Nickel (Ni)
Jacob Brockman, Section 4
Nickel Facts
Nickel is the 28th element in the periodic table. It was named after kupfernickel, a German word meaning "the devil's copper". It is a solid, metallic, silvery element, with the atomic symbol Ni. Its melting point is 1453 degrees Celsius, and its boiling point is 2732 degrees Celcius. Its atomic mass is 58.69, and it is part of element group 10. It was discovered by Alex Cronstedt in 1751, when he tried to extract copper from nickel arsenide, but got nickel instead. Now, we mostly get it by extracting it from pentlandite. It is considered important because it is one of the main elements in the Earth's core. It is used in stainless steel, boat propellers, magnets, rechargeable batteries, electroplating, ceramics, pendulum rods, and, obviously, nickels, which are actually only 25% nickel. The other 75% is copper. Nickel is extremely resistant to corrosion, and is found in meteoroids. One pound of it can stretch to make an 80 mile long wire.The Chinese used an alloy of nickel 2,000 years ago.
Periodic table: a chart arranging the elements, created by Dimitri Meendelev
Atomic symbol: the international symbol used to designate a particular element
Melting point: the temperature at which an element turns from solid to liquid
Boiling point: the temperature at which an element turns from liquid to gas
Atomic mass: the mass of an atom, measured in atomic mass units (Daltons)
Atomic symbol: the international symbol used to designate a particular element
Melting point: the temperature at which an element turns from solid to liquid
Boiling point: the temperature at which an element turns from liquid to gas
Atomic mass: the mass of an atom, measured in atomic mass units (Daltons)
Works Cited
"Nickel." The World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. Chicago, IL: World Book, 2009. Print.
Stwertka, Albert. "Nickel." A Guide to the Elements. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. 94-95. Print.
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility - Office of Science Education. "The Element Nickel." Science Education at Jefferson Lab. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility - Office of Science Education, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.
"Nickel." The World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. Chicago, IL: World Book, 2009. Print.
Stwertka, Albert. "Nickel." A Guide to the Elements. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. 94-95. Print.
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility - Office of Science Education. "The Element Nickel." Science Education at Jefferson Lab. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility - Office of Science Education, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.