. Lanthanum and actinium, which they consider group 3 elements, are however classified as lanthanides and actinides respectively.

Gold

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Chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79, making it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally.

A gold nugget of 5 mm in size can be hammered into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 in area.

Schematic of a NE (left) to SW (right) cross-section through the 2.020-billion-year-old Vredefort impact crater in South Africa and how it distorted the contemporary geological structures. The present erosion level is shown. Johannesburg is located where the Witwatersrand Basin (the yellow layer) is exposed at the "present surface" line, just inside the crater rim, on the left. Not to scale.

Oldest golden artifacts in the world (4600 BC - 4200 BC) from Varna necropolis, Bulgaria - grave offerings on exposition in Varna Museum.

An Indian tribute-bearer at Apadana, from the Achaemenid satrapy of Hindush, carrying gold on a yoke, circa 500 BC.

The Muisca raft, between circa 600-1600 AD. The figure refers to the ceremony of the legend of El Dorado. The zipa used to cover his body in gold dust, and from his raft, he offered treasures to the Guatavita goddess in the middle of the sacred lake. This old Muisca tradition became the origin of the legend of El Dorado. This Muisca raft figure is on display in the Gold Museum, Bogotá, Colombia.

Ancient golden Kritonios Crown, funerary or marriage material, 370–360 BC. From a grave in Armento, Basilicata

Gold coin of Eucratides I (171–145 BC), one of the Hellenistic rulers of ancient Ai-Khanoum. This is the largest known gold coin minted in antiquity (169.2 g; 58 mm).

Gold crafts from the Philippines prior to Western contact.

The Agusan image, depicting a deity from northeast Mindanao.

A miner underground at Pumsaint gold mine, Wales; c. 1938.

Grasberg mine, Indonesia is the world's largest gold mine.

Relative sizes of an 860 kg block of gold ore and the 30 g of gold that can be extracted from it, Toi gold mine, Japan.

Gold prospecting at the Ivalo River in the Finnish Lapland in 1898

Two golden 20 kr coins from the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which was based on a gold standard. The coin to the left is Swedish and the right one is Danish.

Moche gold necklace depicting feline heads. Larco Museum Collection, Lima, Peru.

A 21.5k yellow gold pendant watch so-called "Boule de Genève" (Geneva ball), ca. 1890.

Cake with gold decoration served at the Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam

Mirror for the James Webb Space Telescope coated in gold to reflect infrared light

Kamakshi Amman Temple with golden roof, Kanchipuram.

Minoan jewellery; 2300–2100 BC; various sizes; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

Pair of Sumerian earrings with cuneiform inscriptions; 2093–2046 BC; Sulaymaniyah Museum (Sulaymaniyah, Iraq)

Ancient Egyptian statuette of Amun; 945–715 BC; gold; {{cvt|175x47|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ancient Egyptian signet ring; 664–525 BC; gold; diameter: {{cvt|30|x|34|mm}}; British Museum (London)

Ancient Greek stater; 323–315 BC; {{cvt|18|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Etruscan funerary wreath; 4th–3rd century BC; length: {{cvt|333|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roman aureus of Hadrian; 134–138 AD; 7.4 g; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Quimbaya lime container; 5th–9th century; gold; height: {{cvt|230|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Byzantine scyphate; 1059–1067; diameter: {{cvt|25|mm}}; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)

Pre-Columbian pendant with two bat-head warriors who carry spears; 11th–16th century; gold; overall: {{cvt|76.2|mm}}; from the Chiriqui Province (Panama); Metropolitan Museum of Art

English Neoclassical box; 1741; overall: {{cvt|44|x|116|x|92|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

French Rococo glass bottle mounted in gold; circa 1775; overall: {{cvt|70|x|29|mm}}; Cleveland Museum of Art

It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal in a pure form.

Copper-germanium alloy pellets, likely ~84% Cu; 16% Ge. When combined with silver the result is a tarnish resistant sterling silver. Also shown are two silver pellets.

Metalloid

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Arsenic trioxide or white arsenic, one of the most toxic and prevalent forms of arsenic. The antileukaemic properties of white arsenic were first reported in 1878.

Optical fibers, usually made of pure silicon dioxide glass, with additives such as boron trioxide or germanium dioxide for increased sensitivity

Archaic blue light signal, fuelled by a mixture of sodium nitrate, sulfur, and (red) arsenic trisulfide

Semiconductor-based electronic components. From left to right: a transistor, an integrated circuit, and an LED. The elements commonly recognised as metalloids find widespread use in such devices, as elemental or compound semiconductor constituents (Si, Ge or GaAs, for example) or as doping agents (B, Sb, Te, for example).

Boron, shown here in the form of its β-rhombohedral phase (its most thermodynamically stable allotrope)

Silicon has a blue-grey metallic lustre.

Germanium is sometimes described as a metal

Tellurium, described by Dmitri Mendeleev as forming a transition between metals and nonmetals

Carbon (as graphite). Delocalized valence electrons within the layers of graphite give it a metallic appearance.

High purity aluminium is much softer than its familiar alloys. People who handle it for the first time often ask if it is the real thing.

Grey selenium, being a photoconductor, conducts electricity around 1,000 times better when light falls on it, a property used since the mid-1870s in various light-sensing applications

Iodine crystals, showing a metallic lustre. Iodine is a semiconductor in the direction of its planes, with a band gap of ~1.3 eV. It has an electrical conductivity of 1.7 × 10−8 S•cm−1 at room temperature. This is higher than selenium but lower than boron, the least electrically conducting of the recognised metalloids.

White tin (left) and grey tin (right). Both forms have a metallic appearance.

A metalloid is a type of chemical element which has a preponderance of properties in between, or that are a mixture of, those of metals and nonmetals.