Nickel

Notable characteristics

Nickel is a silver plated white metal which has a polished glare. It belongs to the Groupe of iron. It is a ductile metal (malleable). One finds it in form combined with the Soufre in the Millérite, with the Arsenic in the Nickéline.

Thanks to its resistance to the Oxidation and the Corrosion, it is used in the coins, for the plating of the Fer, the Cuivre, the Laiton, in certain chemical combinations and some Alliage S. It is ferromagnetic, and is frequently accompanied by Cobalt. It is particularly appreciated for alloys that it forms.

History

The use of nickel is very old, and one can go up it until 3500 av. J. - C. the bronzes found in Syria have a nickel content up to 2%. Of more than old Chinese manuscripts suggest than “white copper” was used in China between -1700 and -1400. However considering the nickel ore was often confused with that of money, its knowledge and its uses will be developed only well later.

The Niccolite, nickel ore, was very appreciated for its capacity to color the Verre in green In 1751, the Baron Axel Frederik Cronstedt tried to extract from the Cuivre of this Kupfernickel, “coppers devil”, and obtained in the place a white metal that it called nickel.

With the United States, " nickel" or " nick" , in the popular speech initially the hundred cupronickel Indian indicated, introduced in 1859. In 1865, designation was transferred at piece-rates from three hundreds, and the following year with the part of five hundreds known as " Shield" (" Armoiries"). The first pure nickel coin is Swiss and goes back to 1881.

The use of nickel in the steels used for the shieldings at the time of the Second world war could involve at the various belligerents of the restrictions in its use in the coins.

Let us announce that nickel made the fortune of the New Caledonia, the territory having with him all alone approximately 30% of the world reserves, discovered by the engineer Jules Garnier in 1864. Other important layers are exploited in Russia, in the area of Norilsk.

Toxicity

The CIRC (International Research Center on Cancer) class nickel in the possibly cancerogenic substances for the man. The chronic exposure to nickel is a risk factor of the Lung cancer, registers for this reason in the tables of occupational diseases.

Nickel is most allergenic of all metals. More than 12% of the population is allergic there, of which a majority of women. The most frequent reactions are dermatites of contact caused by the wearing of jewels imagination, of vestimentary accessories (loops, buttons, zippers, etc). For this reason, nickel was excluded from alloy used for the new European coins. There are polemics on the use of Nickel in the mercury amalgams.

Production

Figures of 2003, in thousands of tons of metal contained in the ores and concentrates

Source; The state of the world 2005, world geopolitical economic directory

Other uses

Nickel uses the composition of several metal families of Alliage S. Apart from the stainless steels (which do not belong to the family of nickel alloys but to that of steels), the nickel alloys can be classified in three categories:

The alloys Iron - nickel: they are used for their physical properties, sometimes astonishing. For example, the Invar, alloy iron-nickel containing nickel 36% (FeNi36), are almost indilatable below 200°C. It is used there in cryogenics (tank of the ships methane tankers), in physics of the lasers (elements of structure) or in the cathodic screens of television sets (" shadow mask"). The physical properties of the alloys iron-nickel made profitable are the magnetic properties (alloys with strong magnetic permeability, alloys with bottom Point of Curie, magnetostrictive alloys ), rubber bands (alloys with very low thermoelastic coefficient), like their extraordinary properties of Dilatation (alloys " indilatables" or with controlled dilation)

The alloys Copper - nickel (cupronickels): they have a very good resistance to the Corrosion in acid medium or marine, as well as a good aptitude for working and welding.

Superalloys: thus one calls a family of alloys of complex composition, containing nickel (or of Cobalt), presenting an excellent resistance to the dry Corrosion at high temperature and very good mechanical properties (raised yield stress, creep strength). They are materials of choice for the turbojets (Aéronautique). The development of these alloys accompanied that by the engines of planes since the middle of the 20th century.

Nickel is also used in the Cathode of the alkaline accumulators Nickel-Cadmium, Nickel-Metal Hydride and Nickel-Zinc.

Cords of electric guitar: nickel is used for certain types of cords.

The coin

“Nickel” indicates the part of five hundreds with the the United States.

Symbolic system

The Noces of nickel symbolize the 28 years of Mariage in the French folklore.

Popular expression

The French expression nickel which comes from nickel chromium plates is a connotation of cleanliness. Nickel-chromium is a Alliage used for the dental care and like materials of welding (source: http://www.atlantic-codental.com/rp2.htm).

Internal bond

Electric fencer
Alloy comprising nickel

* Cupronickel

* Nickel of Raney

Accumulator battery
Nickel metal hydride

External bond

New calédoniennes - File devoted to nickel in New Caledonia.

Simple: Nickel

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