Nickel

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Nickel is a magnetic metallic element that is mainly used in making alloys. It is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. The atomic number of nickel is 28, the symbol is Ni, the atomic weight is 58.6934, it becomes a solid at 298 K, and it color is a lustrous, metallic, silvery tinge.
Nickel was used in coins in nickel-copper alloys for several thousand year, but it was not recognized as an element until 1751, when Baron Axel Frederic Cronstedt, a Swedish chemist, isolated the metal from “niccolite” ore.
Nickel is a hard, malleable, and ductile metal. It has magnetism below 345° C (653° F). Metallic nickel is not very active in chemical reactions. It melts at about 1,455° C (2,651° F) and boils at about 2,730° C (4,946° F).
Nickel is found as a metal in meteors. It is also found in minerals such as “garnierite”, “millerite”, “niccolite”, “pentlandite”, and “pyrrhotite”. Nickel is the 22nd most abundant in element found in rocks in the earth’s crust.
Nickel is used as a protective and ornamental coating for metals that are susceptible to corrosion. It is used mostly to form alloys. It adds strength and corrosion resistance to steel. Nickel-steel, which contains about 2-4% nickel, is used in car parts like axles, crankshafts, gears, valves, and rods. Nickel coins have 25% nickel and 75% copper. Nickel is also one of the main ingredients of nickel-cadmium batteries.
Most of the world supply of nickel is mined in Canada; a rich deposit of nickel was discovered in 1957 in northern Québec. Cuba, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), China, and Australia are next in importance as nickel producers. World mine production (nickel content) in 1991 totaled about 923,000 metric tons. The United States has no large deposits of nickel and accounts for less than 1 percent of the annual world output. Most of the nickel that is used in the United States must be imported; abo...